I had a great morning. I bought all kinds of healthy, delicious local food at the Farmers’ Market, and then made an impulsive decision to eat a very early lunch – the chefs from Five Fifty Five were whipping up bronzed fish with lump crabmeat and red peppers – and some kind of divine sauce and micro greens – for $5! Sounded like a plan to me!
I went to go sit at the shady picnic table and who is there but the iconic woman I’ve seen riding her bike around town since I moved here nearly twenty years ago. She’s always seemed so cool to me, with her long blondish/white hair and her perpetual Mona Lisa smile.
She struck up a pleasant conversation with me – about local news, etc., and then I asked her, “Do you ride around town on a bike, sometimes with a little dog in the basket?” Yes – she does – it’s her. I proceeded to find out all I could about her amazing life without seeming too nosy or intrusive. And then I took her picture. I hope to run into her again soon! She’s popular – at least a half a dozen folks said hello to her while we were chatting.
Her name is Jean. She moved to New Orleans in the 1950′s to be a nightclub singer. She’s never had a car – she has always bicycled or walked everywhere. Or taken the train or bus to go to her sister’s house in Palm Springs. She talked about how the trains don’t run there anymore and how she’s not a fan of the service on Greyhound.
She’s 88 years old and I hope I’m as lucid, capable, interesting and fit as she is when I’m 88! She has great jewelry – tons of rings and bracelets and a necklace that looks like she’s been adding charms to it for some time. Dice, keys, turquoise stones, and more.
She lives on the batture. The batture! It’s only one of the most romantic places to live in all of the city. It’s a selection of ten or so properties on the other side of the river levee, right at the Parish line. It’s like living in the country, while still being in the city. Your front yard is the earthen levee and your back yard is the river.
One of the batture houses - the water's getting high! I've been to parties on the batture when the water is low - we were having bonfires in the back a good twenty feet under the house.
It’s a little tricky at times like this when the river is approaching a historic high. I walked up to the levee after our chat – I had been curious about the houses up there and how the water looked, and I thought I ought to get a photo of the river up against the actual levee rather than the ones I posted yesterday.
A better view of just how close the river is to the top of the levee. We've got some more room.
Yep – the water is high. Jean said she has less than a foot of wiggle room before the river will be in her house, but she didn’t seem worried. I guess you don’t make it to 88 in good health and good spirits by worrying. Jean is my new role model.
Neat little walkways connect the houses to the levees. In the winter when the river is low there's no water under the houses. Just pretty woods and trees.
After my walk, as I was driving home (I had more goodies than I could fit on my bike, including a half-flat of strawberries), I looked to the right, and there she was, riding her pink bike along the levee, her hair streaming behind her.
She sounds like an amazing woman! What a great story.
Thanks so much! I hope to run into her again soon and hear more.
I love this story, Carla. I too would like to be just like this woman at 88. What an inspiration! Thanks!
Thanks! Glad you liked the post! Here’s to all of us being that healthy and happy when we’re 88!
Love it. You lead the most inspiring life – very trail-like. Thanks for sharing.
Aww, thanks, G! I do feel pretty lucky these days . . .
Lovely. Thanks for featuring a side of NOLA that I would not see as a visitor. I love the story of Jean.
My pleasure! So many little things I love about living here!
What a doll… She sounds like a terrific lady; a documentary is in order.
E
That would be a good idea – I bet she has a lot of great stories!
Never seen a personality as vibrant as Jean’s!! The kind of lifestyle she has no one can predict her age to be anywhere around even 50s! Your lucky to have a friend like her.
What’s Your True Age? – Are you as old as you feel or as what the calendar says?
http://www.3smartcubes.com/pages/tests/true_age/true_age_instructions.asp
Thanks!
Jean seems amazing! She’s a good role model for many people.
I agree! Hope to run into her again soon.
I love this story. thanks for sharing it : ). patrice
Glad you enjoyed, Patrice!
I hope I can live for so long!
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Jean reminds me of my great-grandma … she came to take care of us as kids when my mother had to go into the hospital for a few days. Grandma was 88 and we were 6, 11, and 13. I loved talking to her, hearing all the things she’d experienced. