Today I found out that the Algier/Canal St. Ferry has been reviewed on Yelp. For your entertainment, here are a few of my favorite snippets. Read all the reviews here
From Sunil: I wonder about the passengers though. There were couple of folks with beers in hand and this was in the middle of the day.
From Mo: Lets face it, the Mississippi aint looking its prettiest when it meets up with New Orleans. It just looks kinda industrial and dirty.
From Russel: I like taking visitors here after they've had a day running around the FQ like kids on speed, as the relaxing change of pace can usually do them some good by that point.
From Vicky: I heart you. You are the best way to cross the river. I love that I can drive on, park my car and watch New Orleans come closer or zoom away. It's also a great way to see the bridge closer, and from a different point of view.
No, Vicky. I heart you.
From Danielle: Nice views, ride the Mississippi and get your Tom Sawyer on!
Indeed.
From John: If you're bored, go across & come back. It's a kick.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Spring stream of consciousness
Spring is springing and there is no escape! The air is heavy despite a rising breeze and I should know better than to forget a jacket when a very temperamental March is only a few days away. But I have my Friday coffee and peach danish, so life isn't too terrible as I sit here and wait for the ferry.
The sky is darkening rapidly-- clouds are approaching the West Bank from the bridge and the French Quarter. Every time a gust blows across the river I am caressed with a wet washcloth of wind--it's both invigorating and clammy, like holding a boy's sweaty hand for the first time.
A man beside me is wearing scrubs-- I think because they are comfortable and not because he works in the medical field. I really want to eat the peach danish in my bag but I'm saving it for when I can move away from Mr. Scrubs' cigarette so I can enjoy the peaches and cream aroma properly. I smelled freshly cut grass on the ride in this morning and it made me want to dig in the dirt so badly my heart constricted. This time of year makes my blood ache to grow flowers and strawberries and fling the windows wide so I can smell and hear the world coming to life again after the forced quiet of winter.
At the coffee shop this morning they were already preparing for the Lunch rush-- the special today is a Lenten dish and when the lady told me I was immediately transported back to my Catholic school days. Though I no longer practice, this hearkening back to the rituals of my childhood is somehow comforting. Family has been on my mind lately. Last night I dreamed I paid Rodney Dangerfield $200 to be my dad for the day. I have no idea where this came from and wonder what other strange B list celebrities live in my subconscious unbeknownst to me.
On the ferry now and all of a sudden the wind went from playful and wet to cold and fierce. The rain is starting to fall and I will be a drowned cat by the time I get to work. Blowing so hard now that the ferry can't dock. I love it.
The sky is darkening rapidly-- clouds are approaching the West Bank from the bridge and the French Quarter. Every time a gust blows across the river I am caressed with a wet washcloth of wind--it's both invigorating and clammy, like holding a boy's sweaty hand for the first time.
A man beside me is wearing scrubs-- I think because they are comfortable and not because he works in the medical field. I really want to eat the peach danish in my bag but I'm saving it for when I can move away from Mr. Scrubs' cigarette so I can enjoy the peaches and cream aroma properly. I smelled freshly cut grass on the ride in this morning and it made me want to dig in the dirt so badly my heart constricted. This time of year makes my blood ache to grow flowers and strawberries and fling the windows wide so I can smell and hear the world coming to life again after the forced quiet of winter.
At the coffee shop this morning they were already preparing for the Lunch rush-- the special today is a Lenten dish and when the lady told me I was immediately transported back to my Catholic school days. Though I no longer practice, this hearkening back to the rituals of my childhood is somehow comforting. Family has been on my mind lately. Last night I dreamed I paid Rodney Dangerfield $200 to be my dad for the day. I have no idea where this came from and wonder what other strange B list celebrities live in my subconscious unbeknownst to me.
On the ferry now and all of a sudden the wind went from playful and wet to cold and fierce. The rain is starting to fall and I will be a drowned cat by the time I get to work. Blowing so hard now that the ferry can't dock. I love it.
We're stuck!
I think I'm about to get rained on. I thought I could beat it but the wind came up so fast the ferry can't dock. Happy Friday!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
A Valentine
Despite the commercial cheesiness of the holiday, I enjoy Valentine's Day. Not because I want to get flowers or chocolate, but because I like thinking about what it means to love. We tend to think about love in the context of our relationship with people or other living things-- I love this man, I love my dog...and we also like to exaggerate our enjoyment of inanimate objects that can't love us back-- I love cheese danishes, I love these jeans cause they make my butt look great. But that sells love short, don't you think?
On the surface, V Day is just a superficial excuse to make couples feel smug and single people feel gipped, but it can be more, too. Just the simple act of thinking about what love means to us as humans has to have some merit, right? V Day is a sort of touchstone for me when it comes to love-- I can look back to Valentines Days past and evaluate how I have given and received love. Over time I hope to see a positive trend of loving deeply and without reserve, of looking to see the beauty in everyone I meet, of loving others--and myself for that matter-- despite knowing that we are all imperfect and flawed, yet still deserving of love and compassion.
I want to see the beauty in every person I meet. I am a long long way from that ideal, but in the meantime I can practice by seeing the beauty in the people I love and by celebrating and honoring them. I can also look for the beauty and love that abounds in the whole wide world (this blog is an exercise in that effort) so, to that end, here is my VDay Ferry Commute Valentine to you. May you find beauty and joy everywhere you look.
