In New Orleans

Shocked to discover I wrote on this blog in 2020 and 2021. They are lost years in a few ways; waiting to be rediscovered, perhaps.

I am more used to writing pen to paper these days, and I did try to spin up an alternative digital home a few weeks before SB and I broke up, but in the short interim between today's outing and this evening's I thought, for whatever reason, that this was the place to be.

I had a whirlwind of a day. As happens almost time, I was betrayed by a microdose. I dismounted from my bicycle after a peppy ride talking animatedly to myself in French and wondered - "oh dear, am I really sick?". I was dizzy and a little nauseous walking into Couturie Forest. My throat, which has had a little tickle since Thursday, was tight. 

I wandered in, and up to the "highest point in New Orleans" - a joke I think, because the levee by Lake Pontchartrain is higher per my recollection. Three 9-year-olds lead me up (I followed them) and when I caught up to the laggard he warned me that his friends were up ahead. As he did, the friend yelled "scream if you can see us" down to my interlocutor. 

The top was anticlimactic and I wandered on, seeing a striking growth of wood ear mushrooms. Then I happened upon a triad of unreal live oaks and their unreality reminded me of the little pill I'd taken an hour before.

I laughed to myself later that my condition was "an accident, I forgot." Is it funny? I laughed to myself a lot today. I found myself terribly good company. I told myself jokes only I would get.

Oh, another great moment from before I remembered about the drugs! I came across this bird blind that just faced a fence basically. A big wooden wall with four cutouts, and little benches behind each one. And I thought, "how silly," as I walked around it, past the sign about songbirds. Then I paused and realized I heard quite a bit of song and thought to myself, "well, it works!"

Is that funny if you're not tripping? Maybe someone heard all of the birdsong and thought "it's coming from the fence" and so decided to build the wall facing the fence.

In addition, just to the side of the bird blind was this cypress tree that was bent over in a graceful arc, so that its top brushed the ground but it wasn't broken at all. I thought of it as a very dramatic tree, keeling over in emotion. I took a picture. Would sober me have seen a fainting tree? Maybe.

It was a blessed day, with bathrooms appearing at ideal intervals, never getting too hungry, never feeling tired. Early on I had a moment of fear, recognizing that I wouldn't have chosen to do drugs so close the breakup and thinking for a moment about whether I would be sad about Shelly but I managed to get myself off of that track - I'm sure I saw something silly in the forest.

A few other silly moments to record here or with a pen, but I want to get to the restaurant early.