Today, I read the news on the internet and the reminders of two deaths in this city. One was the drowing death of M. Louis Bill Adams and his obituary. A man who died on on his way to work, a man of character who was determined to work and support his family. http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/louis_bill_adams_jr_crossed_mu.html . The other involved a homicide of a 32 year old man in Stallings Playground, Mr. Ali Robinson http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/index_2.html . Two different men, two different causes of death. One the result of a storm and the determination of man to get to work; The other for reasons not known but the result of a gunshot wound. As I read the latter article and the postings, I found one posting of interest to me and I responded.
"Mr. Joey, dear, the hearts of many are breaking. They break for the families of those whose loved ones have been shot for reasons unknown and known. However, they are breaking because there is no one or no group of people that can determine the total cause and offer solutions to this issue. In my opinion and my friends (The Velevet Glove Brigade) the causes have been allowed to accumulate by the incompetence of our leadership in this city for decades and because of the failure of the basic family unit and the establishment of basic moral and religious standards. We have allowed the issue of ancestry to pervade our decisions in many cases and we have made a grave mistake. All of us have made that mistake. I call upon the Times-Picayune, its owners and editors, to help us crawl out of the state in which we now find ourselves. To the latter group, I give my thanks for allowing the public to post and recognize their right to eliminate a post. However, I believe with its leadership and combined editorial abilities, it and the posters can begin to bring this city to its feet. We cannot simply rely on the leadership of this city - we must lead a peaceful revolution to overcome the causes of the depolorable state in which this city now exists. May the T-P help all of us create a "NOUVEAU NEW ORLEANS"!"
Somehow, over the years, I and my friends have sought to seek the totality of the answers to the problems of this city. We have seen the deaths of men caused by violence. Our hearts break for the society of our childhood and recognize the degradation and illegality of segregation. However, we must recognize that many still blame slavery and segregation as the cause of the problems of this city. Many have used that as a basis of election to public office and that too is a cause of the problems of this city. We cannot continue that mindset. We all must unfiy to overcome the horrors of the past and create something new. We believe that the T-P can help by a front page article attacking the causes, calling for unification of people, improvements in the lives of all. Katrina did not kill this city. It did cause major damage. What will continue to cause its destruction is the basic failure of people of all ancestries to unite in a major effort to improve the root causes of the destructive elements that are causing these shootings and crimes. Again we plead with the T-P to do the unusual and show leadership and be blunt in its analysis and expose completely the causes of the deplorable state that this city now lays in. DARE TO CARE AND DARE TO SHARE IS OUR MOTTO. Will you accept the challenge - the owners and editorial staff of the T-P.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
CRIME AND MORE IN NEW ORLEANS
Well, dears, it has been some time since I have posted to this blog. My I have been busy and between the naps and the vapors I have been unable to post like I really should. Frankly, dears, the news today is no different than years ago. However, the two recent shootings by the police in the City Park area and in Gentilly demands some attention. Both have brought up the issue of race as a basis for the crime. It is time to put that issue to rest and to face the reality of the cause of crime in this city and general area and this crosses all ancestral lines.
It will soon be time for the Brigade to have its meetings on the verandah and enjoy some gin and tonics, while the gentlemen enjoy their cigars and cigarettes and a few ladies will also. Well, dears, I will have my new vapor cigarette (oh I watch the batteries dear) along with my my Southern Comfort Manhattan on the rocks. We will be talking and I believe the major issue will be CRIME. To that will be added quite a lot more.
In addition, dears, we will be looking at history and seeing the present as forseen in the past. Now I have to prepare for the change in time tonight. Extra firming cream on the face. An hour can cause changes in the skin tone, dears. Look for more tomorrow, dears. After all tomorrow is another day.
It will soon be time for the Brigade to have its meetings on the verandah and enjoy some gin and tonics, while the gentlemen enjoy their cigars and cigarettes and a few ladies will also. Well, dears, I will have my new vapor cigarette (oh I watch the batteries dear) along with my my Southern Comfort Manhattan on the rocks. We will be talking and I believe the major issue will be CRIME. To that will be added quite a lot more.
In addition, dears, we will be looking at history and seeing the present as forseen in the past. Now I have to prepare for the change in time tonight. Extra firming cream on the face. An hour can cause changes in the skin tone, dears. Look for more tomorrow, dears. After all tomorrow is another day.
