New Orleans is the City Care Forgot

Modesty is always in style, even in New Orleans, LA.

Many, little things happen in New Orleans.  They all add up.  The good buries the bad.  Not every melody is a dirge, but every melody is a march.  A cry of agony can sound the same as joy.  You can sob with laughter, or you can sob with tears.  You can cry because you are happy.  Those who are true to their heart of hearts, cannot know anxiety.  New Orleans is the City That Care Forgot.

How much does an artist earn in New Orleans?

Ah! Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA!

I neglected to mention that we attended the "Art for Art's Sake" event this past Saturday.  Galleries were open in the Warehouse District around Julia Street and Magazine and further down Magazine, around the 3000 addresses, between roughly Louisiana and Napoleon Avenues.

We spent our time Uptown on Magazine Street, figuring Julia Street would be too crowded.  We walked over on White Linen Night and it was just too congested.  Magazine Street was a pleasure and not just because of the weather and the crowds and the musicians.  It wasn't just because we wandered into welcoming shops that we haven't wandered into before either.  We saw some really nice art.  That's always refreshing and it got me thinking about the city's art scene anew, not that I've been losing sleep worrying over it.

What we saw was top-notch.  It wasn't as esoteric and conceptually generic as that displayed in the Julia Street galleries.  It was a cut above the art for sale at the Riverbend Art Market (no offense intended to those professionals).  It was a little rougher, perhaps, than what you'll find in the tourist galleries on Royal Street, but it had a little more flavor too.

What struck me most about the shows was the prices for the artwork.  This was good, solid work in many media but no price tag seemed unreasonable.  In fact, a savvy collector could snatch up a museum-worthy roomful at a bargain.  For the effort that obviously went into some of these pieces, I was surprised for what they were selling for.

I don't know what this says about New Orleans' art market.  I know Julia Street galleries have a reputation to build and they charge accordingly.  I didn't see much there during White Linen Night to catch my fancy.  I know the artists in Jackson Square make their living moving product and they have low overhead costs; some of the work down there exceeds the Warehouse District's wares.  The galleries on Magazine Street are showing local art removed from critical acclaim and the tourist trade.  What I saw on Saturday was outside the standards of both of these and better both as an aesthetic pleasure and an investment.

It was art for art's sake.  Ars longa, vita brevis.  I was talking to a Jackson Square artist the other day.  He said, "I make a little as a bartender and I make a little as a painter.  It's a hard life."  I think the law of supply and demand may be at play here but I need more time to test the waters and hold my finger in the prevailing wind.

A tip of the fedora to New Orleans painters, sculptors and sketchers,
WK

No trashy emergency

What can I say?  I can say the staff in the emergency room at Touro Infirmary is professional, efficient and a pleasure to deal with.  I'm not one to visit a doctor usually, but it's nice to have a fully staffed hospital down the street.  I can't wait to see the bill.

Being a medical biller, I know that insurers purchase medical services wholesale while people without insurance pay retail.  Everyone knows that only a sucker pays retail.  No insurance means that I didn't have much choice.  It's how the system is set up.  Unlike other businesses, you can't ask for a discount if you pay cash up front rather than set up a tedious payment plan.  They aren't allowed to offer discounts on prices they conjure out the air.

If a clinic were open in the dead of night, I would have much preferred to go there for half the retail expense.  It's the luck of the clock.  The nurse was nice enough to tell me what clinics are close to my home so I wouldn't have to go to a full scale hospital if my symptoms recurred during normal working hours.

Now that I know the problem, there isn't much chance I'll be seeking professional care over OTC, self-treatment until a doctor's office opens.  I woke up in the middle of the night and I said to myself, "If someone told you this, what would you advise?  You'd tell them to go to the hospital and damn the cost."  For once, I listened to reasonable advice, even if it was my own.  I opened a dresser drawer to put on a shirt and the sound awoke the lady of the house.  "What are you doing?" she asked.  "I'm going to the hospital,"  I answered.  "Do you want me to drive you?" she replied.  "Yes," was my answer.

No hubbub.  We just got in the car and took care of business.  Have I mentioned before that I am in love?

Today's illustration is the sign for the Trashy Diva shop on Magazine Street.  Have I mentioned before that I love New Orleans?