Friday, April 22, 2016

The Nicest Way

I am the only one in the computer room, which will close in about 35 minutes.

By then, I should be on my way into the Quarter.
"Lilly"

Since it is Jazzfest time, the likeliness of someone being at the Lilly Pad when I get there is increased about 40%.

If I show up to "claim" the spot at almost midnight (like I did last night) it will be even more likely that some "traveling kid" might be there, having started a migration from Royal Street, perhaps, which starts to empty out around midnight, towards Frenchmen Street, which keeps hopping until much later.
Coming upon the Lilly Pad midway through his journey, the traveling kid with the banjo might see that Lafitt's Blacksmith Shop Tavern is in full swing and on course to keep hopping until much later, and might park himself there, and (God forbid) immediately get a 20+ dollar tip from some patron.

Then, he could think my claim to the spot, just another Bourbon Street hustle, unless I produce the evidence of Lilly coming out (at such a late hour).

Really, I don't have to worry so much because, without the banjo player having his own spotlight to put some light on his feet (excuse the pun), he will be laboring mostly in vain, as, stepping out of the candle-lit bar and staring down Bourbon into the glare, the tourist will only see him in vague silhouette, his banjo looking more like a shotgun than anything else, and will cross to the other side of the street, leaving him to resort to shouting out "Hey, can you spare a dollar?!?" which he can do just as well anywhere other than the Lilly Pad.

I do worry about getting there and seeing some performer lit up as if in a jewelry case by a portable light, with a circle of tourists already around him. That would feel like I was running he, and his audience, off. Lilly would do it, though. I've seen her in action. She would do it in "the nicest" way, too.

But, if I got there at midnight and saw that, I would probably let it go. That is a problem so much more easily solved just after sundown, when Barnaby might be out on his stoop, Alan and his poodles on his; Linda and Bruce from the other side of Barnaby's dwelling out walking their dog, the college aged kids who seem to be renting the house behind me and to the left whom I have become friendly with coming in and out; and Lilly coming out on her way to go get Angelique and Chantilly, to escort them back home through the Quarter.

So, it is almost 8 PM. It is still daylight, as we are well on our way to the summer solstice...

I want to run to the store for spotlight batteries, potting soil, water, catfood, energy drink.... 

3 comments:

  1. How many caricature artists do you see around there?

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  2. zero caricature artists; there was a girl who sat there on bourbon, ready to draw, but she had almost no examples of her work on display; and she never took my suggestion to just look around her and start drawing people and then approach them and say: "What do you think?" It could get them laughing and saying "Oh, we just have to get this one to hang on the wall by the fireplace next to the one that Earl had done in the Bahamas! How much, young lady?"
    I imagine that they don't take long to do, as they don't have much detail; just grossly exaggerated features; like the foot long jowls on that Kerry guy who ran for president, get those right, and the rest is just icing on the cake LOL

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  3. Whaaaat? That's amazing. I thought New Orleans was overrun with them.

    I agree with you on the crappiness of most caricature artists. Look up a guy named Elgin Bolling, he's actually good. He's got videos all over YouTube. He worked in graphics for years before starting out on his own and has a deep knowledge and interest in the classic animators of the 1960s and things like that.



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