New Orleans

"They never came back after the storm..."

    We're in New Orleans and that's what the woman behind the counter of the Avalon Best Western  Hotel told us when we asked about the men we'd befriended the last time we were there. When I asked her and the man behind the concierge counter if they knew where they were now they both shook their heads and said no in a solemn tone.
     A few years ago when the ReadNex was made up of only Cuttz, Decora and myself (Latin) we went on a tour throughout the U.S.A. We stopped in New Orleans and after telling "the Reverend" (Manager on Duty that day that was also a reverend) about our music and our tour he let us stay at a discounted price. We were later introduced to Joseph (concierge and shuttle bus driver). He took drove us around New Orleans, told us where to go, where to be extra careful and even picked us up. That night, after he drove us back to the hotel we all (Cuttz, Decora, the Reverend, Joseph and myself)  sat down in the lobby for hours and talked about society, God, Faith, determination and following ones dreams. When none of us could keep our eye lids open we began to say our good byes. Before Joseph said goodbye to me he looked me in the eyes, pulled out $25 and said that God had told him to give them to me. He said that he didn't know what I'd  need it for but that I would definitely need it for something. I was left without words. When I could muster up something to say I said thank you, hugged him and headed to our room.
    The next day while on the road our van decided that it didn't want to work anymore. After further inspection we realized that it was the water pump. Fortunately, we were right next to an auto part shop and got the van over there before it decided to stop running completely. They had the parts that we needed and Decora and I decided that we were somehow going to get the pump on with over the phone instructions from his father later from his brother. We spent the entire day there and every now and then the guy in the auto part shop would come out and give us some pointers. He was also kind enough to lend us some tools. We were traveling with extremely limited amount of money so we had to keep expenses to a minimum. In addition, we had to hit the next event in Texas. The guy at the auto part shop had called a well known town mechanic they called "Super Dave". But Decora and I tried to get it the van fixed ourselves in an effort to save time and money. The sun had gone down and the money crept up in the sky when we finally got the broken water pump off. We still had to get the new one on and were having trouble figuring it out. The auto part shop was soon going to close and we were going to have to return the tools soon. Fortunately, the guy told us we could leave the tools somewhere hidden since we were in a bind and that he'd pick them up in the morning. Right before the auto part shop closed "Super Dave" pulled up with his wife smoking a cigarette in the passenger seat.     He was was wearing tanned overalls and that had seemingly been soaked in oil and grease for years. It  difficult to say whether his hands, face, overalls or shoes had the most oil and grease on them so lets just say he was reeeaaallly dirty. He walked over to the car introduced himself and mentioned that he'd been called but the guy in the auto part shop hours ago and that he'd heard our situation. He'd been there earlier but he'd spent the day working on other cars. His van was similar to ours only his was full of tools, parts, oils and other car necessities. He told his wife what he needed and with cigarette still in mouth she began arranging the tools. As he prepped for work we all worried how much he'd charge us.   It was late, he was obviously experienced and we were just a few young out of towners. Within 20 minutes "Super Dave" had the pump on and the van revving. What took Decora and myself to take out had taken him minutes to replace. While the bus revved Decora came up to me and said "ummmm I need those $25 bucks Joseph gave you". I quickly raised my voice and told him "No....Joseph told me I'd need these $25 bucks and I'm saving them for that moment. Decora laughed and said "Yeah...uhh Super Dave is charging us $20 and I say we give him the other $5 as a tip... At first I didn't believe him and then was amazed at what had happened. We all thanked "Super Dave" and he drove off while we stood mystified but what had happened.
    This all happened not long before Hurricane Katrina. As we pulled into New Orleans I saw the hotel sign and my heart began to pound. DJ H20 drove in and parked while Decora, Cuttz and myself walked into the lobby with hopes that we'd see either "the Reverend" or Joseph. Part of me didn't want to get off of the bus. I kept thinking to myself...What if they're not there? My thoughts were confirmed and what we had hoped to be a joyous reunion became a quiet walk back to the bus as the three of us made sense at what had just occurred.
    Wherever they are...we hope that they are well...and are as blessed as we were the day we met them. They will always circumnavigate our memories as we push forward and follow the teachings they bestowed upon us that night. Because of the words they told us and the situation that we all participated in...we'll always remember "[To] trust that God will guide us in the right direction".
-Latin