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| New Orleans parrot |
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| Hello, friend |
I was sitting in the back garden when a colorful parrot landed in the oleander tree. I've never seen a bird so beautiful. He was tame, but he kept his distance, keeping to the branches around our patio until Belfast Billy showed up.
The parrot loved Belfast Billy, who was our guest at the time, along with Billy's lovely wife. We sat at the table under under the sun umbrella and fed the parrot sunflower seeds and drinks from our fountain. The parrot, as well as everyone else, was good company.
Angie asked me, "What is your day like? I mean, what do you do over the course of your day?" I looked straight at the colorful parrot and I said, "My days are like this. I never know what's going to happen."
The parrot had escaped from a house two blocks away, in Tremé. The owners called over the back fence to fetch him. They heard his cries from the corner, where Barracks Street intersects with N. Tonti Street. Turns out the parrot is a she. Her name is Parsley. She's a lovely bird. I enjoyed the time I spent admiring her colors and, while I don't hope she escapes again, I hope that if she does she'll know she is welcome here. Everybody is.
Traditionally, there are four beers associated with New Orleans. You can find evidence of them everywhere. Not the beers, mind you, but signs, coasters, shirts and souvenirs stamped with their logos. These four local beer brands, which commanded 80% of the New Orleans market in their day, are: Regal, Dixie, Jax, and Falstaff.
Dixie is still brewed, albeit somewhere far outside the city. The Jax brewery building is now an odd shopping mall next to Jackson Square. The Falstaff brewery building is now apartments, but the Falstaff sign still stands in Mid-City, still a landmark. The Regal brewery building was torn down. On it's foundation the Royal Sonesta Hotel was erected.
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| Parsley loves Regal Beer |
This video's notes say this is Harry Owens. I know Harry Owens and this chap looks nothing like the Harry Owens from Nebraska who transplanted to Hawai'i and wrote songs that Bing Crosby sang.
Unless he's wearing a toupee for that Regal Beer commercial, this is what the Harry Owens I'm thinking of looked like in 1958:
Sit through that second clip long enough and you'll figure out that the guy in the first clip isn't Harry Owens.
This is like people who go to Disney World (the one in Florida) and think they are getting a true Hawaiian experience by staying in the Polynesian Resort. I've been to the Polynesian Resort, I enjoyed it. We saw the luau show. It was okay, especially the last twenty minutes. Was it authentic? Well, Neither Frau Schmitt nor I have been to Hawai'i but we're guessing the answer is no. Maybe I should write that in capital letters: NO.
If you go to Disney World (the one in Florida) you can also stay at the New Orleans Resort. Is it gonna be anything like New Orleans? We didn't visit it, though it was tempting, but we're guessing the answer is no. Maybe I should write that in capital letters: NO.
If you want to experience New Orleans the way it is lived by the people who call this magical city home, we can recommend a place to stay. It's on Esplanade Avenue. You'll still be a tourist, but our inn will be your home for as long as you are here. Our job is to be ambassadors.
À votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.
If you want to hear der Bingle sing Sweet Leilani by Harry Owens, here is your chance:
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