New Orlleans was: Re: [SOC] Anglo-American Translation

[Randall Jouett]

Hi again, John. Good to hear from your again.

> My "fond" meories of New Orleans are back in 1978, when I was
> living in Meridian, MS, I went to New Orleans to take my Commercial
> Radiotelegraph Test. I got there with  XYL the night before (driving a 73
> VW Bug). Stayed at a Travelodge on Canal St. About 8PM, I walked out
> to the parking lot to get a map from the car, and slipped on some wet oil
> (everything in NO is wet and greasy it seems). I fell with my knee doubled
> under me, and tore it up. It hurt so bad I blacked out for a minute. Then I
> couldn't get any help, so I crawled back to the room. My knee was swelling
> up like a balloon, so I called the front desk and told them what happened,
> and asked for a large bucket of ice.  They REFUSED! Said they didn't go out
> after 6PM!

Yep. They probably didn't go out after six because the management
told the not to, I'd bet! I also bet that they'd been either mugged or
robbed a couple of times, too! That particular area of New Orleans
can be VERY dangerous at night, John! IMHO, they still should have
tried to help you, though!


> I told them I would sue there sorry asses. About 15 minutes later,
> a knock on the door..and a New Orleans policeman, with a bucket
> in one hand, and his other on his gun. Seems the manager thought I
> was setting him up for the robbery or something.


Believe it or not, the front desk actually did help you here, John!
They called the cops, of course, because it is dangerous to be out
and about in that area at night. Anywho, people are on edge there, John,
not knowing who to trust. This should let you know what kind of area
you were staying in, too.


> The bucket at least had my ice. He wanted me to go to the hospital,
> but I was determined to take my test the next morning, so asked him
> to escort my wife to the nearest drug store for an Ace Bandage. He 
> refused and left. So she went by herself, and thankfully was not
> accosted.


Damn. That sounds like par for the course for the N.O. police! One
time I was down in the Quarter when I was around 20 or so, saw a
cop car, and decided to ask them for directions. I knocked on their
car window, and both of them drew their weapons and pointed them
directly at my person. One of the cops rolled down his window and
asked me what I wanted. I told him I needed directions to an obscure
location in the Quarter that I'd been looking for for the past 30 minutes
or so. He told me I must have passed it 3-4 times, and it was "right back
over there next to that alley." There wasn't a sign, because somebody stole
the thing! He then told me to never, ever knock on a cop car in that area
of New Orleans at night. He said that was a good way to get shot!


> The next morning I strapped up the knee, and went for my test. Found
> the elevator in the old Federal building (near Lafayette Square if I remember),
> was out of service, so I  had to go UP three flights of stairs. By the time I got there
> I was in agony. Then, I couldn't get my knee under the desk, so had to sit sideways
> to copy the CW and send  (25 WPM).
> 
> Then, after that, the long drive back to Meridian....in the VW bug.
> 
> BTW, I passed.

Congrats, and way to go, John!

> But I still condider New Orleans the cesspool of the South.

And guess what? I _TOTALLY_ agree with you!!!!

> Wouldn't set foot there again if you paid me. I really regret not
> suing the crap out of that Motel.


Truthfully, I only go to New Orleans when friends come over
from out of the country or state and ask me to take them there,
go on business, or I go to play in the Chess State Championship
tournament when it's held there. When staying there, I only stay
at top-notch hotels, where your belongings and person are constantly
watched. When I use to drink alcohol, I'd only party at the Lake Front
area.


BTW, the Cajuns think New Orleans is a place to be avoided!
Our area of Louisiana is _NOTHING_ like New Orleans, and
we think that the city is populated mainly by a bunch of damn
animals that are controlled by a very corrupt police force and
government!!!! Undoubtedly, there are some fantastic people that
live there, and they are very decent human beings. I know many
of them personally. Overall, though, around 60 to 75% of the population
of New Orleans are down-right animals, and this is why you see people
like David Duke becoming popular there. BTW, the Cajuns hate Duke
with a passion, but we can understand why somebody like him can make
it to the forefront of New Orleans politics, unfortunately!

