b.rox

Over the last few weeks I’ve been fiddling with constructing my family tree on ancestry.com. (Thanks to my old high school friend Georgie for getting me hooked.) I managed to trace one line back as far as Torvild Ljøstad, my great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great [...]

On Friday, with a little time to kill, my daughter and I stopped by one of the many cemeteries clustered in our neighborhood. I’d been in this one before, but I came through a different gate, so I had never seen the name “Dispersed of Judah.” I hadn’t noticed it was a Jewish cemetery, though [...]

We adopted Archer back in 2002, I think, when we were living uptown. Actually we didn’t so much adopt her as take over feeding her when some guys down the street abandoned her. I’m not sure how old she was at that time, but she was already full grown. When we bought our house in [...]

Nicky came our way last summer, under circumstances that can best be described as silly if not stupid. I was never too close to him, because I frankly hardened my heart against all pets after Lucy disappeared. But even I had to admit this docile little lagamorph held a certain charm. Alas, Nicky died this [...]

Folds seemed to be doing better immediately after her surgery. But a week or so later she took a turn for the worse. She was lethargic. Then she got more lethargic. She couldn’t make it to the litter box. She didn’t have the strength to eat. She could barely take a drink of water. She [...]

Here is a mix we listen to in our house when someone passes on. We listened to this last night after getting news that Xy’s grandmother Pauline had finally slipped away after a protracted struggle. My notes indicate Pauline appeared only in a single episode of our TV show, namely “A Day in the Life,” [...]

I just learned that Coleen Salley, the “Grocery Cart Queen,” passed away yesterday. I never met her, but I did encounter her (and her krewe) on Mardi Gras, 2007, and I took this picture, which I offer now as a tribute: Rest in peace, Coleen.

I spent a few hours over the past week helping a friend pack up and move. Something I’ve done many times before. Only, in this case, my friend already left. And wherever he is now, he won’t be needing his file cabinets or his shoes or his pipe collection… or any of his worldly possessions. [...]

Anne McKinley phoned me this afternoon to let me know that our mutual friend Scott Speake quite unexpectedly died over the weekend. We all knew each other through our book club. Anne sent this e-mail to our discussion group: I have just been informed that Scott Speake, one of the founding members of the Octavia [...]

Our household has been diminished by one. He doesn’t look sick, does he? But this is the last picture ever taken of Milo. He was lethargic and not eating much, so we took him into the vet just after this picture was taken. They confirmed he was having some serious issues, and kept him over [...]

Probably my oldest friend that I am still in regular contact with is J, famous to some as the bumbling bartender on ROX. I’m on a first-name basis with his family, though I haven’t seen much of them lately. I almost feel like they are a second set of distant relatives. So it was particularly [...]

Just learned of the untimely passing of New Orleans’ own Robert Asprin, creator of Thieves’ World and Another Fine Myth and many other science fiction and fantasy works.

Dad wrote me a nice note and, since I know he reads this blog, I thought I’d answer him here.

I’ve learned a bit more about Ashley’s passing. It’s distressing to realize that he left behind not only his wife but three young children (ages 2, 3 and 5). This family could certainly use a lot of help from all of us, so please consider making a donation. Xy and I did. We couldn’t give [...]

Everybody’s favorite passionately profane New Orleans überpatriot blogger Ashley Morris has passed on. I really don’t know anything about the circumstances of his death except to say he was way too young. This is a tragedy. And I really don’t know what to say, except that I sure will miss his voice. I didn’t really [...]

Yesterday Al Copeland died at the tender age of 64. Outside New Orleans he was primarily known as the founder of Popeyes Fried Chicken. Around the local area he was known for all sorts of things, but most of all for being a character. My only real connection to Al is this: The judge he [...]

Yesterday, when I was feeling like I wanted to die, someone named Israel Lopez was dealing with the real thing. Better known as Cachao, this Cuban dude basically invented the mambo and a few other Latin genres besides. I don’t really know that much about him, and I’ve never seen the film about him that [...]

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I ordered a pizza for pick-up, but when I got there it wasn’t quite ready. To kill a few minutes, I walked down the street, and there on St. Anthony between Iberville and Canal I came across a cemetery I’d never seen before. The gate was ajar and I ventured inside. I’m wary of New [...]

MaPó called me Saturday afternoon to tell me John Scott had passed on. I never met the great sculptor, despite his close association with the University’s art department, and now I never will. His works live on, though: down by the river, over on St. Bernard Avenue and right in the middle of the University’s [...]

I got news yesterday that Jeff Hamlin has passed on. Jeff was not too much older than me. He was an entrepreneur who helped start Pizza Express in Bloomington, Indiana. Throughout the calendar year of 1996 he helped us try to figure out a business plan for ROX. We did not succeed, but it sure [...]