| Donna Bonner |
| Copyright 2007 Red Pulp Underground |
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Red Pulp Underground
| Louisiana in Words, edited by Joshua Clark (Pelican Press, 2007): The Old Gentlemen Franklin Avenue, near St. Claude, New Orleans, LA 2 pm, Saturday, April 9th, 2005 The old gentlemen on the neutral ground sit in folding chairs and drink coffee and beer. They wear dress pants with short sleeve shirts and jaunty caps. The smoke from their cigarettes rises like halos around their heads and caresses the limbs of the crepe myrtle tree above them. Occasionally, one of them gestures with a finger as he speaks and then they all throw their heads back and laugh. The old gentlemen are the guardians of the neighborhood. You could walk up to them and ask them any question, like “Where can you buy the best men’s undershirts?” or “Who’s sleeping with the preacher’s wife?” And they’d pause for a second, stare at you, and then the guy in the Saints cap with the Miller Pony in his hand would answer: “Old Chinese guy on St. Claude near the junk store has the best price on shirts and you better talk to Eugene here about the preacher’s wife.” November 2007 |