Friday, November 4, 2011
THE FEAR CONTINUES
Just over a month ago, I wrote subsequent to the death of Archbishop Hannan and outlined some prayers that we all need to use. Today, as I sit here, while Rhett watches the tv and our friends are secluded in their homes out of fear, I recall the past week or so and the horrors particularly of Halloween night and the deaths and victims of the gunfire that erupted in this city. I read the words of those who post on news sites and I see some that continue the hatred that exists based on ancestry and my heart is heavy. It does exist in multiple ways - some blaming it on people of one ancestry and others on another but we fail to blame each other. It is time that we all understand that we are all responsible for what exists today, either because of our actions or because of our inactivity. In reality it is the result of decades of true inactivity and failure to improve the lives of all that is the cause.
On Sunday, the Brigade will attend religious services and gather on our verandah for brunch. We each will bring something different. We will discuss the same things. We will feel the heartbreak that exists in this city, and, yes, elsewhere. However, we still will believe what we have said time and time again - in IN UNITY WILL COME VICTORY.
Our symbol of the fleur de lis in the colors of ancestries which created this city will remain as one of hope.
On Sunday, the Brigade will attend religious services and gather on our verandah for brunch. We each will bring something different. We will discuss the same things. We will feel the heartbreak that exists in this city, and, yes, elsewhere. However, we still will believe what we have said time and time again - in IN UNITY WILL COME VICTORY.
Our symbol of the fleur de lis in the colors of ancestries which created this city will remain as one of hope.
DANS
L'UNITÉ VIENDRA LA VICTOIRE; EN
LA UNIDAD VENDRÁ LA VICTORIA;
単一性で勝利は来る; and the translations can go on and on. This is a city of many cultures and languages over the centuries. It is time that we unify those cultures - choose the best moral and legal standards and bring that victory and a Nouveau New Orleans.
Friday, September 30, 2011
THE STATE OF THE CITY
Today the Archdiocese of New Orleans is in mourning. It has lost one of its former Archbishops, Archbishop Philip Hannan. People of all faiths speak highly about him and are praying for him. So do we, the members of the Velvet Glove Brigade.
We pray also that he may intercede on behalf of the citizens of this archdiocese that the violence that permeates our city may be halted. We pray also that we as a people of faith (various as these faiths may be) might come together to halt the continuing crime, the continued decline of this city into the further depths of physical decay that exists in blighted properties, etc. We pray also that work will be available to all and especially to young professionals, who have left this city to find suitable work elsewhere in their professional fields.
We pray for the homeless that they may find shelter. We pray for the mentally ill who have no place to go for treatment - long time treatment in particular.
We pray for the improvement in our schools and for parental involvement in the education of our young people. We pray for the return of moral values that are so long forgotten.
We pray for leadership that simply talks but cannot carry out its promises. We pray that leadership and friends of those leaders will no longer use public funds for personal use.
What it comes down to, dears, is that we pray for a Nouveau New Orleans, a city of character and strength and hope for all and the destruction of the various factors that have divided it over the years into factions of hatred and ignorance.
May almighty God shed his blessing on this city, this state, and this nation.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
IN UNITY WILL COME PEACE
Last night the Velevet Glove Brigade met and had our usual gin and tonics on the verandah. Some of the gentlemen preferred their Southern Comfort Manhattans. However, all of our thoughts were on the state of this city. Six years ago, on the morning of the 27th, Rhett and I had packed and left for the plantation to the west. We were worried and not only for ourselves but for some dear friends who we had to meet and escort to the site where we were going also. Last night we all worried about friends and family members in the line of Irene. Eventually our talk returned to the status of New Orleans.
We look at New Orleans not simply as recovering from Katrina, which caused the city and its citizens so many problems but we sincerely believe and looked at the city as having deteriorated over a long period time into a cesspool of crime and immorality. It is a city that has been without leadership for decades. It is a city that has been filled with the filth of people using the peoples' monies for their own selves - monies meant for improvement of the lives of many. The substructure alone of the city had deteriorated as a result of the negligence of city leaders and was even more deteriorated by Katrina. The school system had been destroyed by the lack of parental envolvement and proper oversight by the existing Board and other officials and yes the unions that represented the teachers. Businesses of importance had long gone. Canal Street was filled with stores of little importance and those stores that had once been there are now located in suburban areas. Citizens were being taken advantage of by non-profit organizations of all kinds, whose leaders were using funds for their own purposes instead of for the people for whose lives those funds were given to improve. However, what we often discussed was the cause of so many problems is the continued issue of racism and the hatred which it caused over the decades. What we were seeing was a different form of the Civil War. Katrina brought it to the forefront as was disclosed by Ray Nagin's infamous "Chocolate City" speech. It is that same war that is being fought today but even beyond that point. Children are killing children, young men are killing others over foolish issues, young women are bearing children without the hope of a decent life ahead. The list goes on and on and all of you can add to it. Yes, the Saints will play, Mardi Gras will come, etc. Yet, this city cannot rely on those activities alone. We must unite, as we have said time and time again, in order to achieve what we believe to be a New Nouvelle Orleans. We must put aside all hatred. We must show the young people of our city the value of an education. We must instill moral values in our own lives and the lives of others. We must elect people of principles and not simply because of their agenda or because of their support by certain groups of people.