 
Very, very unfortunately, New Orleans (and the state) is mainly
controlled by the Mafia. New Orleans was the first state to have
the mob in the USA, with the mob being brought over to this
country when the Sicilians came here. (BTW, I know a lot of
Italian/Sicilian people, and almost every one of them are good,
intelligent, decent people, and I'm glad to call them my friends!)


The Marcellos Family was very highly respected by the mob
for being the first family in the USA, so the head of their
family isn't expected to show up and conduct business with
the rest of the mob syndicate. They do this out of "respect."
They were/are also the defacto control of the southern USA --
no questions asked! Ever hear of the term "deep pockets?"
That was started by Carlos Marcellos. He had extra-long,
deep pockets sewn into his pants, and he would carry around
thousands and thousands of dollars in bribe money in his "deep pockets"
and just buy somebody off it they got upset about something his family
was trying to do.


Anywho, the mob has had control of Louisiana and has corrupted this
state for around 150 years or so. The people around here are NOT
stupid, and we've tried and tried to remove political corruption from
our state and take it back from the criminals. With 150 years of corruption,
it's just damn hard to weed those people out, especially when they control
the individuals that could oust them, such as the local police force, judges,
and even the local FBI!


On a MUCH happier note, our late Governor, Edwin Edwards, has been
convicted of racketeering, and he now faces a mandatory sentence of ten
years in prison! Our insurance commissioner was also convicted, and the
damn idiot says that he's going to run again! LOL! Actually, the political
corruption down here has been going on for so long and is so bad that the
residents of Louisiana just say, "Well, they're all a bunch of damn crooks,
so we might as well vote for the crook from our area that's going to do the
most for our region of the state!" This -- AHEM! -- "reasoning and logic"
is what kept Edwards in office for so long, btw! In a lot of respects, though,
you can't really blame the people for doing this, because they're almost certain
that the political-corruption wagon is just going to continue to roll along it's
merry way as it always has, unfortunately. We've seen this all happen too
many times before, and we've seen too many people in high places getting
bought off by the mob and the corrupt politicians. Well, we don't have
absolute proof of this, and even if we did, this would be a good way to
find yourself in a cement box, checking out the fish in the bottom of the
Mississippi. Yep! People are that scared around here, and we've actually
seen stuff like this happen to people we know!


So, is Louisiana a banana republic, controlled by the mob and political
corruption? YOU BET! Also, this is the reason why Louisiana has a MASSIVE
brain drain, with the vast majority of the college graduates moving out
to other states for greener pastures. This is also the reason why I mainly
come to Louisiana to visit my family and work almost exclusively in
Houston, TX., which I'm proud to call my part-time home! OTOH, I love
the Cajun people (as does Joel, KE1LA), and this area of Louisiana keeps
almost all of the corruption and slimy crap in the state at bay. This is a
totally different area of Louisiana, and anyone who has visited Lafayette and
Cajun country will most definitely tell you that our area of Louisiana is
_NOTHING_ like the rest of the state (or the rest of the country, for that
matter! :^) ). If you want to look at an atypical Cajun, look at Senator John
Breaux and listen to him when he speaks on CNN and such. He's a typical
Cajun. His Louisiana home is around a block from my family home, and
I can tell you from experience that he's a fantastic human being, although
I'm not too fond of his semi-left-wing politics! :^) :^)


Well, I hope this semi-resident Cajun's views shed some insight into the
situation here in Louisiana. Will things every get straightened out here?
Probably, but it's more than likely going to take 20-30 years to weed out
the bad apples, and by that time I'll be retired. This is yet another reason
why I've left Louisiana to work in Houston, taking advantage of a good
situation while I'm still young and productive! I'd imagine that most of the
other folks that have left this state to work and live elsewhere are using the
same reasoning, too! They'd be MEGA-STUPID if they didn't, IMHO! OTOH,
the Cajun area of Louisiana is a WONDERFUL area for family and friends,
and it's DAMN hard to stay away for too long! Not only that, but the women
down here are MEGA-FRICKING BEAUTIFUL! Believe it or not, Ali Landry,
a Hollywood actress and an ex Miss America, is just par for the course around
here! You seen women like her (and better looking) on a daily basis in
Cajun country.

73!

Randall
AB5NI