AND SO IT BEGINS...DAY ONE 2017 NOWM

Once again, New Orleans has left me breathless, filled beyond words, and aching for more. While I'm here this week for my 3rd writing marathon experience, I feel the need to share brief snippets of what is coming through my pen to paper.

Breakfast at Croissant D'Or, early Monday morning brought this (disclaimer: these are all very rough free write drafts...no revision has yet occurred and possibly might never occur)

     And so it begins, I thought. Yet, it is not the beginning, but rather a continuation of the awakening the French Quarter opened in me three years ago.
     It is coming home to an old friend.
     Pushing open the front door of LeRichelieu this morning, stepping onto the porch, my breathing steadied. My smile is softer, eager; my steps are bolder, sure of where I head...Croissant D'Or for breakfast and writing. Gallier House awaiting just around the block.
     Writing seems natural here and I wonder, are there other 'Marathoners' here now? Perhaps first timers, filled with the nervous excitement of my own virgin New Orleans adventure. Slightly terrified, but ready to explore and learn and play!
     My love of New Orleans was a completely unpredictable bolt of energy, joyousness, and longing. Any fear I once held has evaporated, replaced with Lagniappe, beignets, and the unquenchable love of life that seems an aura of the French Quarter's people.
     There is love here in the Quarter and it fills pieces of me that I'd forgotten were empty.
     What might this week create?
     The specifics, at this moment, matter not.
     My heart is open, my smile is real, and my pen is ready.





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