h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was looking forward to New Orleans -- the music, the food, the sense of hope that drove a city to rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina I chattered on about the French Quarter, Jackson Square, Bourbon Street, etc., as I waited in the airport with Scribbles. Then it dawned on me that there was no sign that our New Orleans guide would be flying down with us. Was this a sign of further last-minute changes?

"Scribbles, who will be guiding us through New Orleans?" I asked.

"His name is Fats Creole. He's in great demand, and we were lucky to get him. He'll be joining us at the New Orleans airport."

"Most of our other tour guides flew with us to their cities, so they could give us the lowdown on what we were about to see."

"Fats doesn't fly much," Scribbles said softly.

"Afraid of flying?"

"Worse. He can't fit in an airplane seat. He isn't called 'Fats' for nothing. Some planes have extra-wide seats, but they cost a lot more. My publisher is complaining about going over budget again." He looked nervous and worn out, so I assumed he had been working on a lot of issues lately.

The flight took about four hours. We arrived just in time for lunch, eating po' boy sandwiches and beignets. "Save your appetite for dinner," Scribbles cautioned when he saw the extra beignet the guy at the counter had given us as lagniappe. I handed the extra beignet to Fats, who popped it in his mouth with a look of bemusement on his face.

As it turned out, I saw far more than I could assimilate. There was a two-hour bus tour around important sites, followed by a two-hour. steamboat trip on the Mississippi.

Fats Creole took us to supper at a buffet restaurant where we could sample all the signature foods that made New Orleans special -- crawfish etouffe, jambalaya, andouille, gumbo, maque choux, blackened catfish.

Then it was off in search of jazz, which was ridiculously easy to find in this city that had done so much to create and sustain that music form.

New Orleans is at or near the top of the list of places I haven't seen yet but would like to visit. Istanbul is high on that list, too.

An example of Lagniappe is the 13th donut in a "baker's dozen." It's a little extra, as a gesture of gratitude that you've bought something from a merchant.

My choice of Fats Creole [not the name of a real person, as far as I can tell by googling] was not a gratuitous swipe at fat people. Louisiana had a higher percentage of obese adults [more than 33%] in 2012 than any of the other 49 states. New Orleans is somewhat slimmer, but the community ethos is one of pushing the edge of the envelope where enjoying life's pleasures are concerned, with the possibility of getting enough sleep. So men in New Orleans have higher rates of lung cancer, lower life expectancy, etc., than men in most other cities? The attitude seems to be that in terms of waking hours they enjoy just as much :"life" as anyone else.

Fats Creole is the name of a record label. It doesn't seem to be the name of a real person as far as I can tell.

[Amy P]

Today and tomorrow will be the last times that our hero will have an easy ride. The modes of "transportation" will start to get more strenuous and even far-fetched after that .

A few miles away from where I live there is a giant shopping centre which is next to a lake where they have a moored steamboat which has been turned into a restaurant serving Southern American food.

I was brought up with jazz as my uncle played the saxophone and the trumpet.

Define 'Southern American food'. Cautiously.

Do you mean blackeyed peas, grits, greens, chicken-fried steak, biscuits, and gravy?

Or that Cajun stuff, which resembles Klingon food, only cooked?

I do not eat frogs' legs, crawdads, or other creepy crawlies - although I do eat a lot of okra, 'cause my mama was from Miss'ssippi.

"Do you mean blackeyed peas, grits, greens, chicken-fried steak, biscuits, and gravy? Or that Cajun stuff, which resembles Klingon food, only cooked? " [Dmitri]



May the force be with you if the Klingons take offense at that and go after you . I rather like cajun food -- I've used recipes by Paul Prud'homme, who was a genius [he died recently at the age of 75].

Hoppin' John is my traditional New Year's dish. I even tried Martin Luther King's favorite recipe for pork chops on Martin Luther King Day
[he was from Atlanta]