I don't know if it's my neighbor Fred, or a friend of his, but every couple of nights I hear the loveliest piano music wafting from his place.
Biking across the garden district takes me about 24 minutes. In 5 degrees it will be the perfect temperature for such a bike ride. I'm kind of hoping the street car regulars will start noticing me as the girl who rides down St. Charles with no handle bars.
He's playing "Summertime" now. Aaaand the livin's easy....
Tomorrow I'm singing in a gospel concert with my church choir and 50 Norwegians. These singers came to New Orleans to learn gosepl music from my choir director, and after three nights of rehearsing, they know most of our songs and for the most part, how to sway and clap in time. Every few songs a guest ensemble would come up and do a number, and hearing them through the ears of 50 elderly Norwegians gave me a new appreciation for gospel. Yes, one song can drag on for an eternity, and even listening takes a bit of endurance, but there is no other type of music that can take hold of you the way gospel does. Before I came to New Orleans, the only impression I had of gospel music was from The Blues Brothers. My pastor doesn't do backflips (as far as I'm aware), but after I explained to him my committment to peace in Palestine, he said a prayer for me and my trip and I practically did backflips out of the church. Which means I biked right over to Parkway and indulged in a Caprese Po Boy.
Now he's playing "When I'm 64."
Tomorrow, I will be in school from 8 to 3, then the 7th graders (who earn it) will be going to the beach to play volleyball for their Team and Family Trip. Then off to gospel night with the Norwegians, then to my friend's show at the Howlin' Wolf.
"Michelle."
Then a gardening service project at Langston Hughes Academy in the morning, followed by a hefty nap, followed by dinner with friends, then a pub crawl for our volunteer group. Then church in the morning, followed by a practice SAT, then some advertising for the Free Palestine walk, then getting ready for a 3-day school week before a 5-day weekend! Life is prettty, prettty...pretty good.
Goodnight Freddy boy...
