Hey, that could be the title of a movie
or a song....
Wait, why can't I get Loverboy's Working for the Weekend out of my mind???
Stop, Focus
Monkey Mind in Buddhism refers to those times that you can't stay focused. You can't meditate since your mind is spinning in thousands of different directions.
You are unable to stay on task, whether it is meditating, studying, or anything else for that matter.
Today's post was intended to be about New Orleans. A brief stroll down memory's lane if you will.
So let's see if I can shut down the Monkey Mind and stay focused here. (Now I'm hearing Manic Monday, BAH)
The SgtMaj and I were booked for a vacation back in September of 2005. We were going to go to the AARP convention in New Orleans. I was pretty psyched as they had a great lineup of guest speakers and performers including Tina Turner, whom I adore.
Little Side Note: I am not old enough to be a member of AARP on my own. The SgtMaj who is a tad older than me, is. hehehe
If I haven't mentioned this before, I am a bit of a control freak. They call me OCD Girl at work. I planned and planned and planned. Every moment of our upcoming trip was set.
Well, we all know what happened.
I was horrified at the destruction of the hurricane. The news reels made me wish that I had finished my RN so that I could go down and help.
They are still recovering 5 years later.
When the Levees Broke by Spike Lee can still bring me to tears. What harrowing stories.
Three years later, the Sgt Maj's company planned to send him to New Orleans for a Trade Show. You better believe I took some time off to get some of that.
I took the Spirit of New Orleans down (Now I can't get that bloody song out of my head!)
If you have never taken the train on a long distance trip it is quite the experience. I don't fly well, so I have taken trains all over the country with Amtrak. You share meals with other passengers in the dining car. Quite interesting.
I met an older woman who still does not know what happened to her daughter.
A man in his thirties whose home was destroyed, he now lived with relatives in Chicago and traveled every weekend to work on his home; while his wife and children stayed back in the city in a small bedroom trying to get their lives together. Waiting for it to be safe enough to go home.
Pulling into LA, I started to see the destruction. Three years later.
I took walking tours and ate my share of gumbo. Oh, I ate some gumbo.
While riding in a cab to NOMA (New Orleans Museum of Art), I saw more abandoned homes the farther from the French Quarter that we drove. The markings from the search crew eerily still visible.
Sgt Maj and I stayed an extra weekend so that we could go to Jazz Fest. The area around the race track was the same. Three years later.
I understand there are still people displaced. The shame.
What amazed me during my vacation is how nice the locals were. I was thanked for visiting, thanked for spending money. For having faith in them.
Wow, that they should have such faith in us as Americans.
Soooooo......
I am cheering for The Saints today. What a shot in the arm. What a long time coming.
Here's to you NOLA....
No comments:
Post a Comment