Escape from New Orleans

My long 'tour of duty' in New Orleans has come to an end. Financial hardship has compelled me to leave the Big Easy and travel to the West Coast to temporarily live with my father in Southern California. If I recall correctly, however, this sort of thing happened to Syd Barrett and also to Lou Reed at one point, so I don't feel so bad and would seem to be in pretty good company, eh?

During my 18+ years in the Crescent City I lived in two different apartments, each of which was highly problematic in its own way. The latter of these apartments was situated in New Orleans' Touro neighborhood, a good location in many respects; however, it was plagued by a noisy environment that made getting a good night's sleep a hit-or-miss affair. Obstacles to that good night's sleep included
(a) the tenant directly above me who frantically tramped back and forth on Hurricane Katrina-weakened floorboards at all hours of the night,
(b) the Touro Infirmary's delivery trucks, which made loud beeping noises at 5 AM several days a week, and
(c) the tenant to my right who would come in at 12-2 AM and turn on his TV cranked to a loud volume (maybe you can sleep through TV audio, I can't).
As an ultralight sleeper, I'm really glad to be out of there.

Is there anything about New Orleans that I'll miss? I won't miss the long, numbing summers. I won't miss having to deal with the hurricane thing every year. And I definitely won't miss Mardi Gras.

"C'mon, anything?" OK, I'll miss the Latter Library and its CD collection. I'll miss the local cuisine to an extent; interestingly, some of the stores at my new location carry Zatarain's products. I'll miss drinking coffee at the CC's at Loyola University. Above all, I as a non-motorist will miss the mobility that living in a relatively large city afforded me. ("Isn't it time you got a driver's license?" Yeah, I really should put that on my to-do list, shouldn't I?)

Now then: How did I get from New Orleans to Southern California? We'll get into that next time.