Table One

After the house run, I made my way to my apartment, which was fine. The ceiling leaked a little in one spot and some leaves had been blown in under the door, but that was pretty much it. The lights came on and the water ran, though I couldn’t drink it. The refrigerator was another story. I was very lucky because I had nothing left in it except some leftovers, so it was basically salvageable. Also, it was running, so all the mold died when the refrigerator kicked back in and it didn’t get very far. Nevertheless, I just shut the door and figured I would tackle that later. Most other people aren’t even opening their refrigerators, which I definitely recommend. Don’t open it. Ever. You can tell who has come back when you drive down the streets and see the duck-taped refrigerators on the curb. I cranked the air conditioning and flushed the toilet, not that it needed it but it gave me great joy just because I could. So the apartment is fine and I just moved back in.
After that, I headed off to Gavin and Allison’s, who had come in from Houston and were cooking dinner. So I’m driving down Magazine Street, which is lined with restaurants, shops, and bars, all boarded up, and I see this woman. I think, “Hmm, she’s pretty,” which goes to prove Allison's theory at least one reason why being back home is soooooo good; namely, the poeple in New Orleans are prettier than the ones in Houston. Sorry, Houston, I haven't been and so can't opine one way or the other, but that's what Allison says.
Then realize the woman standing outside the restuarant is Kelly who teaches at Loyola with me. I couldn’t believe it, screamed out the window and pulled over. Turns out, she and her husband live nearby and the restaurant, Table One, was open. The bar Kelly’s husband Colin managed got about nine feet of water, so they walked in and he asked if they needed help. Not surprisingly, they needed a lot, so he’s got a job. We went in, had a drink and caught up. I’ve been back almost every day because you can get a salad, and you have no idea how exciting a salad is when there aren’t any open grocery stores. There are a couple of other places on Magazine open (the Balcony, the Bulldog, the Rendez-Vous, Les Bon Temps Roule), but they just have bar food if they have food at all. And you can get a pancake, eggs, and bacon at Slim Goodies, but they don’t have liquor and believe me, liquor is very important these days. Since I don’t like driving far, partly because there’s still an 8 o’clock curfew, my life in New Orleans these days is pretty much kept to the stretch of Magazine between my apartment and Gavin and Allison’s house, but that stretch is hopping. Anywhere that’s open is constantly packed, so hopefully other businesses will hurry up and get back here.