MiLK Day after thoughts

Its the day after MiLK day (Martin Luther King Jr) so that means its time to keep talking about what he marched for, spent time in jail, and was shot dead for.

A friend had an important discussion point: Think about how behind we as a society are due to racism.

I’ll add in a lot of people don’t listen to women either, and they are 51% of the population! Just ignore them, know your place, be silent. Thus collectively we are using not even half our brains, more like 30% to tackle tough issues that effect us all. We prob could have flying cars, explored the depths of the oceans, understood the cosmos better by now but alas no. Oh I’m not listening to you, your skin is wrong. Girlz are icky, get back in the kitchen and make me a sammich…

Marinate on this, roll it around yr noggin, entertain the certainty you don’t have all the answers but maybe, just maybe someone who is different than you does have the solution. If only we would listen

Hurricane Ida stories- rescue

Lots of tragic images and stories coming out of New Orleans post Ida. I stayed in town and had a few unique experiences to share. This is one:

The morning after the storm, Monday, I finished coffee and headed outside to work. After Zeta I learned the people in neighborhoods after a storm would move all the big limbs and branches in the street on their block to a corner where the city or someone would pick them up. Some of these branches may wind up as firewood if they were thick enough. 

I moved things around for a while and was called over by my friend to help him. He had a small electric chainsaw and told me we had to clear out an area between two houses. There was a fence between these houses and, of course, a huge tree above that had shed all sorts of limbs and branches. I grabbed as many branches as I could handle and drug them to the curb. A few older ladies would take the felled tree parts the rest of the way to the main debris corner.

It was probably 30 min of work, pulling out branches and hoisting thick limbs, before I saw a door on one of the houses. A few more branches and the area was pretty much cleared. One of the older ladies gave out a shout of hallelujah and then disappeared. She returned a bit later with a bag of sodas for my friend, plus water and a beer for me. 

No problem, I said. It was then my friend revealed that we cleared the area as there was a man with no legs behind the door we uncovered. He had been trapped inside the house. I can’t imagine going through all that, the tremendous storm plus waking up not being able to get outside. 

Biking through New Orleans

I’ve lived in New Orleans since Oct 2017. I have not owned a car since moving here. My great friends found me a rescue bike and I’ve rode the horrible streets ever since. I figure others may be interested in my daily rides as I see quite a lot of the city. Its an ideal city to ride as we are at sea level so most of the city is flat. A further bonus is that the city is geographically small so you ride 5-6 miles at most one way. My goal is to ride 10 miles per day which is fairly easy to do.

There are several green paths that are for walkers and bikers only, no cars. The best and one I am on most often is the Lafitte Greenway, which splits the city in half from the Quarter about 5 miles north. It ends towards the lake side of town and crosses the Jefferson Davis trail. This trail has no cars on the path however it crosses many busy streets including Broad St, hwy 67. Head on a swivel because sometimes the cars stop short of the trail other times they pass through as there is room for a car after the trail and not in the intersection.

The Jeff Davis Trail is great as it puts you towards the Garden District and mid city parts of town. It is also the best way to get towards Tulane and Audubon part of town. The zoo is out this way too, they call it riverside. I think west is another way to think about it. North is basically Lake Pontchartrain, south and west is the Mississippi, bear in mind this is called the Crescent City due to the shape of the land vs the Mississippi River. At Robert E Lee Pkwy, you find the Hellenic Church, one of the oldest and largest populations in the city are Greeks. The yearly Greekfest is a riot! The trail peters out here but you can continue on towards Lake Pontchartrain.

I have to say the most dangerous or the one thing about biking that gets to me is how often I see a biker riding in the bike lane I am in but they are going the opposite direction. I saw an ad on the bus telling people its against the law to ride against traffic. Yet I also totally understand why they do this. You would have to cross a busy street 2x to ride properly. If they are only traveling a few of blocks then yeah safety says they’ll prob be ok for the trip if they aren’t crossing a busy street.

Another thing that is always top of mind is obstacles in the bike lanes. Cars, buses mostly but delivery trucks, vans are the worst. But people here love to chat so double parked cars happens a lot or they will run into a store to pick up some stuff and block the bike lane. Doing this forces bikers into traffic which is behind us. There is also a surprising amount of dirt and sand that piles up in certain bike paths usually near an overpass. Bike and sand don’t mix well I’ve discovered.

