Two posts

Monday
I started an entry on Saturday night that I didn’t finish. So first you’ll see the truncated narrative for Saturday and then you’ll get the mini update for today. To your left is a mural in my neighborhood. Note the fleur de lis in the upper left corner. The fleur de lis is the symbol for both the city of Louisville (named after Louis XIV of France... still not sure why) and New Orleans (Louisiana, France... )

Saturday
It was another beautiful day in the neighborhood.

There are times I wonder if I am so silly happy with this place because the last seven or eight months in New Orleans were so darned hard. It’s quite possible that my elation with life in Louisville is simply a post-traumatic euphoria. I say that, but tonight we had dinner with a couple who moved to Louisville three months ago from South Florida, and they’re just as enthusiastic as we are. Of course, they, too, lived through four hurricanes—albeit milder ones—in the two years they were there. Still and all, Brett and Beth were all giggles and bubbles over this place too.

Strange but nice evening. This year at WRW (Jason’s 10-day writing workshop in Erlanger) the guest literary agent, Peter, told Jas that one of his best friends had just moved to Louisville and that we should look him up when we moved. Jas did and Brett invited us to dinner tonight along with another couple whom he’d never met—other friends of friends. It was like a big, weird blind triple date. But you know, it took me a long damned time to be invited to dinner at someone’s house in NOLA. Here, two weeks. Pretty nifty.

A few days ago, Jas and I were listening to the radio and we discovered that this weekend was the last weekend of this racing season at Churchill Downs, so yesterday we took the day off from home duty and headed out to the track. What a fantastic day! I’ve probably been to the Fairgrounds in NOLA a half dozen times or so— and I have to admit that I missed the corned beef sandwiches—but there’s really no comparison. Churchill (who bought the Fairgrounds a couple years ago) is majestic. It just feels important and historic. Jason joked about the fact that when the track reopens in the fall, he’ll be there every day, and unlike at the Fairgrounds, that “threat” seemed credible here.

We got there around 2pm for a 230p start and cased the joint. It’s HUGE. It was a stinking hot day, but there’s ample shade. And for $2 general admission, man, you can’t beat that with a stick. On Fridays they have a “happy hour” from 4-7pm with $1.50 beers and hot dogs. If you don’t bet a penny, you’re looking at a whole day that’s cheaper than a movie and popcorn. Of course, if you DO bet… well…

I was exceedingly proud of myself. We stayed for 10 races and I bet every single one from $2-$10. I stuck $20 in the self-wagering machines when I got there, and when I cashed out after race 10, I had $22.40. I was never up much—at one point I had $39.60, almost double my money. One of the races I bet, I bet $2 win-place-show on a midlevel longshot and won $26. When I went, I told myself that I was willing to lose $40, so coming out $2.40 ahead was a boon.

Around race 9, the sky turned a sudden black—it was 630p or so… speaking of which, I am astonished by how late it stays light here… we don’t have full dark until almost 10pm. So after race 10, we decided to call it a day, and we’d no sooner run to our car than the sky opened up and there was thunder and lightening and flooding. The ten minute drive took us twice as long and by the time we got home the phones were out and the satellite was out and the thunder was a constant rumble. Midwestern summer storms, a new weather condition to get used to. The storms lasted until almost 10pm and when I woke up this morning I saw that a massive tree limb had been felled by lightning a block away and had blocked the northbound lane of Baxter Street. I yard sale hopped today and saw three other similarly blocked streets.

Monday
Ran out of gas with that entry. Sorry for that. Ma arrived today for a five day visit, and while Jas’s family visited the weekend we moved it, it was so nice to have our first true visitor. Jas’s family saw the very rough outline of the house; Ma’s seeing a more decorated, more actualized abode.

This weekend we spent $80 at Lowe’s buying plants. End of season sale, we got a steal. I was tickled pink that in Louisville we’re able to grow both Crepe Myrtles (a ubiquitous tree in New Orleans) and lilacs (one of my favorite plants—there were a ton around when I was a kid in New England). The yard is Jas’s pet project. Sometimes I wish he was as invested in the inside of the house as he is the outside of the house. He’s always out there mowing (bought a rotary mower at a yard sale), watering, and digging.

Check out my pictures of Churchill Downs here.