¿Dónde está mi piña (Where is my pineapple?)

 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', uhh...COMET...Where'd YOU Come FROM??

"People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle AND shine when the sun is out,
BUT when the darkness sets in,
Their true beauty is revealed  

ONLY if

there is light FROM within."

-Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926 -)

Good News, Y'all!!!  I've been eating a few Po-boys and have gained (according to my personal scale) a whopping ONE POUND!  Whoop-Whoop!  I never thought I would  be excited about gaining weight and honestly I'm faking it till I make it at this point in "the game".  

On the other hand, I have more energy and I'm making sure I am walking in the park so I'm building some muscle back.  I just have to remember to go slowly.  Also, 'adventures in vitamins' is proving to be interesting.  I long for Flintstones Brand . . . 

Come to think of it, we never took vitamins when we were little.  I think I enjoyed those little treats at Allie's house.

Putting things in order and underwhelming yourself to achieve balance is an everyday challenge that we all face.  I feel like I have been given all the pieces to MY puzzle at the most appropriate times during MY life.  I just never had a logical explanation given to me about WHY things happened the way they did.  I found out my cardiologist of 15 years had died because my mom handed me his obituary.  Then she handed me a hankie.

This approach has turned me into a passionate, intense and slightly "psychotic" INDIVIDUAL.  

AND I'm a HOOT at cocktail parties!

The thing is that everyone seems a little afraid of me.  

"Treat her with kid gloves . . ." and "She's very sensitive" 

are both phrases that I have heard from PEOPLE my entire life.  After all, I'm delicate, RIGHT??

Ummmmm . . .

Have we met????

I was raised by a "You'll Get Endocarditis AND DIE!!!" and an 

"I'll Give You Something To Cry About!!!"  

A BRILLIANT combination, especially considering all my DELICACIES early on in my childhood.

Bottom line, I AM tough as nails and 
I spit daggers at ANYONE who Crosses ME.  

I am a stubborn Capricorn.  I have a Monkey Heart.  

Oh, and I also know how to dance my DERRIERE off.

I am so happy and grateful, GLORIOUS UNIVERSE.  You provided me New Orleans when I needed a safe place.  New Orleans has been Kev's and my official home for TWO YEARS now and I am officially overwhelmed by the gratitude I feel for finally finding OUR TRUE HOME.

God Blessed Texas

 &

God Sparkled Louisiana. 

La Musica TODAY:  Elton John Honky CAT 

©1972 Honky Château.

 GET BACK, HONKY CAT!!!

Katrina VI: Remembering and Still Rebuilding

Howdy, everyone.  I hope you all had a blessed, safe weekend and no one was too affected by Hurricane Irene.  Natural disasters, no matter the size, are a frightening occurrence and I don't think it becomes any easier as we get older.


I remember my dad throwing us kids into the bathtub with a mattress thrown over us while he crawls on the roof to see if he could spot SOMETHING.  It is difficult for me to imagine the fear they experienced when he was younger working on that dry-land cotton farm.  They didn't have those fancy Doppler radar systems like we do these days, so I'm sure they had to rely solely on the radio, and even that wasn't warning enough for some folks.


The video above is from a fantastic group of leaders here in New Orleans called Levees.Org.  Together with the founder Sandy Rosenthal, Levees.Org has collected and provided a POWER-PUNCH of data about what really happened six years ago when Katrina made landfall.  Man. Made. Disaster. 

Unveiling the levee breach plaque, the community of Gentilly has a visual reminder of the tragedy that occurred six years ago.  This particular unveiling ceremony was held on May 20, 2011.

According to the e-mail I received this morning from Sandy Rosenthal at Levees.Org, Irvin Mayfield, Jr. "played a moving rendition of "A Closer Walk With Thee" on the Elysian Trumpet, hand-built by David Monette, and dedicated to the memory of Irvin Mayfield, Sr. and all of the victims of the flooding on August 29, 2005 during Hurricane Katrina."

JUST LOOK AT THAT INSTRUMENT!  It takes my breath away, the craftsmanship.  I most definitely feel that horn in my bones!  