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| In Mardi Gras gnomes |
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| In resting butterflies |
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| In banana flowers! |
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| In knowing that weeds are plants whose virtues have been forgotten (that's Emerson, I think) |
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| In finding cozy nooks |
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| In ferns that spring from walls |
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| And flowers that spring from streets! |
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| You can figure this one out! |
To me...
Happy Valentine's Day!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
What's a Z Drive got to do with it?
There is a new ferryboat captain among us. Over the past week and a half, I surmise that his hard landings have loosened the teeth of just about everyone who rides the ferry on a regular basis.
I first noticed something different last week when we inched across the river and then slowed down even more as we approached the dock. To say we came in slowly was an understatement. Paint dried as we crossed the last 30 feet of river to the dock. Grass grew. I sprouted three new gray hairs and read Ulysses cover to cover. That afternoon I spotted my buddy Mr. A and asked him why the slow ferry movement had taken Algiers by storm.
Mr. A confirmed that there was, in fact, a ferryboat captain-in-training and that it would take a while for him to get used to piloting the boat because it had a Z drive, which most pilots aren’t used to.
What’s a Z drive, you ask? Well. According to Wikipedia and Mr. A, Z drive propulsion is the s*#t. It allows a boat to move every which way, which is important for ferryboats (so we don’t get run over by an oil tanker or can dodge Paul the Pelican, for instance).
From Wikipedia:
So apparently there are a lot of different levers to manipulate in a Z drive ferry and it takes a lot of time to learn to finesse them and work them all at one time. I bet a 10 year old video game aficionado could learn pretty fast, though.
Anywhoo, this morning Captain Novice was so slow that he didn’t manage to dock the ferry until 5 minutes after we were supposed to leave. And he came in at a really weird angle (in addition to failing Z drive class, I think he failed geometry, too). First he hit one side of the boat against the dock so hard that it almost made a light pole fall over, and caused 2 people to lose their footing. Then he inched the other side ever so slowly to the dock. After 5 minutes of excruciating maneuvers, you’d think he’d only caress the dock. But no, he SLAMMED into it a second time. By this point everyone waiting to board was either cracking up or rolling their eyes and I actually started to feel sorry for the guy.
Yes, it’s kind of hilarious, but it also made me think about how scary it is to be completely new to something. You just have to have faith and muddle along until you get the hang of it. Whether it’s yoga, cooking, working on an assembly line, or driving a ferry, cultivating your sense of humor along with new skills is important. And so I could learn to be a little more patient with Captain Novice. But I’m sending him a bill if I chip a tooth.
I first noticed something different last week when we inched across the river and then slowed down even more as we approached the dock. To say we came in slowly was an understatement. Paint dried as we crossed the last 30 feet of river to the dock. Grass grew. I sprouted three new gray hairs and read Ulysses cover to cover. That afternoon I spotted my buddy Mr. A and asked him why the slow ferry movement had taken Algiers by storm.
Mr. A confirmed that there was, in fact, a ferryboat captain-in-training and that it would take a while for him to get used to piloting the boat because it had a Z drive, which most pilots aren’t used to.
What’s a Z drive, you ask? Well. According to Wikipedia and Mr. A, Z drive propulsion is the s*#t. It allows a boat to move every which way, which is important for ferryboats (so we don’t get run over by an oil tanker or can dodge Paul the Pelican, for instance).
From Wikipedia:
“A Z-drive is a type of marine propulsion unit. Specifically, it is an azimuth thruster. The pod can rotate 360 degrees allowing for rapid changes in thrust direction and thus vessel direction. This eliminates the need for a conventional rudder.
The Z-drive is so named because of the appearance (in cross section) of the mechanical driveshaft or transmission configuration used to connect the mechanically-supplied driving energy to the Z-Drive azimuth thruster device. This form of power transmission is called a Z-drive because the rotary motion has to make two right angle turns, thus resembling the letter "Z".”
So apparently there are a lot of different levers to manipulate in a Z drive ferry and it takes a lot of time to learn to finesse them and work them all at one time. I bet a 10 year old video game aficionado could learn pretty fast, though.
Anywhoo, this morning Captain Novice was so slow that he didn’t manage to dock the ferry until 5 minutes after we were supposed to leave. And he came in at a really weird angle (in addition to failing Z drive class, I think he failed geometry, too). First he hit one side of the boat against the dock so hard that it almost made a light pole fall over, and caused 2 people to lose their footing. Then he inched the other side ever so slowly to the dock. After 5 minutes of excruciating maneuvers, you’d think he’d only caress the dock. But no, he SLAMMED into it a second time. By this point everyone waiting to board was either cracking up or rolling their eyes and I actually started to feel sorry for the guy.
Yes, it’s kind of hilarious, but it also made me think about how scary it is to be completely new to something. You just have to have faith and muddle along until you get the hang of it. Whether it’s yoga, cooking, working on an assembly line, or driving a ferry, cultivating your sense of humor along with new skills is important. And so I could learn to be a little more patient with Captain Novice. But I’m sending him a bill if I chip a tooth.
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