Missing out

This past week I have felt terrible. Due to the gorgeous springtime weather, my allergies kicked into high gear and had me wheezing like…well…a person with asthma triggered by severe allergies. The only way to avoid an expensive trip to the emergency room that my finances couldn’t possibly withstand, I had to take it easy the past few days, stay inside to avoid pollen and other irritants, and basically sit on my butt and relax. You see, my dad taught me that you can beat any asthma attack by simply remaining calm. The more worked up you got, the more stressed out you became about breathing through a pinhole, only made the attack worse.

Anyhow, this state of extreme mellowness I had to maintain also meant that I was missing out on all kinds of events that were happening this weekend…big time.

I could have been “porking out” in City Park at Hogs for the Cause, eating my way through a forest of culinary bliss at Taste of the Town in Lafreniere Park, screaming my lungs out at the Stanley & Stella Shouting Contest in Jackson Square for the Tennessee Williams Festival or tasting from the annual Roadfood Festival booths lining Royal Street. Probably worst of all, I missed out on an epic crawfish boil that took place at Casey & Brandon’s house on the Westbank. They’re quite possibly the coolest couple on earth and the first people I met in New Orleans who introduced me to wonders of a fantastic crawfish boil.

Sad and mopey, I confined myself to the bedroom and read most of the time. On Saturday, my sweet, sweet man not only bought me a dozen sunset colored roses, he also acquired a big, fat bag of boiled crawfish and fixin’s from Big Fisherman on Magazine Street.

As we sucked the heads and pinched the tails, I couldn’t help smiling at John and tapping my foot to the Bob Marley station we set on Pandora. Just being with the love of my life and enjoying a great meal I realized, perhaps I hadn’t missed out on all that much…after all, there’s always next weekend!