NO Nostalgia

Experiencing an intense wave of New Orleans nostalgia after reading Poppy Z. Brite’s recent post about Cajun eggnog daiquiris. I have such wonderful (if hazy) memories of cruising through City Park during the annual Christmas lights display while sipping an eggnog daiquiri. (By the way, if you’re in any way surprised or offended by the idea of someone driving around with a to-go cup full of alcohol in one hand, you have clearly not spent enough time in New Orleans). I’ve noticed that while I wear my love for Paris and New York on my sleeve, I tend to bury memories of New Orleans. For the most part, I find that they’re either too painful or too sublime to contemplate, full of the sense of manic depression that was an ongoing motif during my years there. Seems like I was always either elated or miserable. Of course it could have had something to do with all the booze. But there’s something about that city that lends itself to heartache.

More memories stirred up with the realization that my alma mater is in the process of being dissolved. Well, sort of. While I got my diploma from Tulane University (which is still, from what I’ve read, alive and kicking), I actually attended the women’s coordinate college, Sophie Newcomb. After Katrina hit, Tulane decided to get rid of Newcomb College as a separate entity and merge it with a bunch of other undergrad colleges to save money. While I suppose I was vaguely aware of this through some propaganda from the school that came my way after the storm, it has only recently taken hold in my awareness. The restructuring has inflamed a group of alumnae who contend that money hungry Tulane is just looking to grab up Newcomb’s endowment. It’s kind of like poor old Sophie’s been date raped, used up and left high and dry. The ladies are backing a descendent of Mrs. Newcomb who has filed lawsuit against the university seeking to restore Newcomb to its former glory. While I’m about the farthest thing from a Newcomb groupie and have mixed feelings about my entire college experience, I do feel a little unsettled at the idea of my alma mater vanishing from the earth. Oh well, nothing a little eggnog daiquiri wouldn’t cure, I’m sure.