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The Cabildo in New Orleans

I Got Shot in New Orleans | The Nation

I am presenting the whole article, as I really don't think a lot of people read The Nation and I believe this is an important message that anyone who loves New Orleans should share. Written by Mark Hertsgaard

I Got Shot in New Orleans

But I’m not giving up on this precious, important city. America shouldn’t either.

Mark Hertsgaard 

May 14, 2013  

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A possible shooting suspect shoots into a crowd of people in New Orleans. Police believe more than one gun was fired in the Mother's Day gunfire that wounded 19 people during a New Orleans neighborhood parade. (AP Photo/New Orleans Police Department)  

I got shot in New Orleans the other day, but that won’t make me give up on this magical, essential city—and neither should you.

When pistol shots rang out during a Mother’s Day “second line” jazz parade through the city’s Seventh Ward, the attack made news around the world. Police said nineteen people were injured, three of them critically, in the Sunday afternoon outburst. Two of the wounded were 10-year-old children (who have now been treated and released from the hospital).

As news of yet another tragedy emanates from New Orleans, outsiders may feel tempted to write the city off, once again, as a hopeless, crime-infested, hurricane-vulnerable hellhole that should be left to its own devices. But the realities of New Orleans are more complex than that—and more compelling. The truth is, the United States as a nation, and many foreign countries as well, need New Orleans to be a city that works. And that is not an impossible dream.

I say this as a journalist who has grown to love New Orleans over the course of many reporting visits since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I also say it as someone who carries a bullet in my leg from this last spasm of street violence.

It turns out that I was standing barely ten feet in front of the Mother’s Day parade shooter, as confirmed by the surveillance video the New Orleans police department released on Monday (I’m wearing a lime green shirt, orange shorts and cream fedora):

It’s important to understand that the second line parade is a cultural tradition dating back to New Orleans’ roots as the chief New World destination for the slave trade. Nowadays, virtually every Sunday, from September through June, one New Orleans neighborhood or another hosts a second line parade. One or more brass bands—which are composed of a dozen or so musicians who play a variety of horn and percussion instruments and are preceded by a phalanx of joyously gyrating dancers wearing brightly color-coordinated costumes—march through the streets, while crowds of people follow behind, making up the “second line” of the parade.

Each second line is sponsored by a social aid and pleasure club, a civic organization established to aid disadvantaged individuals in the long years of segregation, when blacks lacked equal access to government programs and private insurance. Nowadays, second line parades function mainly as a source of community pride and celebration (as I describe in this article about a Christmas second line in the Lower Ninth Ward five years after Hurricane Katrina).

The 2013 Mothers Day second line had halted momentarily at the intersection of Villiers and Frenchmen streets when I heard the “pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop” of pistol shots. Like everyone around me, I started to run, then dove to the ground. It’s a good thing I did. As the surveillance video shows, I’d have been directly in the shooter’s line of fire had I remained upright.

So I ended up getting shot in the leg, rather than higher up, the way my journalistic colleague Deborah Cotton was. Cotton, who blogged for the local weekly newspaper The Gambit under the name “Big Red Cotton,” had written frequently about both second line culture and gun violence in New Orleans. I didn’t know her personally but was stricken to learn that the shooting sent her to surgery, where doctors removed one of her kidneys. She is now in guarded, stable condition, according to her editor, Kevin Allman.

At a news conference Monday night, Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas named Akein Scott, 19, as the suspect seen shooting in the surveillance video. The Gambit reported that Scott had been arrested in March and charged with possession of heroin and stolen firearms, according to Orleans Parish Criminal Court records, and then released on bond in April. Scott remains at large.

Dr. Prateek Adhikari, the physician who treated my gunshot wound at Tulane Medical Center, was not surprised that violence marred the Mother’s Day second line.

“It seems like family holidays are when see we some of these mass casualties,” Adhikari, a trauma unit physician who grew up in New Orleans, told me. “A lot of people who may have left the neighborhood come back for second lines and holidays like Thanksgiving or Mardi Gras. The shooters know where those individuals will be and when, and they don’t care if other people are standing in the way when they start shooting.”

Mitch Landrieu, the mayor of New Orleans, has been careful to condemn the shooting, while holding blameless the second line, which he called “a sacred event” central to “the cultural beauty of New Orleans.” Speaking Monday at a rally at the shooting site, Landrieu added, “Yesterday was a symbol of a much, much deeper problem…. It’s our responsibility to do what is necessary…to make New Orleans a beautiful city we know it can be.”

Why should outsiders care about that mission?

The unsentimental reason is economics. It is an unalterable geographic fact that New Orleans sits at the mouth of the North American continent’s largest, most economically productive river system, the Mississippi. Thus it comes as no surprise that New Orleans is America’s number-one port. Without a functioning New Orleans, America’s status as the world’s leading agricultural superpower would be in jeopardy, as farmers in the Midwest would lose their main route of export. Likewise, as much as 90 percent of the oil and natural gas consumed and exported by the United States passes through New Orleans. The Louisiana Gulf coast also accounts for roughly one-third of all seafood Americans eat.

