Tuesday, April 3, 2007

I met the devil today

As I was putting up posters at Nashville and Magazine today, I was approached by an old woman in a frenzy. The whole encounter was pretty ridiculous from the get-go. She was yelling at me from a distance, which I reacted to by being extra calm. I'm sure it made her look even more crazy, considering I was just standing there, sans emotion, reasonably digesting what she said. This woman had gray, pulled-back hair and seemingly rotten, wooden teeth(she looked like a scourge of Satan). She had a bunch of posters that she had just torn down under her arm, and she was telling me that I was polluting the neighborhood. She was really worked up, which I couldn't understand. Maybe she was nervous because she thought I was gonna give her trouble. I hope that was it, because if she was really that blood boiled about someone putting up posters, then I've lost a little hope for the city. These are the same people that fought against the street musicians in the Quarter and specifically, Jackson Square.

So, this woman said her bit, and I said, "Don't you care about local musicians?," but she wasn't hearing that. She just kept spouting about how it's illegal, to which I said, "It doesn't matter if it's illegal or not." Of course, she countered with, "Right, it doesn't matter if you run a stop sign or a stoplight," but I don't think she got my point. What I failed to say, because I realized she was set in her mind, was that it doesn't matter what's illegal. It matters what is right. Without live music, this town becomes any other town. Who does she think keeps live music afloat here? It's the people that work the publicity, book the shows, put up the posters, write the articles, sweep the venues, etc. She might as well be living in Metairie or Kenner or Covington or LaPlace. I wish she would. We need support here. Not NIMBY'S.

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