The roads here suck too really bad. They are cracked up with huge potholes plus there is constant construction  so your route varies day to day to the same place. Just keep your head on a swivel cos things come at you from all directions. My favorite involves riding up to an intersection where my direction has a stop sign but a car crossing has no sign, yet they stop to wave me through even though I am stopping for them. I will always err on the side of bike vs car a car wins and you don’t win the right of way argument if you are in a wreck. I always presume cars will pass me from behind with about a foot betwixt us or they will turn right in front of me forcing me to pump the brakes as they pass. They’ll do this turning left or right which means they have to pass me to turn. Clearly they see I am there but they don’t care to cut me off.

There are many small side streets and lots of 1 ways so depending on which direction I am heading I see both routes. I really enjoy the Lakeshore part of town, near Lake Pontchartrain. Very 70’s style houses. The area around Tulane is great too, lots of side streets and short streets with only a couple houses on them. For sure riding near Audubon is excellent as there are estates and mansions.

The quarter isn’t bad up until 5 or so, don’t ride at night, for so many reasons. Once the drunks start that is only 1 obstacle. More of the quarter than you realize has no lights and abandoned buildings. There are still muggings in the area so it is always best to stay on the main one way roads yes going with the flow of traffic. There aren’t marked bike lanes in this area either so be cautious.

I do enjoy a ride down Decatur towards Bywater leads to Crescent Park. This park is mainly for walkers and joggers, dogs. It follows the Mississippi River so quite scenic. Out that way are Euclid Records, a fine records and tapes shop, as well as the Joint, excellent LA BBQ.

There are many bike rental companies in town so hop on a bike and see the city!

jury duty experience- horrible case

The events in this post occurred in 2001 in Denton TX

Trigger warning, case involves incest, rape, gruesome stuff

I had been out of college maybe 2 years, fairly recent grad for sure. I had never received a summons to be on a jury before so I was tentatively excited when I received my 1st summons. Cautious too, there had been a few long-term cases I followed. OJ trial comes to mind.  Months these jurors were holed up in a hotel cut off from everyone.

I was mainly looking forward to jury duty since I was working a corp job and submitted my time online, I could select jury duty as reason for paid time off. I also emailed the boss as luck had it, I had previously asked off for vacation Thurs and Friday the same week. I think I went in on a Monday. Not only was I excited to experience a jury case, I also was going back to KC to see some high school friends. A full week for sure. I was scrutinized a bit, for sure I made a copy of the summons and you get a ticket daily from a bailiff proving you were there. When you arrive they give you a sheet and you can elect to donate your jury pay or get a check. $6 a day, I donated my $ to the juvenile court. They needed it. Legally your employer must pay you for days worked, or at least they cannot fire you.

It all went down in Denton courthouse. Questions were asked 1 by 1 the DA or the defendant objected and struck or accepted a juror. I want to say the question I was asked was along the lines of ‘would you risk letting a guilty person go free if it avoided an innocent person going to jail?’ A tough question but you’ve always have to desire to never imprison an innocent person. Sometimes guilty people go free but going to jail as an innocent man is my biggest fear.

I was accepted. A blonde dude with beard conferred with one of the lawyers, we didn’t know which side was which. I didn’t anyway. I was picked, told to go through a far door and into a side room. The judge came in and explained the rules, I want to say we also received a paper with the same wordings. We were warned it was a bad case, this was juvenile court and it was bad. Incest case, dad and daughter.

It was horrifying as the DA painted the scene about a little girl who from the age of 10 had endured nightly sessions with her father. As the case drew on the amount of times plus the amount of sex this guy was having outside his house was staggering. His ex also pretty much let him do her whenever he wanted, a daily thing she said. She had no idea about what was going on in their house. They separated and the ex wife was slow, touched, however you want to state it, she was immature.

He also had a regular girlfriend who also did not know of anything going on in the house. It was so hard and depressing, to hear the amount of charges, the amount of times the daughter had to endure abuse. Plus the daughter had to testify and admit all these things in front of a roomful of strangers. She was crying  pausing and revealing gruesome details of what happened at night. We’ve got to figure some other way to for victims to testify. Like in front of only the judge, questions submitted in advance. Cause the DA has to get specific, where did he touch you, what did he do to you? I don’t think it is correct to have victim testify in open court in front of their abuser.

