Causing a Commotion

Good morning, Thursday, how are you doing today?

We’ve been having a bit of a cold spell this week–cold for New Orleans in April, at any rate; the temperature has not gone over seventy this week. It’s also not gone below sixty, either–but these are unusual temperatures for this time of year here. April is usually our spring, with mid-seventies and no humidity–that doesn’t start until May and builds daily until September. I am a little worried about this hurricane season and how hot it’s going to be here this summer., but…don’t stress over things that you can’t control, Gregalicious. It’s not going to even make it out of the sixties and into the seventies today.

I was thinking the other night about how many wonderful books I’ve read this year, and was trying to remember the last time I read one I didn’t really like or enjoy very much (Nelson Algren’s A Walk on the Wild Side, absolutely hated it, but kept reading because I felt like I should). There’s so much good work out there from phenomenal writers that it’s kind of a good time to be a mystery reader. I mean, Bobby Mathews’ Living the Gimmick, Cheryl A. Head’s Time’s Undoing, and this Margot Douaihy debut alone are some amazing stories with terrific, mind-blowing language use. And that’s only three; I’ve read so many others that are great this year–and one can never go wrong with Carol Goodman.

The other day when I was driving home from work down Howard Avenue down to Harmony Circle, I was stopped at the light at Carondelet. Usually, I just keep my eyes on the light waiting for it to change, but this time I wanted to see who was driving the car beside me in the right lane (because they’d been driving erratically ever since we merged onto Howard off Loyola). I don’t remember anything about the driver or the car now (it was of no import, really) but I noticed something I’d never seen before: The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience (https://msje.org/)! Over the years, studying and reading up on New Orleans history, I was always struck by how important the Jewish community in New Orleans was, and by the fact that there were very few books (if any) I could find about the rich and varied history; the first King of Rex was Jewish (Rex restricted the Jewish community from membership shortly thereafter), and there were so many that were philanthropists and did a lot of good for the city–and the Jewish experience in New Orleans had to be vastly different than that of those who settled in New York; most of the Jewish community here (I believe) were Alsatian or German in heritage. But it was very exciting to discover that there’s a new museum about that very thing! Tickets are only $15; so I think once this revision is finished and off my desk I might spend fifteen bucks to go check it out–it’s also walking distance, so even better. What better way to start looking into the history of the Jewish community in New Orleans than a visit to a museum that focuses on that very thing?

And I should also check out the World War II museum, which is also a short walk. And twice as expensive! But I could also make a day of it and have lunch there at the restaurant, which is obviously 1940’s themed. That would make a lovely day, wouldn’t it? And World War II just fascinates me so much. I should reread Christopher Bram’s debut novel, Hold Tight–it’s been a hot minute and I of course don’t remember anything about it except undercover gay man looking for spies in the queer underground in San Francisco during the war.

Despite my good night’s sleep, I started flagging a bit in the afternoon, and was terribly tired after I ran the errands and did some chores once I got home before collapsing into my chair to provide a lap for Scooter to sleep in. (Never ever underestimate the power of a cat purring in his sleep in your lap for relaxation and comfort.) My sleep was continually interrupted by having to get up to go to the bathroom several times in the first few hours of sleep–not entirely sure what that was all about, to be honest–but was able to get up out of the comfort of bed gradually (I do feel like the bed and the blankets are kind of calling to me now to come back). Tomorrow instead of getting to sleep later than usual, I still have to get up to go in for a health fair (required for our health insurance) and then have a staff meeting before getting to come back home. I did manage to buy early check-in for my flight to Malice Domestic in a couple of weeks, and made the parking reservation at my preferred off-airport lot. So that’s all taken care of, huzzah! And and it’s kind of Thursday already, isn’t it? I don’t feel like I got as much done this week as I should have, but that just means I really have to dive into the book this weekend–which is fine, really. I’ve been super productive on weekends lately, which is actually a very good thing, and I am already falling behind on this one as it is. I don’t think I have to go make groceries this weekend, either; I probably should anyway, just to get some odds and ends that we’ll probably need to replenish.

And on that note, I am heading into the spice mines. Have a lovely day, Constant Reader and I will check in with you again tomorrow.