This happened either late 2006 or early 2007. I know it was after I moved back to New Orleans from being in exile due to Katrina.
My old next-door neighbor, R, is one of my closest friends. She’s this big ball of energy that infects you if you get too close to her. If I’m having a crappy day, a nice word or a smile from her always makes me feel better. If I’m low on energy, just 5 minutes in her presence makes me want to get up off my ass (that was for you, Debbie!) posterior and DO SOMETHING!!!
The thing with R is…you never know what’s gonna happen when you go out with her.
Now, normally, nothing real big happens. Just lots of drinking (not her, she doesn’t drink that much…natural DD!) and laughs and drinking and laughs. Did I mention drinking and laughs? If not, those are always had by all.
R is the best at hook-ups. She works for a HUGE corporation that includes ownership of places such as oh, let’s say, The Chicken Ranch and Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club and Déjà vu. Yeah….she works for them.
But not as a “dancer”. No siree, you’ll never catch R up on that nasty, nasty pole.
She has family ties that go way back and is connected to some very notable people in New Orleans. Such as Dr. John (he’s her godfather) and Andrew Jaeger (one of her bosses).
She runs a hotel in the French Quarter and has run several of the many, many restaurants Andrew Jaeger has “owned” and “operated” throughout his years in NOLA.
She has connections out the wazoo when it comes to clubs and casinos and bars and restaurants.
If that wasn’t enough to make you want to be friends with her….she’s funny and generous to a fault and is just one of the best people on Earth. Don’t even get me started on her husband and son. You will never meet better people.
Having said all that….R sometimes comes up with “interesting” things to do and it usually has to do with her connections to various places in the city.
Her uncle is a cross dresser and has/had access to plays and clubs of the “alternative” kind.
One day, she asked me if I wanted to go see a play that her uncle either put on or ran…not sure which. It was in the Marigny and since I had never been there after dark, I said, “Sure”…plus…free play!
She said that her mom and grandmother were attending and we would be able to get front row seats!!!
Awesome!!! Score!!!!
New Orleans is known for their art productions of all kinds so I knew that the play would be entertaining. Either because it sucked hard core and we could make fun of it or it would be great.
All she would tell me about the play is that it was called “Take Me Out” and it had something to do with baseball players and it was a production of all men.
Ok, cool…I was down with that. I love me some men.
So, we get in her Dodge Charger and drive down to the Marigny. We park the car and go into the theatre. R talks to the man behind the curtain and we go all the way inside and find our table at the very front . Not even 5 feet from the stage.
It’s one of those small theatres that holds about….50 people or so. Very tiny.
We’re sitting at a round table with normal chairs. You know, the kind you find at reception halls and the like.
R’s mom and grandma show up and sit right behind us. We’re all chatting away and the lights go dim.
All of a sudden…….
…..there’s like 20 NAKED swinging willies in my face…of all sizes and shapes and colors.
All the men were nude. It was a nude play.
A play of naked men.
Nude males five feet from my face.
On the one hand, it was like a gift from God.
Except…they were all gay.
On the other hand, it was hysterical.
But it wasn’t supposed to be.
It was supposed to be art.
But, c’mon. Willies 5 FEET FROM MY FACE!!! How do you not laugh? Seriously, how do you not laugh?
To this day, I still don’t know what it was about. Something about race and homosexuality and prejudice and yada yada yada.
All I took away from the whole thing was 20 willies hanging free in the wind with me only 5 feet away.
This is the reason I love R and New Orleans (except to live there).
Later,
Mama Dawg
P.S. If you want a link to the review (no nudie pics….sorry!) click here.
