2/5/2022

As shocking as yesterday’s voodoo revelation was, I decided not to let it let me down. “Don’t worry, you’re not cursed,” a friend assured after reading my blog. And that friend’s right. Sure, voodoo is actively being practiced in my great-grandmother’s childhood home. And sure, bad weather and natural disasters might weirdly follow me wherever I go; relationships and institutions that I love and care about over the years might wither and die; and I might experience plenty of unlucky situations in my day-to-day life, but that’s also the nature of living.

Persevering through life’s challenges and outright madness makes you smarter, stronger, and an all-around better person. And to only focus on the challenges and not the blessings in life is to miss out on what life’s all about. For every day I experienced in life where a wildfire’s smoke blotted out the sun in Northern California, there was also a crystal-clear, bluebird day in February where the fields and orchards were in bloom. For every freak windstorm hitting the Midwest shortly after my arrival, there was also a lazy, summer evening spent on a back-porch, watching an iconic Omaha sunset. For every institution that withered or even shut down completely during my tenure, there were also days of resounding success. I have been on the right side of many cases that eventually made their way to the California Supreme Court; I have had the honor of working and serving alongside some of the best people I will ever meet in life; and I have had the privilege of being able to teach some of the best students ever. Among other places, those students have gone on to schools like Baylor, Santa Clara, Cal Poly, Westpoint, and the USAF Academy, and to this day I do my best to keep up with them. They have taught me as much about life (maybe even more) than I have taught them. No, that’s not the life of a cursed person at all. That’s a wonderful life.

So today here in New Orleans I am trying to have a brighter outlook, and the weather is playing along. Sure, it’s still cold outside for NOLA (in the low 40’s), but at least the sky is blue and the New Orleans’ jazz is now filling the streets.

And sure, I had to wait 30 minutes in a line for beignets this morning (and no, they were not even close to being as good as the Cafe Beignet Royal beignets that I had yesterday), but at least I got to experience the authentic, original Cafe du Monde beignets and chicory coffee for which the city is known.

And sure, as I was standing there sipping my morning coffee and trying to enjoy my view of the city, a hustler walked up to me before I could even react, started shining my shoes, and then demanded that I pay him $5 (I begrudgingly obliged), but at least… Okay, no, that last one kind of pissed me off.

Is New Orleans my favorite city in America? No, not even close. But at least it is gearing me up to really appreciate my final week of this big, long tour of the south. It will be a week spent in the State that I have been looking forward to the most on this trip. Gotta save the best for last: Texas.

I’ll be spending the rest of my day sipping sazarecs in a piano bar here in New Orleans. Hope to write back soon from Austin.

Cheers,

-Rob