2011 NEW ORLEANS REUNION
(WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN!)
CHORUS: WHAT A REUNION! Blessed with great weather, chock full of fun & therapeutic laughter & the joy of “being” with each other, and a DIXIEland itinerary perfectly planned to let us see a new side of the city!
MARGIE: I want to join the chorus to thank Dixie for planning the absolutely fantastic reunion in New Orleans and to thank all the participants (even the absent ones – Kathy and Tina) for making it something to remember. I think the indicator of a great weekend away is whether you manage to empty your head of your day-to-day worries, and it certainly did that for me. It was great to be back in NO with “natives”. After so many years living in different places, I sort of feel like I don’t belong anywhere. I felt truly at home in Faubourg Marigny with people it seems like I have known forever. So, for Gladys’ “history” here are my thoughts:
DAY 1
MARGIE: the house tour (was it really 2 hours?) was a “trip”. Too bad Gladys wasn’t there to question the provenance of some of the antiques. Would love to have seen/heard that! Dixie’s escape tactic was brilliant – I think we would still be there if she hadn’t just stood up and said (very politely) that she had to leave and then basically walked out the front door, with our host in mid-sentence. Very skillfully done! Later, (after welcoming the group who had decided to tour Gretna en route to the house) there was the wonderful crawfish and shrimp (thanks, Faye) with good beer and wine. I am deprived of these pleasures in Europe, but it seems so is Betty, in Florida. Thanks to Kathy (absent participant) and Charlotte for the sweet thong gifts – I think we all want to “save” the fleur-de-lis soap for show but will definitely be using the bath fizzies and candle!
CHORUS: Don’t forget Thursday night drinks on the balcony and Beverly’s inexpert throwing of “thong” beads–her gift to us. Also, there were the scrumptious “thong cookies” in LSU colors, presented by Suzanne.
DAY 2
CHORUS: A group of sisters were awakened in the wee hours by the sound of garage doors across the street: the early crew arriving at Hubig’s pie bakery just catty-corner. Other sisters remarked on the fascinating antique clock that chimed every quarter hour in the downstairs hall. But good natures prevailed and all sisters marveled at an otherwise good night’s sleep in the opulent, Victorian splendor of their boudoirs. (Charlotte and Betty even managed not to fall out of their ridiculously high bed.) Then coffee on the patio and breakfast in the grand dining room, with Evalyn’s decadent Apple Cake (send that recipe!) and Beverly’s more low-cal breakfast treat (send that recipe too; we’ll need it after eating Evalyn’s). Evalyn, Louise, and Gladys went for a morning walk– passing quaint and colorful petite houses in our neighborhood, festooned with gorgeous flowers, meeting locals walking their dogs, and going on to the French Quarter–so delightful at that time of day. Back just in time for lunch!
MARGIE: – thanks to Beverly for a great restaurant choice for lunch. What a deal! Absolutely sublime food and great ambiance and service – for $20.11 (plus the cost of wine for the drinkers).
CHORUS: Lunch at August’s! Oh MY! Little eggs with delicious treats inside. Fried brussel sprouts. Squid ink pasta! Scrumptious fish with lump crabmeat!
MARGIE: Magazine Street was fun – and Louise showed off her administrative authority when we marched into the Po Boy shop and she announced we were there to get a drink and go to the bathroom. (We had encountered Evalyn and Suzanne on the street who had tipped us off that that was a good place to get a drink and go to the bathroom.) I don’t think the staff were too happy but what could they say to Louise in assertive mode!
CHORUS: See what happens when you turn 64 (or thereabouts)! Our assertiveness training finally pays off!
MARGIE: Dixie found a fun, casual pizza place for dinner and the day was capped off by Linda’s presentation of the thong award to well-deserving Dixie who organized the whole weekend while juggling other guests and family. Bravo!
CHORUS: And don’t forget Linda’s impromptu butt-wiggling dance, as she presented that thong award to Dixie. Linda calls it her “tae da tae.” or “Getting Her Ass ON.” (All that butt sitting at Pitot must have paid off–she was just saving her energy.)
DAY 3
MARGIE – to the Quarter and a carriage ride. It was fun to be all together. Whoever said we were on Bourbon Street before the driver was born needs to take credit for that remark! Sugar Daddy was a cute mule and responded to the driver’s voice – when he said “take it easy Sugar Daddy” he slowed down.
CHORUS: With prompting from Beverly, Dixie has finally fessed up: “OK, I think that was me. I didn’t think confessions were mandatory when you’re not Catholic.”
MARGIE: I missed going to Stanley’s for Eggs Benedict with fried oysters (highly recommended by Charlotte) but the line was looong, so will have to do that next time (good excuse to return). Gladys identified a nice quiet place for lunch and after asserting ourselves once again (we tip as well as men!) we settled down for another lovely meal, followed by more Quarter wandering. I hope the driver got a commission for all the shopping we did at California Drawstrings.
CHORUS: Let’s give credit where credit is due! After waiting patiently for tables at Cafe Amelie, and watching other groups seated before us, Miss Faye came to our rescue. Faye calls it “having to use persuasion to get in for lunch.” (Surely she deserves the Miss Gracious Living Award.) The actual words were something like: “I don’t know if you discriminate against women or what–but I can tell you we tip as well as any man!” No lack of assertive women in this group! Feelings were soothed by a perfect table, some good Bloody Marys and a lovely courtyard view. We all had fun shopping at California Drawstrings, and watching Louise try on 40 perfectly lovely white tops. Each better looking than the one before. (Good thing she had Evalyn there to help her choose.) On the other hand, Gladys tried on the same one thing over and over and still couldn’t make up her mind.
