Melinda Palacio
The world is halfway open. Let’s hope the honor system doesn’t backfire and force us into another round of lockdowns. Signs in New Orleans no longer insists on people wearing masks for entry into a restaurant or cafe. Instead, the signs say something vague such as If You Are Fully Vaccinated, Masks Are Optional. Such signs seem to validate the people who are against wearing masks and vaccinations. I wonder if everyone is really complying or are they continuing selfish behavior? Presumably, the people at risk are the ones who have been selfish throughout the pandemic and have refused to mask and accept the vaccine for the good of everyone else. I’ve seen too many people die of this strange and no longer novel virus.
One of the more positive things to come out of the pandemic is the camaraderie between neighbors. Neighbors who are friendlier because they spent so many months isolated from friends and loved ones. In a city such as New Orleans, everyone is a neighbor, not just the people who live adjacent to your home. In Italy, the pandemic brought balcony concerts. In New Orleans, porch concerts are how musical people entertain the neighborhood. Earlier this year, I remember seeing live stream porch concerts on social media and thinking how lucky the people with access to talented people are. Porch concerts and living room shows were great to watch online when the world was on lockdown. While I enjoyed hearing singers and musicians online from their living rooms, there’s nothing like live entertainment. There’s an energy and rumble in your stomach that you can’t capture while watching a show online. I will give social media credit for bringing events I might not know about to my attention.
If it weren’t for a post online, I wouldn’t have found out about the porch concert by Margie Perez. She status update was simple, said she would be playing music on her porch and invited all her friends to join in both as audience and entertainers. The musicians kept arriving, mostly from her neighborhood. The scene seemed like something out of a movie set, but that’s just another day in New Orleans.
One of the more positive things to come out of the pandemic is the camaraderie between neighbors. Neighbors who are friendlier because they spent so many months isolated from friends and loved ones. In a city such as New Orleans, everyone is a neighbor, not just the people who live adjacent to your home. In Italy, the pandemic brought balcony concerts. In New Orleans, porch concerts are how musical people entertain the neighborhood. Earlier this year, I remember seeing live stream porch concerts on social media and thinking how lucky the people with access to talented people are. Porch concerts and living room shows were great to watch online when the world was on lockdown. While I enjoyed hearing singers and musicians online from their living rooms, there’s nothing like live entertainment. There’s an energy and rumble in your stomach that you can’t capture while watching a show online. I will give social media credit for bringing events I might not know about to my attention.
If it weren’t for a post online, I wouldn’t have found out about the porch concert by Margie Perez. She status update was simple, said she would be playing music on her porch and invited all her friends to join in both as audience and entertainers. The musicians kept arriving, mostly from her neighborhood. The scene seemed like something out of a movie set, but that’s just another day in New Orleans.
No comments:
Post a Comment