We finally heard closing arguments but it was decided we would adjourn for the day and pick back up. It was Tuesday, 2 hard days of testimony and we may be locked, it could go on days. I would have to cancel my flight. Ok 1 more day and then I would just move my flight later. It took a lot longer than I anticipated to arrive at a conclusion. It was 3 not guilty’s I want to say, maybe only 2. What was more shocking was through the course of talking, we learned 1 of the not guilty’s had also endured incest and she didn’t think this case was true. She said the girl was older and could fight back. It took a lot of convincing and reviewing evidence that showed, you can’t just accidentally get semen on your daughter’s panties. Something creepy was going on anyway you look at it for that to happen.

One of the jurors I remember was a DEA agent, helicopter pilot. He flew over the area all the time investigating grow farms, greenhouses, any unusual heat coming from a house. They love winter and snow. If a house doesn’t have snow on the roof, it’s probably a grow house. He said he had seen entire 2 story houses full of plants. Every closet, room and space had plants. Millions of dollars in plants and equipment. They burned it outside of town. Huge bonfire too. I’m sure that was a special position, to destroy contraband. I asked how he dealt with the fact that his job never ended, people would grow a plant no matter what. He said, its his job.

We came to agreement and submitted our ruling, asking for guidance on sentencing. We had to rule on many counts, over 30. Each one had a standard and we could add-on. We added on due to the horrific nature and the length of time. It got very specific, as in the counts for sexual offence started with the mouth and worked their way down, each orifice had suggested times. Double the time he abused her, was the amount of time we sent him to jail. I felt conflicted, this guy deserved it, yet per evidence not 100%. Beyond a reasonable doubt for sure. A lot more uncomfortable unusual situations that lead to something going on vs coincidence

A few of us hung around the back and to my surprise the lawyers were there, we were waiting for the judge to pass the sentence. The defense attorney brought up a lot more evidence that was struck from our view. Like the dudes DNA on numerous undergarments. The girl saved them up. He knew the guy was guilty as hell, but had to defend him because everyone deserves a fair trail. His job was to try to get a lower sentence for his client. I felt relieved, we had done the right thing, a guilty person was going to jail for the rest of his life.

The DEA agent juror on more than one occasion said this guy would be taken care of in jail. There were gangs who routinely beat pedophiles in jail. He would have to be on guard the rest of his days, pretty fitting because that’s what his daughter went through for years and would no doubt have trauma and trust issues. Final sentence was over 100 years, no real chance for parole.

I just served, well, I was called in and forced to waste 2 days with no pay. In LA they only pay you if you sit on a jury so 0 pay if not selected. It was a civil case, aka a large corp was refusing to pay for damages. It was a chemical company so yeah, an employee had and died of cancer so wonder where they got it? Hmmm the case was settled after a day or 2 of testimony. Lawyers job is to just delay, stall, they bill by the hour! The system is working as designed by lawyers so no change is easily forthcoming.

max out your rideshare apps for bonus miles

I’ve started calling for rides about a month ago, once the temps in New Orleans hit 80 by 10am. Riding a bike or walking a few blocks I look like I stepped out of a shower, lot of sweat. Having to set up payments with new banks I’ve cruised around the app settings. Here is what I’ve found

uber- marriott rewards. I don’t typically stay at a marriott but figured maybe if it was free I would. After setting up my account I hit a screen that asked me if I wanted points or miles. Say now, I’ll take miles. I was then prompted to enter an airline rewards program to link to my marriott. Now whenever I ride with uber, I get airlines miles via the hotel rewards program!

lyft- once again I am setting up a new bank to pay when I see earn 5x points per ride if using a sapphire card. I happen to have a sapphire card, it’s the only card I used when I was in Europe for a few months. I had kept it in the freezer but busted it out to link to my lyft. You can also link your hilton rewards to lyft, they give you this option on the app itself. Pick whatever is right for you.

Couple of other things to add is you should sign up for all the airlines rewards programs. It doesn’t take long and eventually you will find some aspect of your life that intersects with a bonus on one of these programs. Some have a shopping portal that you can somehow earn miles by going through their website to another company’s website to buy stuff. Miles show up, I see them, it all works somehow. 

Lastly both apps give you option of selecting auto-tip at a % or set $ as well as lyft lets you round up and donate to a charity. I do both because why not? 

IRS refund debacle

A whole lot happened in 2020 to me including taxes and unemployment claims. As soon as the place I was working closed, friends and landlord advised me to take a day and file for unemployment. It did indeed take all day filling out forms, finding W2s, entering info. To my surprise LA state and fed gov took taxes out of my unemployment checks. They taxed money they gave me.

