The OFFICIAL Book Tour culminated Saturday in Vicksburg, appropriately on the Mississippi Blues Trail, which attracts not only domestic travelers but scores of international visitors each year.  Here, one can see locotourism is action, the town thriving off roadways and an energetic, dedicated group of Arts District residents who live, work and socialize in studios and salons.  No wonder Europeans love it. 

Laura Weeks and husband Troy opened Lorelei Books in a personal exodus from corporate life and urban living.  (Remember The Creative Class)  What they found was a way of Southern life both modern and provincial, making it up along the way as they led the revitalization of an entire town.  It began with gutting what is now their bookstore and finishing out above a pied-a-terre right in a small town.  Others followed and now many work below their living quarters, contributing each morning to the local coffeehouse, conversation and arts fellowship.

That day, AD and I met so many who claim Laura is the anchor of that rural love, transforming a near-abandoned downtown with her enterprising spirit and bookstore--a sign of intelligent life--and it has been contagious.  Like so many southerners, Laura has sense of family and home which pervades Lorelei, so that one feels the provincial flair within the veracity of a New York shop.  Her family ancestral home, Chretien Point, is a book unto itself, and when browsing, one feels as if each title has been personally selected for you--an eclectic selection that makes you want to expand your usual repetoire.  I swear I almost took home a bio on Daniel Boone ! 

Of those she introduced, the theme of Backyards spoke to me, first with "You Are Where You Eat" by Elsa Hahne, which captures the recipes of real New Orleanians in their neighborhood kitchens.  I always say I can spot someone from nola in O'Hare.  They just have that kinda sweet face with a little Elvis in them--an irrististable combination.  Here, someone has effectively captured that in the food, asking for their "Holy Trinity."  No one there understood the significance but to me, she broke the code.  (In Translation....that's the three ingredients you can't live without in your kitchen.) Of course AD, chef extraordinaire had a strange take on this question, replying butter, flour and green onions.  I guess he plans for us to live on hush puppies, which would make him, along with his "redneck tea," very happy.

But the real surprise of the day came from the companion book of a Katrina Collection titled Backyards and Beyond by HC Porter.  The Warholesque artist is a real asset to the state, her work appearing in Hollywood homes, Governors mansions and well anyone who loves contemporary art with its own version of social gospel.  Its Southern, real and remarkable.  AD and I had the opportunity to visit her studio up Washington Street.  The Collection is on exhibit, based on 9000 photos and innumerable field recordings post-K.  When we met, there was an instant connection, that of the storm.  We were both telling the same story, just in different languages.  In her book, HC wrote, "To be human is to be on a journey.  To be a survivor of a hurricane is to advance that journey."  Wow, I wish I had written that.  www.loreleibooks.com and www.hcporter.com

On The Rooftop with HC Porter

The View

Perhaps it was the torrential rains that covered the Gulf Coast for days prior, but when AD and I set foot upon Main Street and felt the bay breeze, whiffed the briny air and watched the sun set upon the languid white caps, we paused and remembered the beauty and the storm. 

Inside, the people flowed with stories of heroism and despair, for they had lost everything to the waves.  To the wind and rain.  To the eternal grace of the bay. 

Everyone seemed to have lost everything--and like all bittersweet sagas, one must truly hear it from the storyteller to capture its full heartfelt effect. 

For those experiencing Katrina apathy, no, they're not over it, for healing has its own timeline, and personally, I think they deserve all the time in the world. 

But we also saw the renewal, and the perseverance of small business to rebound and thrive.  Bay Books celebrates its third year this month and was one of the busiest stores we have visited this summer.  Check out their books on Walter Anderson, the Mississippi artist who drew inspiration from Horn Island, and with any purchase, receive a free Indie Bound recyclable bag as their birthday gift to you.

After dark, we made our way downtown for the "Second Saturday Celebration" and I thought how as a young girl, I listened to my grandmother, Mary Alice, a native, reminisce about Betsy and Camille decades later, and never did it lose its grip on my senses. 

Now, decades later, I know never is it a waste of time to remember those experiences because we are all experiences in the making.  And theirs is one of victory.

I fell for the Cane River and the town of Natchitoches last year, when I was preparing the final manuscript of The Broken Fall for my publisher.  I can't really say how I arrived there, but I can say after one week, I was sold on meat pies, devouring them daily in my makeshift office.  Best known as the hometown of this Southern delicacy and the book turned iconic southern film Steel Magnolias, there is another side to the town that flourishes with tourists and locals in the former settlement that brags it is actually older than New Orleans.  Come on, I said.  But truly, they claim it and well, I was never the historian.  So along this pastoral boulevard, the riverfront, crawls people, lots of them, especially east Texans loving the food, ambiance and nightlife, and the lovely and inspiring Book Mercant, J. Michael, my idea of an Americam bouquiniste, and I felt for a moment back on the Seine in Paris, watching the art of bookselling along the promenade.  (Hint....He's right there on the right with his beautiful assistant Deidre).

This man loves his customers, hand-selling and knowing them on a first name basis, and I can tell you every one left pleased with their find, and no one left emply-handed.  It was well, great.  But even more fun were the eclectic mix of those we met, including Miss Natchitoches, many Post-K transplants from New Orleans and the Misses Breaux Bridge, who were visiting the aforementioned reigning queen.  

Royalty does still exist in America, as I can attest, and I even got for one small moment, to sample that rare delight of being a real beauty queen, as Miss Natchitoches handed me her crown,  It's true!!! and well, I'd like to thank everyone that made this possible, especially AD caught below sampling the local fare!  He always thinks its a party, I swear>>>>>He's even beginning to get his own fan base on these road trips...look how how he holds court! Unbelievable, and awesome, we love you Book Merchant!