Riverboats were the CDs of the first half of the nineteenth century.  An era that many U.S. inhabitants of the time thought would never end, for many it was all they knew.  Then Abe Lincoln persuaded the government to allow a railroad bridge at Rock Island and the paddle wheels stopped turning.

I’ve never been to New Orleans before.  And as we were flying in over the lake, all I could think of was the Poco song, "Heart Of The Night".

There’s a full moon in sight
Shinin’ down on the Pontchartrain

It’s gigantic.  And as one contemplates the breakage of the levees, one is confronted with destruction.  A Shell station that looked like a remnant from an old Spielberg movie, all twisted to hell.  And boarded up houses, with x’s on them, slated to be torn down.  Can’t Jimmy Carter and Habitat For Humanity come down here and clean this city up?  Can’t our great country, with all of its resources, help these people and rebuild their city?  It’s not like its destruction was their fault.

And Bourbon Street appeals if you’ve just turned 21 and are ready to PAR-TAY!  If I were still in college, I’d have a raucous time.  Otherwise, it’s a seedy street akin to Ensenada.  Not somewhere you’d want to visit.  But visit people do.  Short ones, tall ones, big ones, small ones.  The vast sea of humanity is overwhelming.  Only when you leave home do you realize there truly are 300 million unique individuals in America.

But the highlight for me so far, other than the historical plaques on Riverwalk, describing the history of the city, came as we left the French Quarter and crossed over the tracks to the Big Muddy.  There, on the station house, well, it was kind of a gazebo, was the location’s name: TOULOUSE STREET!

Locked in a room down in New Orleans
My blood is a flowin’ fast

I was not listening to the music.  But on a flight from JFK to Salt Lake, I was exposed to this album track, the title track, of the Doobie Brothers’ second album "Toulouse Street".  It made me a fan.

And suddenly the album cover made sense!  It was a New Orleans theme!

It reminded me of moving to L.A. and having Frank Zappa lyrics come alive.  And to still be able to discover musical history, to make the connection, titillated my soul.  And as I strode the banks of the Big Muddy, contemplating New Orleans’ slave trade, French ownership and construction below sea level, a song was playing on a loop in my head…

Old black water, keep on rollin’
Mississippi moon won’t you keep on shinin’ on me