MARGIE: For the first time, everybody got back to the house without a detour to Gretna. Thanks to Faye for taking me across town to a grocery store for andouille sausage and Tasso for my brother.
CHORUS: Was this the grocery store trip that elicited the praise for 4 of our sisters? (No matter, we’ll insert it here.) Apparently, a man was walking behind them into the grocery, when Beverly heard him say: “YOU ARE FOUR FINE LOOKING WOMEN. YOU DON’T NEED TO DO A THING.” Needless to say, a number of us want to carry that motto forward in life. We also searched for the common denominator in the group. It must have been that confident, assertive, yet very feminine walk of the KDs, as seen from behind. Are we seeing a theme here? Beverly has “fessed up” that she was the one closest to him and “being a KD lady I did not hesitate to thank him.”
MARGIE: That evening, after a very nice light dinner in the courtyard of a wine bar/restaurant we met up with Dixie’s husband, son, and his friend at the Cat’s Meow on Bourbon Street and hung out on the balcony – Beverly was spotting Yankees.
CHORUS: “Dixie taking her cats to the Cat’s Meow.” We loved the way Dixie herded us right up the stairs to the balcony–no need to buy drinks, we’re just here to enjoy your view! Carter looked cool hanging with the young men. Patrick (what a great son!) got to see his mom’s hip friends in action–in particular a lively Charlotte doing her balcony dancing. His eyes were WIDE and his smile BIG. Gladys enjoyed remembering a long ago NOLA trip, when she joined Ben and Tina on a Bourbon St balcony.
DAY 4
MARGIE: we met up at Dixie’s condo in a beautiful old building on Esplanade and then on to a super brunch at a neighborhood joint called Buffa’s. Service was fast and friendly and the food was good. We enjoyed a great jazz band “Some Like it Hot” made up of mainly women (two men played clarinet and banjo). The bandleader welcomed the “sorority girls” sitting down front and made some reference to “perkiness”.
CHORUS: At Buffa’s, there was more dancing by Charlotte (in her seat this time and joined by Gladys). But others in the restaurant got up—including a young woman and her grandma, and a birthday woman in her wild hat. Only in Louisiana! We were all thrilled that Becky joined us for this event. She is lovely–looking like a younger version of Faye and with all the spunk we’ve come to expect of Faye’s girls! She was busy taking pictures of the group. Meeting both Patrick and Becky on this trip was a real highlight.
MARGIE: After brunch, some of us then went to the World War II museum. The movie was very well done and the museum was one of the best experiences of that kind I have ever had. Thanks to all who recommended we do that.
CHORUS: Charlotte says: “The images were amazing and there were real photos integrated throughout the production. It just makes you realize how honorable our parent’s generation was, how they pulled together and the sacrifices that were made.” Betty agrees and is now reading The Greatest Generation because she wants to know more about the time. After the Museum event, Evalyn and Louise had to head back. AWWWWWWWWWW. We couldn’t imagine having fun without them there, but . . . Mea Culpa . . .where is that confession booth!
MARGIE: It was then on to Dixie’s cousin’s loft and a benefit for a local artist. I have always heard about lofts but have never actually been in one. Amazing space! The views from the terrace/balcony were exceptional – and we finally saw the sunset. Then, back to the house where the hard-core eaters finished off the crawfish and shrimp.
CHORUS: Dixie’s cousin, Cam, gives a GREAT party. The loft was filled with art and people. Fascinating people. Young, old, dressed in interesting ways, very “Arty.”. All of us enjoyed the music of the talented Mia Border and band. Suzanne was so enthralled we thought she might get up on stage. . . .but maybe next time. Eventually, we all wandered out to the rooftop deck and listened to the music from there. We ate fried chicken, red beans and rice, and delectable desserts (so many chocolate things to try). Margie taught Gladys the fine European art of filling your neighbors’ wine glass as frequently and surreptitiously as possible. Carter, Gladys and Charlotte danced. With whom, we don’t remember. Cam’s partner gave us cheek kisses all around–so French! And we all watched the sunset and the ships on the river–their tops moving slowly and majestically over the treetops. SIGH H H H H H H.
DAY 5
MARGIE – the early leavers were off to the airport with Beverly (Betty was in the car, so Suzanne was fearful we might return to Gretna, since Betty was in the car for both the previous tours, and it had been determined she was the “risk factor”.) We made it in good time and Betty and I even got on an earlier flight.
CHORUS: Margie spoke too soon. Weather delays hit many in the group, as did bad weather on their return to their cities. Mother Nature was saying something: “GET YOUR ASS BACK TO NEW ORLEANS!” Or as Suzanne would say: DOINKERS. (whatever that means)
SUMMARY
MARGIE: Throughout the whole weekend Faye and her android smart phone were always on hand – whether it was checking on basketball scores or looking up whatever esoteric information one of us had decided we just had to know. It was good to have Suzanne, Louise and Evalyn with us (we missed them in Asheville) but we missed Kathy and Tina (although thanks to Skype and Dixie’s laptop we had Tina’s head with us for a while). Finally, thanks to the picture takers for sharing their work with all of us. It was a great reunion – can’t wait until next year.
THE CHORUS: AMEN!