Once the new year was upon me I waited on 2 W2s so I could file and ideally get money back. My job mailed my W2 to the wrong address even though I gave them update info prior to mailing. They asked me where to send the doc I gave them my address and they mailed it elsewhere… very happy to not work for such people. I used a free tax site and duly entered info awhile. I would get a refund, a nice one too. I filed electronically and it was accepted. This was end of Feb, call it March.

May comes and goes no info from the IRS. I received 2 letters from them, both times were just thank yous for things I did online, like setting up an account to find out when my return would arrive . Biden’s stimulus passed after awhile and removed taking taxes from unemployment, thus I would get more of a refund. I read that the IRS was manually correcting filed returns with this info. More delays but for more money!

The letter was just more bad news, further delays. I had a suspected fraudulent return, please log on to their website to confirm my identity. Upon logging onto their site, it was determined I hadn’t provided enough proof and advised to call an 800 number for further confirmation! Gov phone trees are the worst! Minutes of pre-recorded info you don’t need to hear, did you know you can go to IRS.gov, we take fraud seriously, blah blah. Actual waste of time.

I called 2x per day in early morn and afternoon for 5 days. First time I’ve heard not just ‘all operators are busy, please wait,’ but ‘wait times are too long, please call back,’ click. IRS hung up on me. Finally I called and got through, ‘wait time is 20 minutes, please stay on the line,’ 35 minutes later a lady came on and curtly began asking me identity questions. I was then told I’d be on a brief hold and to get copies of my 2019 & 2020 tax returns. I was interrogated for 30 minutes as she called out different boxes and schedules on each return. What is in box 22 schedule 1 for 2019?

Finally I am verified to IRS standards! The one piece of info I was most concerned about I wasn’t even asked: my direct deposit info. Once I had that confirmed I further confirmed that yes my refund will be paid via direct deposit, sometime withing the next 9 weeks. I don’t know where you are but in New Orleans, mail is noticeably slower so I for sure do not want to wait longer for a check. Give me instant, or in bank terms, 24-48 hours access to my refund!

What its like to obtain and maintain unemployment benefits in Louisiana during a pandemic

Back in 2020, sometime in March, my place of employment was closed by the city, state due to covid. I could not work and make $. I took about 4 hours to manually enter all my 1099 and W2 info for the past 2 years into a clunky website. I found out that despite making $ as a tour guide the previous 1.5 years, since I was a 1099, contract employee, I was not eligible for any state assistance.

Luckily 2019 was a good year for extras work. I was a background extra in several TV shows and movies. The pay is not great nor are the hours but you are on set. They also make you a W2 employee so you can get state unemployment. But studios created a new payroll company for virtually all the productions, which means I had to locate paystubs, and W2’s to enter dates and pay. I think I had 10 different W2’s to enter their name, address, phone etc. Info that is easily online or can be downloaded from the state tax roles. Like type in their employer number and have that info auto populate the form. Nope, I typed them all in.

I was granted after about 2 weeks 100$ per week, 400$ per month. My rent is 600$, this is not enough to live on. But to the state of LA this was all I was worth to them, despite the $ I spent in town, on groceries, beverages, gas/electric, etc. All transactions state and local taxes paid. Fortunately the federal government passed a bill that added funds to the low LA ones. I was going to be ok!

Weekly I had to go online and check some boxes on a form stating that yes I was unemployed due to covid. It didn’t take long. I think that automation is great and had hoped to sign a doc weekly. The website to enter info was also down quite a lot so you had to check back a few times before you got in. Around July, August I had maxed out my LA state unemployment for the year. That’s right, they cut me off. Doing this meant I didn’t get federal assistance.

I found a job at a new theatre in town in November. The movie industry pays very low unless you are a union member. I was once again at the bottom but I had to bring in money for rent. I took home just a bit more than rent each month working around 30 hours per week. This included working Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Eve. I did not get any holiday or pandemic bonus. In fact my turkey day consisted of watching the owners eat a family meal with all the sides. I sold maybe 15 tickets all day. Only after they ate, did the GM who ate with them, offered me a plate to go. This is what I had, the only spot I’d found that offered me a job.

A few weeks ago the theatre stopped scheduling me. Zero hours, I was rehired by a tour company but the on-boarding process and pay cycle means 2 weeks away from any pay. I went back to unemployment. I again had to enter my W2 and 1099 info. I was not compensated for my 1099 work. I did get a FT job for most of 2019-2020 so I qualified for 100$ per week from LA state. 400$ and my rent is 600$. Again the feds passed a bill and added some $ so once again I am ok on rent.

