My Trip to New Orleans

I have to start this blog off by telling Elizabeth how sorry I am for her loss. As some of you know one of my BFFs, Elizabeth, lost her sister Wendy last month. Wendy was shot and killed by two 15year old boys and one 14 year old boy during an attempted armed robbery in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Because Elizabeth is like a sister to me, I flew to N.O. to be there for her at the memorial the community had planned for Wendy, and I'm so grateful that I was there because I learned a lot: Wendy was an amazing person that was taken too soon, and although we may stereotype that all people in N.O. are "bad" people after hearing about this and other horrible events, we met some truly wonderful people.

I flew in Friday evening and stayed up late that night with Sierra and Elizabeth to hear what had been going on with the detectives and the suspects and to hear about the people they had already met. Saturday morning we went to pick up Cami and Joanna at the airport and headed back to The 9th Circle, a bar we came to frequent the short time we were there. You see the owner, Irish Mike, was Wendy's best friend and although there wasn't that much of an age gap between them, she had asked Mike to give her away at her wedding. Yes, Wendy was planning her first wedding and had finally found love. That's probably the part that gets me the most: it's wrong that she had to be taken (and so violently) as she was about to start a new life with a man she loved. They had even decided to buy a house in Georgia. It's hard not to hate the boys who took Wendy from us and all the people who loved her.

Saturday afternoon was the Second Line parade. Wendy wasn't much of a church-goer, so the community memorialized her by hosting a parade in her honor. This was the best "funeral" I've ever been too and I've been to a few in my days. The band played music as we walked the streets behind the horse-drawn carriage and danced in the streets of the Quarter. Instead of a sad memorial, a Second Line Parade is supposed to be a time to celebrate one's life. Basically, it's a party in the streets. Now that's the way to go in my opinion. I don't want people to be sad when I die. Instead, I want people to drink, party and remember all the good times we shared. And that exactly what the people of the Quarter did. Whether they knew Wendy or not, people came to celebrate. I swear though there must have been close to a thousand people in the parade. So awesome to see! Especially since we all know that's what Wendy would have wanted. After the parade, everyone went back to one of the bars Wendy worked at called Aunt Tiki's for a late lunch. People came up to Kris and Wendy to introduce themselves and tell them stories of how they knew Wendy and what she meant to them. It was funny hearing some of the stories because Wendy was known to be a rebellious woman who took no shit and freely spoke her mind. (Boy, do I need to take a few lessons from her life.) Late that night Elizabeth, Sierra and Joanna went to the drag show that some of Wendy's friends put together to honor her. I heard it was a blast. Unfortunately, I was exhausted and knew I couldn't stay up til midnight, so I took Cami home and crashed that night. Hopefully, Elizabeth will write stories about it on her FB page to share with everyone. :-)

Sunday we got to spend more time with Kris (Elizabeth's older sister), Kris's boyfriend Speedy (aka Israel) who I came to love (Kris, don't let this one get away...he's awesome!), Elizabeth's aunt Marcy, Irish Mike, and the girls. I had asked that while we were there if one meal we could try some Southern food. I got my wish. I was polite and tried what Irish Mike ordered for us to try: fried pickles (which I've had before at The Counter), chicken livers (they aren't so bad covered in the sauce they're served with), turkey neck (which was like tender dark meat), greens (collard and mustard...not my cup of tea), and I ordered candied yams (which I already love) and crab cakes. I was proud that Elizabeth even tried most of these considering she generally doesn't like to try new things. But she did and Irish was proud of her. At least she didn't order the spaghetti and meatballs. Ha ha. We then had to go back to Wendy's apartment so Elizabeth could pick up some things she wanted to keep. I can't imagine how hard that must have been for Elizabeth, but she's such a rock and didn't breakdown as much as I would have (or did for that matter it seems like). We then walked around the Quarter a bit and saw a few art galleries and antique stores, but since everyone told us not to walk the streets pass dark, we headed back to the hotel early. We ordered room service for dinner (which was way overpriced and not very tasty) and Sierra and Elizabeth washed some of their clothes because they reeked of smoke from all the bars we'd been into.

It was great to be able to see my girlfriends, but obviously I would have preferred if it had been under better circumstances. I knew I had to be there for Elizabeth and am so glad I went. It was weird being away from Inara for 3 1/2 days and I missed her greatly, but this was a trip I knew I would regret if I didn't make it. I'm also so glad that I got to meet Irish Mike. This man is a godsend. He did a lot to help Elizabeth and Kris out and he's vowed to represent them during the court trial. I know I couldn't be in the same room as those punk kids, so I'm so grateful that he's doing that for them. He is seriously one of the nicest guys I've ever had the chance to meet. I know how close he and Wendy were, so this has been a difficult situation for him to, but he was so strong for Elizabeth and Kris. He was rather protective of them too. For example, during the parade, we started going by the corner where Wendy was shot and he warned them in case they didn't want to see it. The whole day he kept telling people this was not a day for politics but a day for remembering Wendy. He's like the big brother the girls never had. I can't say enough great things about him. Plus, he's from Ireland, so you know he's cool. He also told us funny stories about his previous career: he was an artificial inseminator for dairy cows. That's just plain crazy, but it sure makes for some good stories. It was hard to say good-bye to him, especially since he has to constantly hear about Wendy on the news and see the street memorials everywhere for her. My heart breaks every time I think about Elizabeth, Kris, and Irish Mike. I just wish there was more I could do to ease the pain. All I can do is offer my help any way I can. I love you guys!!!