As was our tradition last year, this morning we are headed over to the Lower 9th Ward to participate in the Second Line to commemorate Katrina.  I'll post what went down later this afternoon.


So, Happy Monday and Go Away Hurricanes.


Period.

TODOS SOMOS CRiMiNaLeS SuaVe (We Are All Smooth Criminals)

Black and White.   

Peanut Butter and Jelly.  

Apples and Oranges.

Good and EVIL.

I'm still having a really hard time wrapping my head around the whole idea of terrorism.  

Terror.  Evil. Angry. Hate.

TERROR.

Even typing those words hurts my bones.  I don't know why, but I can't wrap my head around another human being allowing themselves to be taken over by a learned belief system so entirely that they are willing to kill themselves and anyone else that is in firing range of their rage.  Teetering on the brink of insanity, an individual can find solace in these beliefs, but I know and you know that there is still that voice inside us all (I refer to it as the Great Universe) that guides our steps when we are tangoing with karma.

I'm upset that we are still fighting this awful war.  I'm upset that the world seems to be nothing but death and destruction, pop-psychology, and celebrities.  At the end of the day, does it really matter who wore what to which premiere?  Not when our military and our allies' military are fighting for SOMEONE'S (but WHO IS someone??) incessant need for energy POWER. 

I believe in the people who show up and do their job every day.  I believe in the girl that serves me my coffee in the morning (that would be moi, y'all...), I believe in the nurses, doctors, policemen, firemen, and city officials of New Orleans, I believe in my family and friends, and I believe in the busboy that is working his way up to become the Executive Chef at Commander's Palace.

Everyone has their journey.  Everyone has his or her own tempo at which they need to dance their little dances.  But that doesn't give anyone the right to enter another individuals "PERSONAL DANCE BUBBLE" without permission and it MOST DEFINITELY does NOT give anyone the permission to cause harm.  

Period.

We get two choices in life.   

Love or Hate.  

I'm going to Continue to Love.  

(That's all I know how to do.)

**And now a question for you: Who pulls YOUR puppet STRINGS???

La Musica TODAY:  The Roots The Seed (2.0) ft. Cody ChestnuTT 

from their 2002 album Phrenology on Geffen Records.

Happy Wednesday!  

*toes, toes, toes*

A BAT in the Cave

"You are the best. You are the worst. You are average. 

Your love is a part of you. 

You try to give it away because you cannot bear its radiance, but you cannot separate it 

from yourself. 

To understand your fellow humans, you must understand why 

you give them your love. 

You must realize that hate is but a crime-ridden subdivision of love. 

You must reclaim what YOU never lost. 

You must take leave of your sanity, and yet be fully responsible for your actions." 

-Gnarls Barkley, in a letter to the legendary rock critic Lester Bangs

For your musical pleasure...Gnarls Barkley The Odd Couple "Would Be Killer"

The photo above is a picture that I took on my mom's phone this afternoon as we were running errands.  She noticed this fabulous gargoyle on the side of someone's chimney.  At first, she thought it was two gargoyles, but as we are going back to ONE right now, we quickly realized that it is in fact a single gargoyle that is holding his mask and showing his demon side.  

Just something to think about . . . we should all be more aware of the masks we wear that we "keep in a jar by the door". (Bonus points if you can NAME THAT TUNE!!!)

I personally would like my masks to look the same as what's underneath.  I'm sure everyone in their soul of souls wants that as well, except we live in this crazy society where everyone is so political and angry and it's really gotten so frightening to live in a world where all we can do is fight over power.

Power. What IS power?  Is power respect?  Do you deserve respect?  I think you do because I think I deserve respect too.  Didn't we all learn some version of the "Golden Rule" when we were growing up?? Perhaps I should have been on the short bus the whole time that I was in school because it has taken me a really long time to stop caring so much what others think about me.  I'm still working on that.  Daily.

At this particular junction in the progression of the adventures in becoming a New Orleanian, I have to say that Lady Nola knows her stuff.  She's rough and tumble and that's how I like things.  I grew up with two brothers - what do you expect??  What's even better (sometimes worse...) about her is that she has this sassy, swingy way in which she woos you to come in and sit a while.  Linger a little longer...