Food assistance I also looked into, SNAP. I found that in order to get SNAP you essentially show bank account info proving you do not have more than $2k in savings. If you have heard or read any financial planning books, they always tell you to save 3 months of rent. Getting SNAP means you cannot save, you cannot get out of the system and better yourself.

I am giving tours about 2x per week, plus unemployment. I spend about 1 hour per morning sending resumes out, plus filling out the same info on resume broken out 1 question at a time. I must go weekly to file info on job search, did I turn down work, etc. I have been reviewed once and they held $ up for nearly a week. Again they are sending me 100$ per week, 400$ per month. As we all know, fraud is important to LA and we take it very seriously. Due to this attitude, all claims are suspect.

I’m in talks with a couple other tour groups but again, 2 week pay cycle, plus training time. Payday is always 2 weeks or 1 month away.  I just about break even with the state and fed unemployment. But aside from the stimulus in April I cannot save much $ for the future.

I realize how fortunate I am to get any state or federal assistance. A couple others at the theatre were still waiting on previous stimulus checks and/or unemployment funds. I have family and friends who helped me out quite a lot. That’s the whole point in this post: I’m not complaining about the circumstances, many more have it worse than I. What I am postulating is that it takes all of us to help each other. Add a bit more of a tip in any tip jar you see at retail stores. Add another buck to your bar tips, food tips, rideshares. That’s what I am doing to stimulate the local economy. 

Books of Interest

At my first corp job, my 1st real job, I ate lunch with a history major guy who had gone to Columbia U one of the best history colleges in the world. His diploma was written in Latin as that is still taught there. Anyway I was in the middle of attempting to read the 100 Best Books ever written which was a fiction list.

‘Way too many cool things happened that are real. I only read non-fiction books. I pick a guy or an event and read up. Every book will lead you to the next because so many interesting people were contemporaries. Names will keep popping up so you follow up on those guys, which leads you to these other guys…’

Later that year I was fresh from graduating university so I endeavored to continue my education on my own vs paying to get another diploma. I got a BBA so basically generic business. Sort of wished for a literature or journalism degrees but I didn’t want to start to hate reading. A trip to DC  after graduation and I saw statues and monuments, all the real places of US history. I’m going to read a book about every president I proclaimed. This was 2001.

Here’s what I’ve read since. Walked into a DC bookstore before flying out and literally picked the thickest oldest one on Washington. A lot of these authors are great as you can see I read several books by the same author. Others however are a phD dissertation so they can get dry and fact laden, info vomit.

Info accurate as of date of this post. Will continue to update this list

George Washington: A Biography         Washington Irving

John Adams          David McCullough

1776            David McCullough

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life       Walter Isaacson

Alexander Hamilton       Ron Chernow

The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin      H. W. Brands

Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times         H. W. Brands

American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson        Joseph J. Ellis

James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity        Harry Ammon

The Autobiography of James Monroe              Stuart Gerry Brown

John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life          Paul C. Nagel

William Henry Harrison: The Life and Legacy of the First American President to Die in Office

John Tyler, the Accidental President    Edward P. Crapol

Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America     Walter R. Borneman

Zachary Taylor: The American Presidents Series: The 12th President, 1849-1850

Millard Fillmore: The American Presidents Series: The 13th President, 1850-1853

Franklin Pierce: The American Presidents Series: The 14th President, 1853-1857

James Buchanan: The American Presidents Series: The 15th President, 1857-1861

Lincoln     David Herbert Donald

Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy David O. Stewart

Grant     Ron Chernow

Jefferson Davis, American     William J. Cooper

Southern Storm: Sherman’s March to the Sea     Noah Andre Trudeau

The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero     William Kalush and Larry Sloman

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten       Robert Fulghum

Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History     Erik Larson, Isaac Monroe Cline

Leonardo da Vinci      Walter Isaacson

Eisenstein              Walter Isaacson

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West          Stephen E. Ambrose

Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne         Stephen E. Ambrose

Sam Houston          James L. Haley

David Crockett: The Lion of the West      Michael Wallis

Tesla: Man Out of Time        Margaret Cheney

Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World     Jill Jonnes

The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World   Randall Stross

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer   Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin

How To Win Friends and Influence People     Dale Carnegie

The Black Swan        Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible         A. J. Jacobs

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything     Steven D. Levitt

Outliers: The Story of Success      Malcolm Gladwell

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking       Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference        Malcolm Gladwell

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants      Malcolm Gladwell

What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures     Malcolm Gladwell

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies       Jared Diamond

The Power Broker: the Rise and Fall of Robert Moses   Robert Caro

Republic  Plato

Citizen Solider  Stephen Ambrose

America’s Women  Gail Collins

Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time    Mark Adams

Shadow of the Silk Road   Colin Thubron

The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology    Simon Winchester

A History of God  Karen Armstrong

the Ape and Sushi Master  Frans de Waal

New Orleans reading list

World that Made New Orleans– Ned Subette    This one gets into the history of the ancestral roots of the people that make up NOLA. Explains Cajun, creole, quadroons and more terms unique to NOLA.

