Mascot-eating Tigers and Potlucks in Bars

**This version includes some grammatical corrections, noted by my brother. I said that miles were "m.", but they're actually "mi." And I used to be a geometry teacher!!**

2023 mi. + 180 mi. (New Orleans to Baton Rouge and back) +500 mi. (New Orleans to Houston, air) +1,324 mi. (Houston to Philadelphia, air) + 350 mi. (Philadelphia to Wheeling, WV) = 4,377 miles

Current location: Wheeling, West Virginia

States traveled in: 5

Number of cows saw in Pennsylvania: probably around 300

Po-Boys eaten: 2

Bourbon Streets walked down: 1

Number of dueling pianos witnessed: two (is it possible to have one dueling piano?? write in with your answer!)

Number of dishes at the potluck in a New Orleans bar while watching the Saints game: close to 20

...and we'll start this week's blog with that last fast. A potluck dinner, free food, in a BAR. I don't think health codes would allow that to take place in any other city (write to me if I'm wrong, which I probably am), but seriously, how cool is that. Apparently this bar, Finn McCools, is the best place to watch Saints games other than the Super Dome. Monday night it was packed. There were serveral TVs including a huge projector screen showing the game. The game, unfortunately, was not pretty. All of the dishes that neighbors brought in, however, were very pretty ... and delicious. Lots of red beans and rice - which apparently is the stapel dish in New Orleans on Mondays.

Bet you didn't know that.

So this past week has been good. In my last blog you saw pictures from my tour of the lower 9th ward, which was sobering yet important for me to see. The stories of Kristyn's evacuation to Atlanta (17 hour drive, due to the storm and traffic), the immidiate clean up and the incompetent and complex dealings of the aftermath were very informative.

One story was about a man who lost his home, was given a FEMA trailer, but he hasn't lived in the trailer for the past TWO years because FEMA never sent him the key. He's been locked out since.

Apparently the mayor sent busses to Texas, where most of the displaced residents of the destroyed neighborhoods moved to, so these New Orleans residents could be bussed back for his election. Once the election was over, they were bussed back. Their homes are still not fixed.

There are plenty of stories like this. My time in New Orleans was not simply a solemn tour of the past. There were plenty of fun times had. Like the potluck dinner in the bar.

I ate some po-boys (which is just yet another name for a sub, hoagie, sandwich, etc.). Fried shrimp with lettuce, mayo and ketchup on great French bread. The place that I was taken to was apparently famous; a very small hole in the wall near the River (Mississippi River, in case you've never heard of it) where the Discovery Channel was going to be filming at that very night I went. Not too shabby.

I went to the BEST burger place in New Orelans, which was fun, had my first Bloody Mary at this awesome bar on Bournon Street; this bar had multiple venues in which you can sit down and drink. After walking past the huge fountain with a flame coming out (I could have sworn it was the very own Goblet of Fire ... the flame was almost blue) we walked into this huge room with two dueling pianos. Sophia - a friend from high school and a Tulane grad student - her two friends and I were probably the youngest ones in the room. But the crowd was great, the music was awesome, and good times were had.

The names of these places are escaping me, so I apologize, but that is the type of quality you get when you pay $0 for my blog.

At least you get these cool pictures.

Baton Rouge was a lot of fun. Spoke to a few Catholic students at their meeting at Southern University. Then spoke at a youth retreat for 3o high schoolers. I went into the meeting hall, spoke for about 20 minutes about my life, then left. Speaking to high schoolers was great, made me miss teaching. Whenever I noticed they were getting bored (who wants to hear about me speak about my "calling"??) I just told them exotic things about Micronesia. The cool guys in the back really liked it when I said I could open coconuts with a machette. When they started to fool around, I pulled out a machette that I carry, threw it right past them, sticking to the wall inches from their ears.

That last part didn't happen. But it would have made their retreat so much more interesting.

Also went to LSU (ranked number 2 in college football ... ranked number one in my heart. aww) to meet up with some students. Yeah, that was cool and everything, but the highlight was checking out the 3 million dollar habitat where Mike the 6th lives. Mike is not a rich student, he is a tiger. The LSU mascot. During home games, students try to do anything to make the tiger roar because each roar indicates how many touchdowns their team will score. Mike is not allowed to go to away games because he once ate the other team's mascot.

Now, if you're like me, once you heard that story you would probably respond immidiately with: Mike should be allowed to go to every away game after that incident. How cool would that be?

True story. But seriously, meeting with the two seniors interested in JVC was the highlight.

Monday was the University of Loyola. That day reminded me of one of the reasons why I took this job: to meet energetic and passionate college students, full of ideals, lofty aspirations, sugar and spice and everything nice.

I'd like to give some shoutouts at this point. The Jesuit Volunteers in Mobile and New Orleans were amazingly hospitable and caring and super fun and good looking. I enjoyed my time crashing on their couches, driving them to shop, going out to eat with them, playing games with them, philosophizing, curing diseases, writing foreign policy and all the other normal things JVs do when they are together. Every JV community, I'm sure, is rocking, but combine a JVI alumn and a JVC community and you get fireworks (unfortunately, not the actual fireworks, but the metaphor explaining the amazing chemistry formed by the enthusiasm of all people present). Really, they were awesome people. 'nuff said. I wish them luck in their endeavors and I hope to meet up with them again.

Future JV communities that I'm going to visit: you have high standards to meet.

Future friends: you also have to deal with the bar being raised (just kidding, I love you ... please let me crash at your place).

Future donors: I'm still waiting for your money.

Yesterday was a hardcore day (when is it not for me!!) of traveling: 6:30 flight to Houston then Philadelphia. Got my rental car a.k.a. my new home for the next 5 months. Booked it to Wheeling which took about 7 hours to get to (that included stops to take a break, put out a fire at one of the many barns I passed, meet good honest Americans to kick off my campaign, and to fill the tank with gas).*

* Two of those things are true. Guess, and you win this week's prize.

Wheeling West Virginia is great so far. I can say that because I have only seen a few streets of it in the dark and I have not left this house yet to see the campus of Wheeling Jesuit University. I'm staying at an off campus apartment (huge) where a few students live in an intentional community. Kind of like a mini-JVC for college kids. I have yet to meet any of the students that live here yet, just the coordinator who let me in last night; I passed out last night before any of them came home and I woke up after they left for school.

So I'll be in Wheeling for almost a week. Give some talks here, an info session there, meet with more interested students, walk around campus, brace myself for the onslaught of the deadly forces of winter that are rapidly approaching (I'm refering to the 60 degree weather that constitutes the end of September...wait to hear what I will probably have to say about the end of October).

Enough about me; I want to hear about you. Yes, a blog is usually a one-way communication. But as a good friend of mine says: "Your thoughts." I'd like them. Write in.

Here is a good conversation starter: my job is pretty awesome. How is yours cooler than mine? Discuss.

One more: I actually liked ketchup mixed with mayo on my po boy. What other weird combinations of condiments do you like? (that's as philisophical as I can get right now).

Until next time, enjoy this photo from Bourbon Street: