No matter how hard you try to plan trips so there won’t be any surprises, sometimes life has other plans for you. Without going into too much detail, this happened to us and that was how I ended up going to New Orleans by myself for a few days. At first I was a bit hesitant. My first day didn’t start with much promise since when I woke up it was pouring rain outside. I was hoping to walk around and snap some photos of the beautiful architecture and soak in the ambience of the city. The rain delayed my walk. And the wind after the rain stopped sent me shivering into a place called Déjà Vu. No tables were open so I grabbed a seat at the bar.
Not too long after, the front door swung open and a guy shouted, “I brought Frenchy.” I turned briefly and saw two drunk chaps stagger to the bar and take the seats next to me. One of the guys, Frenchy, was much older than the other guy. I tried not to take much notice since all I wanted to do was warm up and grab a bite before hitting the streets again. The bartender seemed to know the pair quite well and further into their conversation I started to pick up some interesting tidbits.
Frenchy asked the woman behind the bar if she read his book. This piqued my curiosity. New Orleans has a knack for collecting writers. Who was this guy? The waitress responded that she was worried that movie makers would take advantage of him and his story. The bartender explained that Frenchy was well-known as Mr. New Orleans and that even out-of-towners asked about Mr. New Orleans.
I had never heard of Mr. New Orleans. But I jotted down some notes to look him up when I got back to my hotel. I found out that I had lunch with a mobster, named Frenchy Brouillette. Now is this man really a mobster. That is a hard question to answer, however, he has written a book about his life, Mr. New Orleans: The Life of a Big Easy Underworld Legend. Read it and decide if you believe he is a mobster. I haven’t read the book yet. As for myself, I will forever tell people that I ate lunch with the famous Mr. New Orleans.
50 Year Project 
Nice story. I guess it is not enough to follow your adventures, I guess I will also have to start praying for your safety. ( smile ) And yes I will do just that.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
You are so sweet…thanks for all of your support and prayers.
This was nice dear TBM, I haven’t known this famous man too 🙂 But I wonder now. How interesting life as you meant… Thank you, have a nice day, with my love, nia
I think I’ll read his book eventually…he sounded like a character. Thanks Nia!
Holy Chicago. You never know who you’re going to run into on travels. Glad you’re safe. 🙂
That is one thing that makes traveling interesting…you never know what will happen.
I once owned a sign business in Toronto and discovered a renovated warehouse with units that were considerably affordable, so I moved in. Some while later the CBC was doing an expose on the Mob called ‘Connections’ and showed well known underworld figures having coffee on a park bench. I realised suddenly that the park bench was familiar, and so were the grouping of men. That particular park bench was just below my newly-acquired shop windows–and yes, every morning these guys had coffee and smokes there and were obviously under observation. Then one day, one of them came into my business–“Uh, you make signs?” He was wearing a camel-coloured coat and fedora to match. “I want two signs for my house that says, ‘Beware of the DOGS’ and make sure there’s an ‘S'”. His name was Paul Volpe. I say, ‘was’, because a year later his body was found stuffed in a BWM’s trunk at the Toronto Airport.
I think I’ll pass on Mr. New Orleans’ book. Thanks anyways. (smile)
Wow that is a story! I was surprised that Mr. New Orleans wrote a book about his life. I would be worried that my fate would end up like Mr. Volpe. I would never make a good mobster…too many worries for me.
Thank you, T.B.
Oh my goodness…well, at least you got a great story out of it! You never know what can happen, sometimes you are pleasantly surprised, and sometimes it turns out to be a nightmare. I know what it’s like to have plans go awry.
I prefer the pleasant surprises, but the nightmares make us appreciate the good ones more. Life is not perfect, but I do my best to enjoy it.
I liked that story… very nice. One day I’d like to go to New Orleans.
New Orleans was so much fun…the people, the atmosphere…everything is wonderful.
What an exciting life you lead! 🙂 (Although to me the most exciting part is how many places you’ve been and seen.)
I do love to travel!
What a fun story, I am glad that you shared this story.
Why wouldn’t you want to read the book?
Some people question the validity of the book since he is so open about his crimes and criminals he interacted with. But I may have to read it to find out what I think about his story. See if it is believable.
New Orleans.. ahh… the setting of one of my favorite series “the vampire chronicles” by anne rice 🙂
It was Rice’s novel, The Witching Hour, that spurred this trip. I wanted to see the Garden District.
o gosh! so cool! im going to read that… (currently writing in note pad “read the witching hour” please wait….) you should try reading the vampire chronicles… its awesome… it tackles love, fantasy, religion, sex, society, history… what more can you ask for? (free advertisement, welcome publishers! :P)
I actually have Interview on my list for this fall to read. The Witching Hour tackles the same themes and the witches are kinda cool too 🙂 I read the entire witch series. The second in the series isn’t as good, but the third one improved. The first is by far the best.
How cool! And what a wonderful story you have to tell now. 🙂
I love New Orleans. Such a fun city with lots of character (and characters!). I noticed in your comments that you wanted to see the Garden District. That was one of the places I *had* to see too (because of Anne Rice).
I wonder how many people have wanted to visit New Orleans because of Anne Rice. I loved her descriptions of the Garden District and I wasn’t disappointed at all. New Orleans is a wonderful city.
Made me wistful of my week in New Orleans – while I did not have such an exciting time as you did, the town has cast a voodoo spell on me, as I believe I’ve mentioned to you before. Fell in love with the city.
Oh the city is just marvelous. I know what you mean by casting a voodoo spell on you. I would love to go back.