My Home....My Heart

As the idea of Spring at Sage came to fruition I was very excited about this new concept that I would have the privilege of enjoying at my new job. Thoughts ran through my mind of what I could give to my new community and at the same time share a piece of myself and hopefully a passion. I was thinking of doing so via a seminar class where I would discuss not just New Orleans, or Post-Katrina New Orleans, or BP Oil Spill New Orleans, but the New Orleans that runs through my veins via culture, heritage, history, of course food, and language. When someone meets me for the first time one of the first things that I share with them is that I am a proud product of not just the state of Louisiana, but of the city known as New Orleans or The Big Easy. I had no idea that I would be able to share my home, and yes my heart with 12 Sage students and 2 fellow faculty members, one of which is my Department Chair who came up with the great idea to visit New Orleans! I must say that this day and a half have really shown me that I am proud of my City, and though I am no longer an official resident, I will always be New Orleans. From small things like saying Ya'll, to wearing t-shirts with sayings like "Don't Eat the Straight Ones" pertaining to crawfish, or always reminding those in my presence that New Orleans is a place that is rich in culture, is controlled by the Mighty Mississippi, and YES, a place that MUST be saved and is a vital part of the History and backbone of this country. So, my hope is that when my 14 fellow travelers return to Orange County, California they will not only remember what they Ate (beignets, shrimp po'boys, grits, muffaletta, snow ball, alligator, jumbalaya), Heard (ghost stories, jazz on the corner in the French Quarter by high school students, streetcar whistles), Saw (street performers, young men tapping with bottle caps on their tennis shoes, fortune tellers, St. Louis Cathedral, Tulane University, City Park, Jackson Square), but that they Feel the heart of the City called New Orleans, because at that time they will return having felt the heart of Mrs. Nickole Sharp....la ville de l'amour