Philadelphia and Kansas Metropolis performed Sunday in Tremendous Bowl LIX — nicely, not less than Philadelphia did — however the aura surrounding the sport was all about New Orleans and Los Angeles.
The Huge Simple gave everybody the proper the place: the Superdome, Bourbon Road, huge bands, beads, parades and music for miles. The why was for Los Angeles, a response to final month’s devastating wind and fireplace that burned almost 100 sq. miles, upending lots of of 1000’s of lives in just some brief weeks. There was the pregame present parade of stars lengthy related to Hollywood, from Brad Pitt to Tom Cruise; within the stands had been of us like Paul Rudd and Anne Hathaway. After which Compton’s personal, Pulitzer Prize-winning Kendrick Lamar strode onstage for the halftime present, ending along with his current Grammy-winning tune “Not Like Us.”
New Orleans’ message for Lamar and all of L.A. was clear: You will be similar to us.
Almost 20 years have handed since Hurricane Katrina tore via New Orleans in August 2005, when devastating wind and water overwhelmed the town. The Superdome itself, New Orleans’ “front room,” was battered however nonetheless offered shelter to greater than 10,000 folks unable to get out forward of the storm.
Nicely earlier than Katrina, Tennessee Williams supposedly as soon as joked that New Orleans was considered one of “solely three cities” in America, and “every thing else is Cleveland.” After Katrina, may the town come again?
It has. Possibly not precisely the identical. Possibly not fully intact. However the essence, the soul of the town, it’s nonetheless there — the nice instances roll as soon as once more. Laissez les bon temps rouler. And the soul of the town just isn’t exhausting to seek out. Simply speak to a neighborhood for 5 minutes.
Like my pal’s Aunt Betsy. Whereas visiting New Orleans lately, at brunch I sat subsequent to her. She’s lived her life in New Orleans and wouldn’t have it another means. She made a case for the meals, saying that elsewhere folks simply “eat to dwell,” however in New Orleans they “dwell to eat.”
Come on, I believed. A pal joked to me that New Orleans is “both the best-run metropolis within the Caribbean, or the worst-run metropolis in America.” There are graffiti and potholes, and blue tarps on a lot of homes. I noticed a cat-sized lifeless rat.
However even Katrina couldn’t kill the tradition. It’s catastrophe resistant. It grew again, and can at all times develop again, which is why this metropolis’s message is precisely what Los Angeles wants to listen to proper now.
The soul of New Orleans continues to be basically oral. They’ve received so many good phrases. Faubourg. Hubig’s. Impartial floor. Rougarou. CheeWees. Bourbon Road gravy. Po’boy (dressed). Fleur-de-lis. Sazerac. Krewe. Tchoupitoulas. (Warning: Some would possibly trigger a ChatGPT meltdown.)
They even struggle over how one can pronounce the darn metropolis’s title. Some pitch down the center with “New Or-LEENS.” Just a few gussy it up with a “New Or-LEE-ANNS.” Others soiled it down with “Nawlins.” Some would possibly discover that off-putting, however I feel it’s nice. It reveals they care.
Some New Orleanians could also be wealthy, however cash doesn’t matter a lot right here. The peasants eat like kings. Cafe Du Monde: open 24 hours a day for beignets, money solely. Parkway for po’boys, particularly the roast beef. Turkey and the Wolf sells one of the best Reuben sandwich in America (and it’s meatless, made with collard greens). Or Hansen’s Sno-Bliz for a scorching day, 86 years operating — so you’ll be able to “air situation your tummy.” All these rough-cut delicacies will set you again lower than a ten-spot.
Tradition is for everybody. Music and menu-making are mass-spread contagion actions that transmit tradition. Welcome the world by doing one thing nowhere else does.
And coronary heart is the cherry on prime of all of it. On the best way out of city, Aunt Betsy went out of her option to drop off an unlimited tin of pralines (“PRAW-leens,” by the best way, positively not “PRAY-leens”). It was that final little contact. The heat. The kindness. Or was it somewhat little bit of a gross sales pitch for her beloved metropolis? I can’t say, however the pralines are gone and I’m very, very joyful.
So what can LA supply to L.A.? What can the swamp educate the seashore? What can the Metropolis of Saints inform the Metropolis of Angels after final month’s devastating fires?
You may’t maintain a great metropolis down. You’ll be again up, and shortly. And no matter makes L.A. considered one of a sort, lean in to that.
From New Orleans to Los Angeles: You will be similar to us.
ML Cavanaugh is the creator of the forthcoming e-book “Greatest Scar Wins: How You Can Be Extra Than You Had been Earlier than.” @MLCavanaugh
