Message from Bourbon Street is profound, relevant
Family members of military personnel could be swept up in Trump raids
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When I visited Bourbon Street on New Year's Day, it was a crime scene.
When I visited Sunday, it was a shrine to the 14 innocent people murdered by a man in a pickup truck. The side of the Walgreen's drug store at the head of the street was now obscured by a mountain of flowers, crosses, messages and remembrances for what happened there that night.
Sadly, it may be an improvement over what was here before.
Bourbon Street has taken on a certain relevance in the wake of this tragedy.
As I looked at my photos, I saw something that escaped my earlier observations.
It was a message about the times we are living in and the future we face.
"This is not a time to hate one another," I saw scrawled on the gray wall. "Immigration and religion are not the issues; the real problem is the hatred that exists in the world. Let's open our minds and learn. Learn from what has happened. The USA government must provide assistance to all survivors of war and violence."
It may be the most profound piece of graffiti ever penned.
It may be the most profound message ever articulated on Bourbon Street.
It wasn't until later in the day I realized I had been hiding for most of the past two months; unable to come to terms with the future of our country and what lay ahead beginning today at noon.
At times I avoid the news entirely. The future was just too bleak.
I'm sure there are others nodding.
"This is not a time to hate one another," I read again from the bard of Bourbon Street.
That the United States should set the example.
Be the guiding light as we have for most of the past century.
Instead I've watched the richest men in the world grovel at the new president's feet hoping for political favor and some of his power.
I've watched respected politicians check their ethics and support men without character or experience for important leadership roles in the new administration.
It has been a total capitulation to an immoral politician.
Our of fear.
That is no way to run a country.
That is no way to live your life.
And you can't help but wonder if this is the beginning of the end.
"Let's open our minds and learn for what has happened," I read again from my photograph.
There are so many opportunities.
Perhaps, from the lives that were lost during the pandemic.
Or the trauma inflicted on the police on January 6.
Or the criminal acts that were perpetuated by the former president.
That if one man could be so radicalized by the words of the internet that he would engage in mass murder on New Year's Eve than why should we be surprised that so many of our countryman have bought into the message of a carnival huckster.
Sometime after noon, it will begin.
It's what I have been hiding from for these past two months.
Too many people have normalized it.
Just another change in policy.
The knot in my stomach is returning.
I don't suspect any of the prominent people in Washington will be opening their minds today.
I don't suspect any of the executive orders signed by the new president will be to provide assistance to survivors of war and violence.
The message out of Washington on inauguration eve was one of hate and retribution.
"This is not a time to hate one another," it read boldly back on Wall Street, yet it was also obscured by the flowers and the other messages.
Someone should chisel it into marble.
Make it permanent.
Make it part of a new welcome of America's most famous avenue.
Right now, a heavy construction truck stands sentry.
And in Washington the hate will be unleashed sometime after noon.
Chapman opening
The latest exhibit at the Chapman Museum - "Dining Out" - opens on Saturday, Jan. 25.
It will chronicle the unique stories of select local restaurants, their evolution as integral parts of the community and their interactions with local farms.
You can visit the new exhibition from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with free admission on Saturday. There will also be refreshments and crafts for the kids and families.
Deporting veterans
Roland Van Deusen, a Navy veteran and a VA volunteer from Clayton, N.Y. who workes in Syracuse's suicide prevention center, reached out to me recently about his concern whether family members of active duty military personnel might be deported as part of Donald Trump's plans after Jan. 20.
Van Deusen reached out to Mike Haynie, the vice chancellor of strategic initiatives at Syracuse University, for help.
"Rest assured that our team is closely tracking these issues and is engaged with partners (other veteran-serving organizations) in related advocacy," Hayne wrote to Van Deusen. "The greatest risk relates to families of those non-citizens currently serving in the U.S. military. Currently, about 4% of military members (active, guard, and reserve) are non-citizens. This population is 100% enlisted members, as it is illegal for a non-citizen to receive a commission as an officer. For that reason, the most direct way (in my view) to address the concerns you express below, is to create a direct and streamlined pathway to citizenship for those non-citizens who volunteer to serve in the military."
The days ahead are fraught with so many issues.
It's nice to see someone like Roland is bringing them to our attention.
March in Glens Falls
While there were women's marches all across the country this weekend, The Post-Star reported some 250 participated in a march in Glens Falls.
Considering the cold weather, that's a pretty motivated group.
It shows there are many people within the community who are concerned.
NOLA notes
I've returned to New Orleans for the next few weeks and will be heading north again in a few weeks for the big Adirondack Theater Festival fundraiser on Feb. 8. Oddly enough, the Super Bowl is in New Orleans this year and I will be watching it back home in Glens Falls.
Over the next few weeks, you will see references to how I am finding life in New Orleans. So far, I'm finding plenty to do. Check out this weekend of events.
- Attended the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane to see "Julius Caesar." As the conspirators debated the merits of Caesar, I started seeing similarities between Caesar in Trump. Shakespeare may have been a half-century ahead of his time.
- Followed that up Saturday night with a play reading by Tulane students.
- Was at the Saenger Theater on Sunday to see the Broadway road show of "& Juliet" which turned out to be a totally delightful story about a better ending to "Romeo and Juliet."
What's so interesting about wandering around a big city is the constant interactions you had with strangers. It's been interesting listening to regular folks waiting at the trolley stop talk about how cold they were.
It was about 60 degrees at the time.
A real newspaper
The Times Picayune in New Orleans has a long and storied history that includes Pulitzer Prizes for its coverage of Katrina.
It was also one of the first newspapers to retreat to publishing three days a week, but there was such an outcry from the citizenry that it soon returned to seven days a week. It still publishes a print product daily.
When presented with an offer to get the print newspaper three times a week for $12.99, I jumped at the chance to return to the good old days.
It has been delightful.
The newspaper is loaded with news as New Orleans prepares for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras and tries to sort out security for both events in wake of the New Year's Eve attack.
They are also clearing encampments of homeless people from beneath the interstate
and the governor is demanding that Louisiana get Biden infrastructure money with no strings attached (I wonder what would happen to that money then?)
There is also in-depth coverage of the Saints, Pelicans, LSU and Tulane sports teams.
It's like the good old days with a four-section newspaper, full classified ads and color comic strips.
Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and is currently adapting his second book "The Last American Newspaper" into a play. He currently lives in Queensbury, N.Y.
That's fascinating. I didn't know non-citizens could serve in the U.S. military. Four percent is more than 80,000 people, if my math is correct, since a check online reveals that more than 2 million people are serving in the U.S. military. Add in civilian workers and it's almost 3 million.
I served from 1988 to 1991 active duty. I met so many people who were non citizens during my time in. These are people who some had crossed to get here. They were from the Philippines, Guam, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Names like Zapata, Salazar, Mafnas, Rosario, and then this little guy from upstate NY who burned if I was in the sun too long. Hell we had a kid in Virginia Ft Belvoir,who had a Russian slavik surname.
The conversations I've had with people then to even now on this issue. The simple fact is these were people who had your back. They were married families and such. Just wanted to be here in the land of plenty.
More willing to do something about it than our current incoming former President.
He's the worst of what we are.
Resist the hate.
Be real be kind and be light is all I can say.