Personally, I care just as much about the unique cultural and musical treasures of New Orleans. America’s greatest contribution to world culture, jazz, was born in New Orleans, emerging from the legacy of slavery and the resulting mix of African rhythms and European musical structures. Today, New Orleans continues to boast the greatest music in America, perhaps the world, not just in the city’s countless clubs and bars but above all in the streets—in the boisterous, irresistibly infectious performances of brass bands in second line parades.

To abandon New Orleans would be to abandon this precious cultural heritage, which strikes me as a sin against all that is good and right and redemptive in the world.

Not only would it be unwise to give up on New Orleans, it is unnecessary. Yes, there have been many such shootings in New Orleans, and yes, serious steps must be taken to bring this deep-seated problem to heel, as Mayor Landrieu pledged Monday night.

But let no one doubt that these problems can be fixed. Other American cities have suffered from apparently intractable violent crime—Washington, D.C., and New York City come to mind—but they went on to fix and transcend these problems. This article is not the place to specify which counter-strategies are best suited to New Orleans; that is a larger, more complex discussion. But as I said on CNN the day after the shootings, defeating violent crime in New Orleans will require not only the city but the United States as a whole to expend real resources, not mere rhetoric.

More than one observer has said it’s a miracle that no one was killed at the Mother’s Day shooting in New Orleans. I myself am feeling lucky to be alive today. Nevertheless, I refuse to allow this deplorable incident to turn me against a city and a people that occupy such a special place in the nation’s and indeed the world’s culture and economy. And I hope that no one else falls into that trap either.

Mark Hertsgaard 

May 14, 2013  

Read more: http://www.thenation.com/article/174325/i-got-shot-new-orleans#ixzz2TNqvCCXZ

Windows Wednesday

Taken somewhere between Woldenberg Park and Lafayette Square in New Orleans, October 2012.

Windows Wednesday

Taken somewhere on our trek from Woldenberg Park to Lafayette Square last October during the Blues & BBQ Fest.



I really loved how clearly the sky reflected in the glass.

National Geographic on the refurbished Superdome

Pictures: Super Bowl XLVII 2013 Caps Banner Season in NFL Green Drive

Windows Wednesday

Sad, broken windows near the French Quarter. What stories they must hold!

Windows Wednesday

Taken at Lafayette Square in New Orleans

Scuzzbucket of the Month

Some "know-it-all" from ESPN (who HATE the Saints for some reason).

His comments on New Orleans are outlined below

Kristian: Colin Cowherd needs to re-examine his facts
by Kristain Garic , posted May 22 2012 4:01PM
ESPN's Colin Cowherd slammed New Orleans on his nationally syndicated talk show today.

No, not the Saints...the City of New Orleans itself!

"Can I ask you something," Cowherd said. "Why is the least-safe major city in the country now the default destination for every big sporting event?"

Cowherd seemed miffed that New Orleans landed the Super Bowl, the Final Four, the BCS National Championship AND possibly the Pro Bowl, all within the span of one calendar year.

"It is the least safe major city in the country…not my opinion, statistically the least safe," he said. "There are only two where locals will tell you, turn around, don't go that way…Detroit and New Orleans."

To say the City of New Orleans is unsafe is completely unfounded. Are some parts less desirable? Absolutely! Are there segments of this city that you shouldn’t venture into? Yes. But, that doesn’t mean New Orleans shouldn’t host major sporting events. What city is better at hosting sporting events than the Big Easy? None!

Click below to hear Cowherd's remarks:


Several times, Cowherd seemed to equate having a flashy airport with his idea of an ideal sports destination.

"(New Orleans) doesn't have a world-class airport. It is not geographically easy for much of the country to get to. I mean if you live Rocky Mountains west, New Orleans is a looong way away."

This is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. I mean, New Orleans is somewhat centrally located to the rest of the Continental United States and the 31 other NFL markets. How much farther is Miami or New York from "West of the Rocky Mountains?"

"I want a lot of hotel rooms, a great airport, good weather, safety,” Cowherd said. New Orleans is not top-15 in any of those."

Granted, New Orleans has a crime problem, but the numbers are somewhat skewed by violent crimes committed by people who know each other, and drug-related crime in some of the more downtrodden parts of the city. Yes, this is a major problem the city faces...but actual attacks upon tourists, and people in “tourist areas" are pretty rare.

He "wants a lot of hotel rooms?" Had he bothered to check, Cowherd would have found that in terms of hotel rooms, New Orleans is tops in the nation, in both quality and quantity.

And, NOT in the top 15 for "great weather?" Good God, man, where would you rather be in February for the Super Bowl? New York? Chicago? Green Bay?

I think it’s simple why New Orleans hosts major sporting event after sporting event. This city knows what it’s doing. We host a party like no other. We have police PROTECTION like no other. I’ve been to Super Bowls in other cities, and while they were nice, they didn’t have that "personal touch" of New Orleans. That's not just me talking, in Indianapolis dozens of people stopped by our broadcast booth on Radio Row and said, "Yes, Indy is nice, but we can't WAIT to be in New Orleans next year!" And when the Final Four was here, folks I talked to loved their experience.

Cowherd is a West Coast elitist who swoops in for a night or two, stays in a swanky upscale hotel, and gets whisked around in a limo surrounded by security. He doesn’t experience a fraction of what New Orleans really offers real fans in the sports scene. (Hell, no wonder he's so infatuated with hotel rooms and airports...that's ALL he ever sees!) No other city combines food, music, fun, night life, and local flavor like we do. Other cities do certain things well, but only New Orleans has it ALL, and more, within walking distance.

Hey, haters are gonna hate. If Cowherd is getting through the off-season by just trolling hard, I guess I'm just feeding the troll here. But, if he's got a bias against New Orleans because he doesn't like the city, he needs to man up and just admit it. Instead, his arguments are factually suspect at best, and intentionally malicious at worst.

Part of me says, "Screw him, Colin Cowherd can keep stay on the West Coast." But despite everything he said, I'm a fan of Cowherd's and would love to take the time to be a tour guide and show him both the good and bad of our town.

The door is open, Colin. Be responsible and take the time and effort to really learn about one of the greatest cities in the world before you slam it!

The river is HIGH

City Park's Botanical Gardens

By now I've pretty much established myself as a picture manic poster. I revel in sights that delight my eye.

After spending Friday at French Quarter Festival (a great time), we decided to check out City Park's Botanical Gardens. After this visit I will refer to it as the Garden of Eden. What a beautiful place it is. (note to self: go to thesaurus dot com to find a more appropriate word for beautiful).

Between the two of us, hubby and I took over 1,000 pictures. No kidding. I've only checked out what I took as of this posting. I have whittled down my 500 plus pix to 50, but don't worry - I will not post them all here. Just what I think are the best.

So without much further ado I present you the beauty of the Botanical Gardens at City Park




















































If you ever visit the Botanical Gardens, there is a fantastic, secret garden for train lovers. It's the Train Garden and I plan to publish my pictures from this wonderfully imaginative garden soon. If you're ever bored on the internet - as my 22 year old daughter is wont to do - check out the rest of my Botanical Garden pix at my photobucket site

New Orleans' Beauty

The historic French Quarter balconies live together with the modern day skyscrapers in New Orleans. I love this city.

A Crown Jewel in New Orleans

It has been close to ten years since I ventured to City Park in New Orleans. Since then the park has recovered from Katrina and is looking as beautiful as she can. Hubby and I had business to do in "Kennah" and chose City Park to kill some time; we were happily surprised in the beauty that the park offers. If you're interested, this site Offers the history of the Park. I never knew it was once the site of a plantation.

Here are the pictures, in no particular order.

Click on pictures for larger versions.


the sundial




Popp's Bandstand


Called the "Colombier de Carol", this building is also called City Park Pigeonierre, or a dovecote.


This is the plaque for the Colombier . Designed and dedicated by former City Park President and New Orleans barrister Felix Dreyfous.

Speaking of signs and plaques, City Park has so many plaques throughout its 1,300 acres and you can find them and their history at this website.









There are so many bridges crossing the Lagoon at the Park. I fell in love with each and every one of them, as none of them are the same.




The Peristyle, built in 1907.



One of the lions outside the Peristyle


I spotted this very beauty at a ticket window just outside the kiddie playground.

After walking the length of the lagoon, we decided to cross the street into another fenced in portion of the park and were extremely happy to discover that it was the Bestoff Sculpture Garden!



A coworker told me about this garden several years ago and I'd been meaning to find it. Glad we did today. What a tremendous place to spend some time.

Described by goneworleans about dot com as follows:

It's a 5-acre garden under cypress and magnolia trees, as well as, centuries-old oak trees laden with Spanish moss, in the heart of City Park. It is beautifully landscaped. The garden contains several water features including a small cascading garden pool with stepping stones to cross. A lagoon that bisects the garden empties into two large basins, each containing a large sculpture. A sculpture pool cascades down into one of the lagoon basins. The lagoons are filled with fish and turtles. Herons and swans inhabit the area as well. Pathways wonder through the garden and lead to the larger sculptures. Because these paths were designed to preserve the extensive root patterns of the over 200 year-old live oak trees, they wonder through the garden in a design dictated by nature. Smaller sculptures are exhibited in the elliptical Sculpture Theater.

For a dollar you can obtain a guide to the sculptures, which I highly recommend.


Entitled "Mother and Child (1988) by Fernando Botero





Tree of Necklaces (reminded me of Mardi Gras) (2002) by Jean-Michel Othoniel


"Window and Ladder - Too Late for Help" by Leandro Erlich




This one is called "Monkeys" by Rona Pondick and it's really disturbing when you look closely.




"Travelin' Light" by Alison Saar



Pablo Casals' Obelisk (1983) by Arman







One of the strangest things we discovered was what appears to be a grave between the sculpture garden and the botanical garden.





We only could spend three hours at the park today, so we agreed that our next trip in two weeks we will visit the Botanical Gardens and the NOMA. Pictures to follow.