The Funnest Place on Earth

Even after Katrina, New Orleans is the funnest city in the world. It's almost 4 AM and I'm just getting back from my reunion and the night on the town that followed.

Tipitina's. The place I first cut my dancing feet. Where you can still hear Cab Calloway, Sly and the Family Stone and Curtis Mayfield songs performed live by musicians younger than me. Where funk still packs the house and people dance till dawn. Where the night builds and builds and everyone shares an understanding of the musical tradition.

Professor Longhair smiles down from the stage and people remember. Somehow I end up dancing on stage, just like the old days. The band calls for three ladies to come up and dance and my friends push me towards the stage. I dance my heart out and my old classmates cheer me on. The song ends and I descend from the stage only to be greeted by a very good old friend who I haven't seen in years, who I lost touch with somewhere along the way. She picks me up and spins me around. We dance the rest of the night together, as if we never missed a beat.

So here I am back in my hotel room reminiscing about my life tonight and my life 10 years ago. At this moment it feels like the same thing. My ears are buzzing and my voice is hoarse. I've talked and danced the night away. There's something about New Orleans that awakens my joy for life. Something missing in Los Angeles and London and all the cities I've lived since. New Orleans is home. I am the city.

I'm happy here. I feel at peace. It doesn't even bother me that all my former classmates are doctors, lawyers and real estate agents living in Texas and Louisiana. I'm just a poor documentary filmmaker living in Los Angeles, but here I feel at home.