New Orleans, day 6

Great, productive day today. We got a lot finished on the house, and then wrapped up for the day at around 3:30 and headed home. After cleaning, showing, and getting ready, we took off to the French Quarter.
We ate in a great little place called the Gumbo Shop, with tiny tables and a great atmosphere. I sat with Christine, Jackie, Ryan (from MDS) and Stacy. It was good to eat great food and chat and generally have a great meal.
After food it was time to hit the streets. I struck out with Steve, Jackie, and Stacy and we covered a good portion of the French Quarter, poking into little random shops and seeing the sights. The Quarter reminded me a lot of Paris and parts of Germany, with narrow streets and balconies lining the road. The cap to the evening was a walk down Bourbon Street, a hive of scum and villany if ever there was one. Tons of strip clubs, alcohol everywhere, and lots and lots of people. And this was simply an ordinary Friday night – no special events or anything. The music was great, with live bands playing in many of the clubs, the music wafting above the noise of the crowds.
Bourbon street was an interesting experience. It was far gaudier than I was expecting, with blazing neon signs and kitschy shops. One of the big highlights was a strip joint with a pair of animatronic legs appearing and disappearing from above its signage. Bizarre and hilarious. Another highlight was a creepy old man (late fifties at least), dancing for some girls up on the balconies. He was obviously trying to get them to show some skin, and was obviously smashed and making a fool out of himself. It was great to watch and laugh. He wasn’t very successful.

I also got the chance to talk to some of the evangelists down on the street as well. One fellow set up a big white wooden cross with an LCD panel giving a fire-and-brimstone salvation method. It’s sad to see that the only message that many of these people are presented with has been so twisted. I also talked to another guy who was around my age, and seemed to have his heart in the right place. He was still handing out tracts, but he seemed very willing to actually enter into conversation with people rather than shoot them down and condemn them instantly. I still think that the majority of streetcorner evangelism is wrong and badly used, but I am beginning to wonder if there is a place for it, within the correct context.

Tomorrow we fly home, but we still get to spend the morning in the French Quarter before flying out at around 5:30 our time. And then it’s back to school.