So I'm lingering.  I'm taking things slowly.  And that's a really good tempo for me right now. 

I think a Hubig's Pie sounds good right now....

Grabbin' My KAZOO!

Happy Sunday!  

I hope everyone is enjoying a peaceful day with your families - cook out on the grill today because it's hot outside and why would you want to heat up your kitchens more than you have to???  Sundays are for rest, right?

I am energized by the flow of love arrows being shot at me...and my MOM cooked me a delicious dinner last night!  We ate like kings and I feel good about nourishing myself through food and love and family. 

As a bonus for your reading and listening pleasure, I thought I would include a video of my musician friend Tomas Cotik performing the Brahms Lullaby for his baby girl Yuni. This particular performance was recorded at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, TX.  As I have had difficulty sleeping, I thought a lullaby was appropriate.

Lacing up my sneakers now and I'm going for a walk in the park! *shimmy - shimmy*

If you would like to know more about Tomas, visit his website at www.tomascotik.com 

If you would like to learn more about West Texas A&M University, visit www.wtamu.edu GO BUFFS!

El Deguello (SLiT THROAT)

 

Hit Play & Read, Y'all!

connect the cause and effect

one foot in front of the next

this is the start of a journey

- Gnarls Barkley, Going On

Dear NOLA,

It's been a while since I've written you a love note, but please rest assured that I still love you more than the moon and the stars.  I love my peeps in LA and TX, and boy do I have peeps!  I never realized how my sparkles and sunshine put a smile on some peoples' faces.  That really makes me feel loved, knowing that people are laughing at with me as I stumble my way through becoming a full fledged New Orleanian and honoring my strong, "Remember the ALAMO!" approach to life.  I wear my Fleur De Lis pin with pride, like a badge of honor.  I've earned those stripes now.  I'm a whole person and the "finishing school" that I was enrolled in for the past 6 weeks held up a gorgeous mirror and assisted me in my transition into who I want to be when I have finished cleaning out my house.  

I just thought I knew what it means to miss MY New Orleans.  MY New Orleans is EVERYONE's New Orleans and that's why I love you, NOLA.  You give everyone a gracious, southern hug and a hankie when he or she needs a good cry in the proverbial bubble bath.  You even feed your "chickens" filling comfort foods and tight squeezes of the hand. To top it off, every member of the restaurant/hotel/hospitality industry is kinetically infused into the pulse of this city.  Combined with the efforts of the N.O.P.D. and major shake-ups in city government, and I have a front row seat to a fascinating study in city planning. I am learning the world by observing your constant adjustments to your gumbo recipe.

Let me say this:  I've always been a bit of a Nervous Nelly.  I'm really shy and overcompensate with my loud, VIVA LE TEJAS! attitude.  I have also spent my life with the knowledge that the world IS my stage.  I just have a hard time differentiating between "front of house" and "back of house".  I have a slightly better understanding of the pulse and mojo going on in Southeastern LA, but by no means do I claim to know anything except what my mom and dad, friends and family have told me and through my own experiences here.

Thank you, New Orleans, for giving me a TIME OUT! so I could tuck in my slip properly.  During my time out, I learned a lot about myself.  I really AM a Nervous Nancy and my doctors made me realize that a 5' 9" woman in her early 30s should weigh more than 115 lbs. Watching the movie BLACK SWAN stirred up some serious self-image issues that I had been mashing down in my Pandora's box of troubles.

I now have my own label and it doesn't feel good.  I am an anorexic former ballerina who really needs to eat a sandwich.  I'm working with my super-fab team of doctors and mi familia now to get back to MY TRUE strong, West-Texan tumbleweed roots, cross bred with your live oak trees, NOLA.

After all, I've always been a little bit Texan AND a little bit New Orleanian.

I hope you can continue to take me as I am, 'cause I'm not ready to throw in the towel.

With love,

Kel :6

 Peace Be With You . . .