Not like this!

Interesting interchange with Julia yesterday at the NO zoo. Certainly it was hot, hot , hot. I have no idea the temperature and humidity but it rivaled Nanchang last year and HaNoi years before. Julia and I walked around a relatively deserted zoo staring at panting animals and panting back at them. We saw a bear in a bathtub getting some relief and two elephants having their lunch pool side at the suggestion of their feeder. The alligators looked too comfortable and the snakes were perfectly at home. Julia and I tried to stay in the shade but at time we had no recourse but to march directly into the sun. After we had walked for a very long time and launched ourselves into the sun when Julia stopped and shouted, "hot, go away. Hot, stop." I tried to move her along and humor. I laughed and said that it was this hot in China last year where she lived. Julia answered back, "Not like this."

Last night, Lexis/Nexus threw a dinner/party at this huge barn used to build and store Marti Gras floats. It was like a backstage party for a play with many, many sets – maybe like Radio City Music Hall in its heyday. And all sorts of things too – from Shrek and Stitch to Greek gods, Moses, Marilyn Monroe, JFK and MLK, Jr. And more. Julia loved it and we took pictures with some of the figures. I loved it too. I have never been interested in going to Marti Gras but seeing that place . . . . We ate a wonderful salad and some chowder, a corn salad and a jambalaya. Julia collected necklaces throughout the night, and as we left, people donated theirs to her collection. She is a bling-bling queen.

New Orleans is another very interesting town. Maybe it is dying and we are seeing it in its death throws; maybe it is a phoenix and is preparing for rebirth. Certainly, its future is not clear. I wonder at the optimism of people who try to make living there. I am sadden that the national government has done so little to insure survival. So much is for rent, for sale, or in need of great renovation. Or all three. Some of the renovation is going on, but so much looks closed and closed for a long time. And we spent most of our time in and around the French Quarter, that part of time that is said to have "come back." We were offered a tour of city’s devastated neighborhoods, but I did not think it was appropriate to take Julia on a tour like that. Hearing what others had to say about the tour, it was the right decision. And I must say that for a day or so, I admit that I resented being somewhere that was such a wreck and paying as if it was complete. But if one more full price ticket at the half-empty zoo helps in some very small way for the city to come back to itself, then I am happy to pay. It is a different city from those I’ve seen here, closer to a place that was occupied by Europeans long enough for Europe to rub off. It is French, like HaNoi is French; it is Spanish like the lower district of La Paz is Spanish. New Orleans has a distinct culture that even the most casual visitor like ourselves can see. It is ours to preserve or lose.

This month is such a traveling month for us – I leave for Bolivia on Sunday. Julia and I have spent all our time together this summer. She is my shadow, reluctant in the roll at times, but I feel our relationship deepen. I know I will miss her as I have missed her when her babysitter, Sarah, has her for a few hours. I know she will miss me as well. I hope that the week goes well for David and Julia. I hope that Julia expects me to come home and will be happy when I do.