In addition to Umberto Eco’s book I slowly absorb, for this trip to New Orleans I’ve brought along “Small green roofs: low-tech options for greener living,” by Nigel Dunnett, Dusty Gedge, John Little & Edmund C. Snodgrass; “Wonder Woman Volume 1 Blood” by Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang and Tony Akins.

These feed my subsequent storylines.

Below me, Bourbon Street narrows perspectively into the distance.

Bridges over Lake Pontchartrain hump up like snake skeletons.

Broken windows, torn roofs and new construction remind me that Hurricane Katrina is still a fresh memory, if not as painful as before.

Late-night dancers remind me that my years of running, training for 5ks, 10ks, 10-milers, half marathons and a couple of full marathons resulted in no style points — only start-to-finish times.

On the desk beside me, a Mason jar mostly full of Ole Smoky Tennessee blackberry moonshine, a half-pint of homemade moonshine, a corked jug of Chattanooga Whiskey Co 1816 Reserve handcrafted whiskey, 875 ml of Captain Morgan original spiced rum, and an open container of Monster Rehab Green Tea + Energy handed to me on a dark street corner from the bed of a truck dripping/gushing with ice meltwater by a gal sporting tight shorts and T-shirt promoting infused water in a Ball aluminium canister.

Q: What am I doing here?

A: Helping my wife make a dream come true.

What am I doing here for me? I don’t know. It’s not always about me, despite fermented contradictory evidence.

Dr. Sim C. Liddon once told me that I and only i can decide that I truly want to live, rather than merely survive until I die.

Every so often I take his advice and act as if I want to live. Usually, though, I watch the calendar days flip past in some clichéd film about the passage of time.

Who, me? Mais oui!

This evening, I compete with my wife in the less-experienced/least-judged competition category of West Coast Swing dancers.

We will dance, no doubt about that, but what are we competing against?

I compete against my own thoughts all the time, finding the most personal joy writing these love notes with my present self to my future self about my past selves in order to perpetuate the illusion of time.

…one set of states of energy…hmm…enough about me!

A nod to Buzzy & Kellie, Dean & Dawn for putting together an event to give my wife a dream realised. Time to find our dance instructor Abi for one more mini-lesson in how to keep from tripping over my and/or my wife’s feet for at least 90 seconds in front of a crowd of onlookers.