Thursday, August 31, 2017.
The entire day is pretty, with only a few small clouds in a bright background of blue. That despite the whitecaps that covered the lake. From the Causeway I could see the water coming up higher than normal. When I arrived downtown, the bright sun stayed on the job, but the wind was well above kite-flying velocity. The hurricane may be over with, but there's still evidence of its presence.
Bill De Paola, the CEO of Dat Dogs, showed up for the radio show. He brought a lot of his dogs with him. The kind you eat, enclosed by buns. Haven't had a Dat Dog in awhile. I sampled a few. The Slovenian dog has a new name, but it's as good as ever. Dat Dog's is selling the inimitable hot sausage from Vaucresson, the city's most revered sausage maker. Vance Vaucresson will be proud of what we had to say about his family's great work.
I wing it during the second hour, but the show goes reasonably well. Afterwards, I call ML to see if she's available for summer. She is, but not until half-past six. Perfect! I take a twenty-five minute nap in my freezing cold office, and wake up much refreshed.
ML and I go to Two Tony's in West End. ML had not been there before. Evidence remains that despite her good luck as a commercial artist and designer, she is still a kid in some ways. She orders spaghetti and meatballs. For me the manicotti, which she says looks like Italian hot tamales. The fish is very mild; it needs some red pepper. Otherwise, I like it.
On the way home, a towering, dark cloud runs around the west-to-north horizon. Occasional sparks of lightning way up in the topmost clouds tell me that, even though it's close to Kentucky now, this Harvey storm is still active. What did I say a few days about it's being a living thing?
All the way home, no raindrops fall. The half-moon, on the other hand, is high and bright.
When I watch the ten o'clock news, I find that there are two nascent tropical storms on the Atlantic and another inside Mexico. All are possible candidates for a visit to our place on the Earth. And there's not a thing that can be done about it. I think that's the worst part.
Two Tonys. West End & Bucktown: 8536 Pontchartrain Blvd. 504-282-0801.