Early in our postings online we stated the following:
WE THE PEOPLE OF NEW ORLEANS, in order to establish a more perfect union of all citizens, regardless of race, color, or creed, must unite as one in an orderly and logical manner to provide for the resurrection of our city.
THEREFORE, we propose the following logical propositions and recognize fully that this may affect more people of one kind than the other, but for the good of all this must be done and in order to form a more perfect union of and by all people:
1. The levees of this state must be completely overhauled in order to provide protection from the lowest of parishes, close to the gulf, to all of this state. City, parish, state, and federal officials have the responsibility to adhere to the recommendations of experts in the fields and to hire reputable and proven contractors to fulfill this need.
2. An orderly approach to the return of the citizens to this city is essential in order to provide them protection and to provide them suitable housing. We cannot allow people to rebuild without some provisions for housing that will withstand future storms. The come back all philosophy adhered to by some is foolish and indicative of negligence and continued abuse of the citizens by politicians, who see reelection or election and not what is logical and best. All housing must be adequate and all public housing must and shall adhere to the laws of this state and this nation. Codes must be enforced and indeed strengthened.
3. We must bring back our business, both large and small. We must provide for proper medical care and facilities that are the very best. We must attract the newest of businesses with technology of the present and visions of technology of the future. Businesses must be strictly regulated and must adhere to strict codes that must be put into place. While we admire the architectural beauty of many buildings, these too must be protected and yet updated to provide for the protection of quality businesses of all kinds.
4. We must provide public education (including higher education) for all that will provide students with challenges, provide teachers of ability and strength to accomplish that education. The school boards of this city and state must and shall be overhauled to eliminate the factors that have caused the collapse of education in this city and yes of this state. Boards filled with political cronies are no longer acceptable but quality boards consisting of well qualified persons are required.
5. We can no longer allow the issue of race and color to determine the future of this city. We must come together as one family for the good of all.
6. We must provide for a government of the people and for the people. This means that the government of this city (indeed of this state) must be overhauled in order to assure that it is streamlined, cost efficient, and provide respectful and quality services to all people of this city. This includes all levels of government including assessors, the court system, the police system, etc.
7. We, as citizens, have our duties too. We must elect officials of vision, not simply of promises. That is the very foundation of our constitution and necessary for the future of this city.
We the ordinary citizens of this city and state must be heard and must be followed. We ourselves must overcome our prejudices, our outmoded views, and look to the future of what we know can be and what we will continue to call the city of our dreams, the new Nouvelle Orleans.
Even today, we stand behind that original post. We ask others to do the same. Many years ago, even before I married Rhett, I saw Richard Kiley in the Man of La Mancha and I heard him sing those immortal words:
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courageTo reach the unreachable star
We will not give in - we will continue to strive for what many call the unreachable star, THE NEW NOUVEAU ORLEANS.
We look at New Orleans not simply as recovering from Katrina, which caused the city and its citizens so many problems but we sincerely believe and looked at the city as having deteriorated over a long period time into a cesspool of crime and immorality. It is a city that has been without leadership for decades. It is a city that has been filled with the filth of people using the peoples' monies for their own selves - monies meant for improvement of the lives of many. The substructure alone of the city had deteriorated as a result of the negligence of city leaders and was even more deteriorated by Katrina. The school system had been destroyed by the lack of parental envolvement and proper oversight by the existing Board and other officials and yes the unions that represented the teachers. Businesses of importance had long gone. Canal Street was filled with stores of little importance and those stores that had once been there are now located in suburban areas. Citizens were being taken advantage of by non-profit organizations of all kinds, whose leaders were using funds for their own purposes instead of for the people for whose lives those funds were given to improve. However, what we often discussed was the cause of so many problems is the continued issue of racism and the hatred which it caused over the decades. What we were seeing was a different form of the Civil War. Katrina brought it to the forefront as was disclosed by Ray Nagin's infamous "Chocolate City" speech. It is that same war that is being fought today but even beyond that point. Children are killing children, young men are killing others over foolish issues, young women are bearing children without the hope of a decent life ahead. The list goes on and on and all of you can add to it. Yes, the Saints will play, Mardi Gras will come, etc. Yet, this city cannot rely on those activities alone. We must unite, as we have said time and time again, in order to achieve what we believe to be a New Nouvelle Orleans. We must put aside all hatred. We must show the young people of our city the value of an education. We must instill moral values in our own lives and the lives of others. We must elect people of principles and not simply because of their agenda or because of their support by certain groups of people.
