From a young age, I’ve known what it means. I have the Dirty Coast sticker on my laptop that says so. Somehow, the city captured my heart right from the start and now there’s no turning back. Maybe you feel the same way. It’s really hard to resist such a beauty with so much charm. Maybe it’s genetic…There was my grandfather, my aunt, my dad, and now me. But who can really blame a soul for falling in love with a place like the Big Easy? Sure, some may see it as sin city but there’s no denying the indescribable pull the city has.
It’s true, the longer I stay away, the more I miss it. I’ll randomly find myself daydreaming about walking around the city, hearing street bands or the Creole Queen’s calliope playing in the distance. Maybe you find yourself catching imaginary wafting smells of gumbo or craving a muffuletta from Central Grocery. Or maybe you just want a yummy plate of fried dough and powdered sugar, AKA beignets. You could also grab a café au lait before you head to Magazine Street to do some shopping. Maybe you miss being able to walk along the banks of the mighty Mississippi through Crescent Park. Wandering through the Bywater looking at all the colorful homes sounds like an excellent way to spend an afternoon. If it's a typical warm summer day, you may pick up a delicious snowball to cool off.
At night, the city really comes to life. Tipitina’s has some pretty rocking concerts, not to mention a legacy that will give you chills. If you venture over to Frenchmen, you’re bound to find some of the city’s best musicians in clubs like Snug Harbor, the Spotted Cat, or any of them really. Kick back in one of these joints, grab a drink, and enjoy one of New Orleans’ s trademarks, jazz. If you’re hungry, you may stop in the Praline Connection and get some of the finest fried chicken the city has to offer. Wander on down a little farther and you’ll find the Frenchmen Art Market, budding with inventive creatives selling their incredible creations.
But there is so, so much more than that to this city. It’s impossible to fit everything into one of these articles. I’d have to write one article a week on the Big Easy to just scratch the surface. It’s a one of a kind place where there’s a contagious laid back, laissez-faire, attitude. You could live there and quite literally be a tourist in your own city when you feel like it; you’ll always see something new. The lucky people who get to live there know there’s a time for work but there’s just as much time, if not more, for celebrating. There’s a festival for just about everything, Satchmo Fest to honor Louis Armstrong, French Quarter Fest, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, White Linen, Oyster Fest, Southern Decadence, Creole Tomato Fest, and numerous others. Likewise, there’s a parade for every occasion, including jazz funerals. In a city so rich in culture and history, who can blame them for wanting to party all the time?
So, what does it really mean to miss New Orleans? I don’t even really know where to begin on that one. There’s no right or wrong answer, it’s whatever you feel. To me, it’s like leaving home. Being in a beautiful city with so much history and culture among fellow creatives and the generally interesting inhabitants there gives me a sense of belonging.
The fact of the matter is, you can be as weird as you want to be and not be seen as an outcast. There’s definitely something about the Big Easy that makes you unafraid to let your freak flag fly. No matter how ridiculously humid or smelly it may be, New Orleans is and has been my home away from home; as Mr. Armstrong’s song says, it’s “where you left your heart.” If New Orleans had a jar for all the hearts left there, I’m sure there are thousands of jars. At the end of the day, missing NOLA is like missing home. You’ll constantly see things that remind you of that place or find yourself wishing you could return there. The only question is, what’s stopping you?
