Great Weather , Great Ride.

Spent last Sat and Sun in the Quarter, it's amazing the sights you see, the sounds you hear and the odors you smell. Did 35 miles Sat and 30 Sunday. Preparing for the Tour De Lis on May the 8th, it's a charity tour to raise money for cancer research. Since Marie and I are both Cancer survivors, I try to support cancer research and the pink stuff for the ladies. I usually take West Napoleon to Metairie Road to Canal St to the Quarter, not many miles , I make my miles on the way home, traveling along the Lake, to Kenner or from the Quarter to Audubon Park the River to Williams then home. I was amazed on Royal St three red suit clad gentlemen were
trying their best to do wop, they were ok but I wouldn't look for them on American Idol. They had their official panhandlers bucket out for all that tourist money. I haven't seen one of those 3 gallon buckets half full yet. All the nuts that color themselves silver and gold were out standing still , mime rejects. The weather was great , the sights phenomenal, and the high was perfect. I stopped and sat on the River bank a while an just watched the people go by, naturally I had to concoct a life story for each one, it's my job. When one of the twelve versions of Little Wing (Hendrix) is playing on my MP3 the world is nothing but insight, it's all thought , I'm overtaken by the music, my senses reach out and touch every thing around me, I become where I am, I'm not in the Quarter I am the Quarter. That's how I felt when I was 16 years old down here I wasn't here I was . Saw some kink of stuffed bird hawking drinks and playing the scrub board. Got me excited almost made me want to drink (not). I'm always interested in tattoos, don't have one, never will, I wonder what motivates someone to put on a permanent mark, I change too much for that, anyway this lady had 2 on her back, I couldn't figure out what they were until I got home and blew up the pics, looks like 2 angel wings, is it dichotomy or irony, not sure. Took a self portrait on the Washington Artillery Memorial , a kid on roller blades ask me if he could take my pic with my camera for me, I looked all over my jersey and couldn't find a name tag that said stupid, so I declined, he was on roller blades. If you've ever wondered what happened to Rin Tin Tin he's selling dogie treats on Royal Street. Hemingway would have cursed him. I wanted to throw in some pictures of the River nice and brown before the oil disaster ruins it. and the final photo is the blimp attacking the St Louis Cathedral, those anti Catholics don't know when to stop. No actually it a blimp over the Jazz Fest a few blocks away.
I usually ride around the Jazz Fest and listen to a little music but this year my Kevlar vest was in the dry cleaner. And who wants to hear Pearl Jam anyway. It's not like , Hendrix, or Joplin, or
the Animals , or Country Joe and the Fish are playing. Little Wing has words, it's a beautiful song, there are 147 versions on I tunes,. all different . Stevie Ray Vaughn has the Best instrumental version and Jenn Adams has the best vocal version, there's even a oriental version.
I doubt that Hendrix knew what a masterpiece he left behind. Imagine if you can your only 3 inches tall and your sitting in a lawn chair on my head while I'm riding , that's what it feels like to me, I'm a traveler on myself. it's a high worth reaching for . I didn't get to ride much this weekend but I'll have fresh legs for the Tour De Lis. I'll ride Mon , Tues, wed and Thur nights,
take off Fri and ride out to the race Saturday morning and count the ride home in my distance, its only about 8 miles to the house. . .I'll have my camera and report the excitement.
If your interested in donating http://www.tourdelis.com/
I close with Summertime by Billy Stewart. .
and now I sign off listeniing to Crystal Ships by the Doors.
later
gary
ps. click on the pics and they enlarge nicely.