One
On the first day of Christmas, my maw-maw gave to me:
a crawfish they caught in Arabi.
The Arabi photo is an Alexander Allison photo of homes along River Road in that neighborhood from the 1920s. Arabi is the first neighborhood you come to as you drive through the Ninth Ward of New Orleans and reach the parish line between Orleans and St. Bernard. In the storm, Arabi got 6' of water and up, catching the water from both the Industrial Canal breach and the storm surge from the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. To add insult to injury, the neighborhood was flooded a second time durng Rita.
And if you don't get what I'm up to here, see www.benygrunch.com.
Happy Boxing Day, everyone...and go Gunners (Arsenal-Portsmouth later today)
Yeah, go Gunners! Isn't Cesc the footballers' wonder?
Love your blog - check it everyday. Keep it up!
Cesc is awesome, but I miss Thierry, too. I just hope they get past Portsmouth, given that MUFC has Sunderland today...
YP: Thanks for the reply. I'm recording the Gunners' game for viewing later today so don't comment about the score yet, given that it's about halftime. The button labeled "author's profile page" doesn't go anywhere. What's your background in soccer? Did you play as a younger person? I love your interests in rail transit, flood control, WWOZ, music, food, and, I guess really, all things NOLA.
FJ
I'll have a look at the link, and I'm taping the match as well--my firstborn is obsessing over "Assassin's Creed" on the xbox right now. :-)
I've always loved footie, since I was a kid, even though I didn't play. I remember an old TV show, "Soccer Made in Germany" that used to come on public TV when I was young, and that hooked me on the Bundesliga. Then came the NASL, with the Cosmos and Pele. Both of my sons were playground soccer kids. I tried coaching my oldest (who is 19 now) when he was U-8, but we yelled at each other too much, so I volunteered to referee. When the referee association found out I used to be a high school teacher and didn't take crap from 16-year olds, they recruited me for high school matches. That led to doing adult matches as well.
As far as the EPL goes, when my son was playing U-10, he was his team's goalie. He worshipped Kasey Keller at the time, so I got him Keller's Leicester City kit. I started following LCFC and still do, but since they're solidly in the Championship League now, I support Arsenal in the Premiership. Both of my boys are MUFC fans, and I could never bring myself to support them. :-)
Y: Because you've been involved in NOLA youth soccer, can I ask for a recommendation? I would like to donate some money to a NOLA youth soccer club that does a good job of reaching out to kids from disadvantaged neighborhoods. I'm a firm believer that youth soccer can do a great job of building kids' both social and physical abilities. Particularly, I would like to donate to a scholarship program for such a club. Can you recommend one?
Thanks, FJ
ah, well, that's easy:
http://www.no-sa.org
New Orleans Soccer Academy. Youth soccer is essentially a middle-class/suburban thing in New Orleans, even more so since the storm. NOSA is based on the University of New Orleans campus, and has always done more for underprivileged kids than the more affluent clubs.
What a great idea, I applaud you for it!
I have been visiting sources like that lately. That’s the most important point of everything. That’s why I can professionally say that this information is objective and sounds true to me
There are many ways to express yourself in real word. I don’t see the reason why all those websites are still popular