Early in our postings online we stated the following:
WE THE PEOPLE OF NEW ORLEANS, in order to establish a more perfect union of all citizens, regardless of race, color, or creed, must unite as one in an orderly and logical manner to provide for the resurrection of our city.
THEREFORE, we propose the following logical propositions and recognize fully that this may affect more people of one kind than the other, but for the good of all this must be done and in order to form a more perfect union of and by all people:
1. The levees of this state must be completely overhauled in order to provide protection from the lowest of parishes, close to the gulf, to all of this state. City, parish, state, and federal officials have the responsibility to adhere to the recommendations of experts in the fields and to hire reputable and proven contractors to fulfill this need.
2. An orderly approach to the return of the citizens to this city is essential in order to provide them protection and to provide them suitable housing. We cannot allow people to rebuild without some provisions for housing that will withstand future storms. The come back all philosophy adhered to by some is foolish and indicative of negligence and continued abuse of the citizens by politicians, who see reelection or election and not what is logical and best. All housing must be adequate and all public housing must and shall adhere to the laws of this state and this nation. Codes must be enforced and indeed strengthened.
3. We must bring back our business, both large and small. We must provide for proper medical care and facilities that are the very best. We must attract the newest of businesses with technology of the present and visions of technology of the future. Businesses must be strictly regulated and must adhere to strict codes that must be put into place. While we admire the architectural beauty of many buildings, these too must be protected and yet updated to provide for the protection of quality businesses of all kinds.
4. We must provide public education (including higher education) for all that will provide students with challenges, provide teachers of ability and strength to accomplish that education. The school boards of this city and state must and shall be overhauled to eliminate the factors that have caused the collapse of education in this city and yes of this state. Boards filled with political cronies are no longer acceptable but quality boards consisting of well qualified persons are required.
5. We can no longer allow the issue of race and color to determine the future of this city. We must come together as one family for the good of all.
6. We must provide for a government of the people and for the people. This means that the government of this city (indeed of this state) must be overhauled in order to assure that it is streamlined, cost efficient, and provide respectful and quality services to all people of this city. This includes all levels of government including assessors, the court system, the police system, etc.
7. We, as citizens, have our duties too. We must elect officials of vision, not simply of promises. That is the very foundation of our constitution and necessary for the future of this city.
We the ordinary citizens of this city and state must be heard and must be followed. We ourselves must overcome our prejudices, our outmoded views, and look to the future of what we know can be and what we will continue to call the city of our dreams, the new Nouvelle Orleans.
Even today, we stand behind that original post. We ask others to do the same. Many years ago, even before I married Rhett, I saw Richard Kiley in the Man of La Mancha and I heard him sing those immortal words:
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courageTo reach the unreachable star
We will not give in - we will continue to strive for what many call the unreachable star, THE NEW NOUVEAU ORLEANS.
Friday, August 5, 2011
THE TIMES PICAYUNE
The paper is celebrating its 175th anniversary. Congratulations. It is also asking for citizens to share memories. The Brigade wishes to encourage all citizens to do so. Louisiana will celebrate its 200 year anniversary as a state next year. Let's begin the celebration early by assisting the T-P with our memories. In reading some of the comments posted, I am bewildered as to whether people have learned any history of this city and this state over generations. It is time to start the lecture online and set the record straight on many issues. It is time to face the good, the bad, and the ugly. However, in doing so show respect, perhaps some humor, but most importantly share the truth and recognize the truth. In fact, I would encourage all forms of the news media to recognize the value of the T-P over the years and bring their anniversary into their own reporting. Let's begin the important dialogue that is so essential to a new Nouvelle Orleans. The Brigade wonders if the other news media has the guts and frankly the honesty to recognize what the T-P has done for this city over the years.
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