Oh lord, it’s hard to be humble…
…when you’re spending the week in Dallas after the Saints spanked the Cowboys on national TV. I’m being gracious when the locals note my Saints cap or the “Faith” sticker on my truck — explaining the Saints got spanked the same way up in Pittsburgh a month ago. Any given Sunday, etc, etc. But it’s a sweet feeling indeed and I’m just gonna enjoy it while it lasts. We might see these guys again down the road come playoff time. Go Cowboys — beat Atlanta this week. Please.
Anyway — being in Dallas gives me a chance to get a better understanding of how those outside New Orleans are viewing what’s going on in our city. While there are jerks everywhere, the questions I hear about the recovery and related topics are coming from honest concern, compassion and interest. And, being back in a big city where everything works during a holiday season, it’s giving me a chance to reflect a bit….
1) On the one hand, it was bizarre indeed to go into a cable TV office at 9:30am and find NO ONE there. I mean, at the Cox place on Elysian Fields, there’d be 25 people on the waiting list and at least one person would have already gotten into a verbal spat with one of the customer “service” people.
2) Along the same lines, however, no one up here has called me “baby.” I seriously miss that. And you think it’s tough to get any kind of official help on the phone in New Orleans? Try getting phone help in a city that hasn’t lost half its population. New Orleans=5-minute wait. Dallas=endless phone loop.
3) We spent a night last week in Houston. There was a dead stoplight at some major intersection and it was a freaking cluster fuck. We New Orleanians can teach them how to make this work in an orderly fashion, can’t we? Patience, people. Damn.
4) Traffic. Imagine I-10 at Causeway at 5pm. Times 50. No thank you.
If we gotta be Someplace Else for a bit, this is a good place to be. But we can’t wait to get back Home Again — where Weird is Normal. The normalcy of everyplace else has gotten too weird for us anymore.
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oh go ahead and gloat, we have suffered long enough. . . poor cowgirls… *sigh* ;D
hurry home baby.
GO SAINTS! yeah you rite!
Craig, you should see Tyler when the Saints and Chargers are on at the same time. My ears bleed for all the yelling. Thank God for TiVo!
No kidding. Think about the possibility of a Saints/Chargers Super Bowl.
Craig - You were here in the Bayou City? You shudda called.
Being a girl who grew up in New Orleans but also lived in Dallas, I’m a fan of both the Saints and the Cowboys. I’m always happy no matter who wins. But this year, I definitely pulled for the Saints. I did look a big bipolar that evening though — wore a Saints cap with a lighted blinky logo (SO cool!) and a Cowboys sweatshirt. Torn allegiance, but I cheered louder for every Saints score. It’s a magic year!
Joyeux Noel -
Liz
I wear my Saints caps and jerseys a lot way over here east of New Orleans along I-10 in Tallahassee, Florida and I get positive reactions from fellow Saints fans.