Nine Lives– Dan Baum    9 true stories pre and post Katrina lives.

A Confederacy of Dunces– John Kennedy Toole   The most unlikely story but the author killed himself as this book was rejected by all major book companies. His mom found a copy of the book and pestered a professor at Tulane to read it for over a year! Of course its one of the best and funniest books written during the 20th century and set in New Orleans. Won a Pulitzer for literature too.

Accidental City– Lawrence N Powell      So far the most comprehensive history of the area that is NOLA. It starts out literally a millennia ago as the Mississippi dumps huge amounts of sediments at the gulf end of the river, thus creating bayous to the ocean. It explains natives role in shaping the city, the sad slavery part is covered too.

Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children– John Churchill Chase   A wonderful read about street names in NOLA and how they got named. More than 1 plantation estate has been gambled away to become a neighbourhood.

Beautiful Crescent–  Joan B Garvey & MaryLou Widmer    The book is recommended to take the tour guide test. Basic overview of NOLA.

Empire of Sin– Gary Krist    If you’ve seen The Wire Season 3 this spot in NOLA was an inspiration for Hampsterdam. For 40 years in a section of NOLA everything was legal. Prostitution drugs booze you name it Storyville had it. Everyone had to have a permit to live in this part of town, though there was no reason given for said permit. It only verified that person was allowed to live in Storyville.

Inventing New Orleans: Writings of Lafcadio Hearn– former columnist of the Orleans Daily Item, Times-Democrat, Harper’s Weekly, and Scribner’s Magazine, he details New Orleans city life 1877-1887.

Bourbon Street: A History  Richard Campanella- The whole history of likely the most famous street in the US, Bourbon St. Loved and hated by locals and visitors, this book details the history of this street of sin beginning with the French, Spanish, 20’s gangsters, and post- Katrina days.

Bienville’s Dilemma  Richard Campenella- 65 articles about all aspects of New Orleans life and residents from its founding in 1718 to current geography and populations post Katrina.

New Orleans Voodoo- A cultural history by Rory O’Neill Schmitt Phd & Rosary Hartel O’Neill Phd

Handle it: Becoming a tour guide in New Orleans

About a year ago I made one of the best decisions of my life, I took a test to become a tour guide in New Orleans. I had just ended a seasonal bar-tending job and was listless. A lot of free time on my hands so it felt it best to pursue something. This process is not good and it is not explained at all on the website. My pain your gain. Here is how this process really works.

https://www.nola.gov/onestop/business/taxi/tour-guide-permit/

You’ll want to go to this website 1st as there is an app you must fill out. You also have to obtain a criminal background check! Yes no felon guides need apply. There is also a book they recommend you read. It is an ok read, there are others I’d recommend more than this one but it does the job.

1st trip to city hall you will have to fill out a form, bring ID. You’ll have to see 3 people each will do something different. One gets all your info, hands you info on where to go to get background check done. Then another will take $50, they do take cards but you know they dont tell you that its no cash until you arrive.

You are then given the news that there is a test only offered 2x per month. At least this was the case in Jan 2018. Sign up for the 1st available. The book is easy read and can be perused in a week. You should also study up on column names, like doric ionic and Corinthian. Know house types like creole cottage, camel back,  shotgun etc. None of this info is contained in the book. I feel it may have been on a paper she gave me. Nonetheless the links to the architectural styles will be most helpful on test day.

When you are at one of the 2 background check companies they work with, ask them to send the info to city hall. They have a system, maybe fax but I dont recall having to get a physical hard copy but get one anyway make them print it out. It costs 30$ I want to say. Not cheap vs time it takes them to obtain the info anyway.

Test day will come and you are back to city hall. Take the test and wait for a call. You must go back to city hall only after receiving confirmation that you passed. A lady will review your file make sure all info is correct and background checks out. They take your pic and print out your official license ! You have made it! Only takes 3 trips to city hall to get everything done. Hooray !