New Orleans: A City of Life and Death

The other day Tray and I ventured into New Orleans, a first for each of us. Neither of us knew much about the city or where we were going and just decided to let it come to us. When we got off the highway into the city the first thing we noticed were these tombs in the middle of the city, A stark contrast to any burial ground I have seen before, especially inside a city.

A City For the Dead

The proximity of this cemetery to the Interstate and it level of upkeep left a memorable impression. It made me wonder about the people who were residing here for eternity, however long that is. Apparently there are more of these throughout New Orleans, but this was the one Tray and I explored. I also can't help but think about the interaction of these people in their new homes, as compared to their old ones, and the reception one receives when they move in.

The City For the Living

From here Tray and I explored a more lively part of the city of New Orleans. Being only an hour away, and planing on returning, we decided to stick mainly to one neighborhood for the day, and because of where we ended up parking the car for the day that happened to be the French Quarter. Although cars were driving down many of the streets we walked, it felt as though they were trespassing. There was an undeniable energy filling the streets as people walked by. We sat down to watch a family of musicians play for tips in the middle of a street, and sat alongside some of the homeless in the city to maybe see it from their perspective.

As we sat here watching, I couldn't help but think a bit about what Kahn says about the street as a community room.

"A long street is a succession of rooms given their distinction, room for room, by their meeting of crossing streets. The intersecting street brings from afar its own developed nature which infiltrates any opening it meets. One block can be more preferred because of its particular life."

Of the blocks we walked, it seemed that each one had a character of its own, and a type of person suited for that particular block.

The people we came across were the best part of the day for me. I guess it was quite obvious Tray and I were walking around with no clue as to where exactly we were heading, and many locals stopped us and asked if we needed anything, which was quite surprising to me. Towards the end of our day, Tray and I began a small Banksy hunt to find two pieces were relatively close to us that day. While searching, a younger man with his children asked us how we were doing and noticing our cameras, asked us to take a "family portrait".

He later asked if we were looking for "the pretty pictures". Assuming he was talking about Banksy, we said that we had been, and he told us about the one right next to his house. I guess he had noticed in the two years since it had been there a number of people taking pictures of it and he also told us the location of more of the "pretty pictures" throughout the city. I hope to be able to give this picture to this man and his children if we pass by his house again.

Oh, and Banksy: