No right angles
I’m spending a week in New Orleans volunteering on a rebuilding project. I’ve never been to the Big Easy, so suffice it to say I’ve been learning a lot, and seeing a lot! On our first workday I helped lay kitchen tile, which involved spreading glop all over the floor, fitting the tiles, and prepping the tiles for grout. What a mess! At one point my friend and I were obsessing about the exact measurements of the tiles. We were worried that they were just a little bit off. But then our contractor/supervisor came in, saw what we were doing, and said, “Don’t worry about it. We’re not building a new house, we’re restoring an old one. And you need to know–there are no right angles in New Orleans.”
New Orleans culture is a far cry from my Midwestern upbringing, and even my lifestyle in Seattle. But it seems to me that it’s healthy to live and work (at least for a while) in a part of the world that doesn’t get anxious about the teeny tiny details. There are lots of right angles in my life. New Orleans gives me just the perspective I need.
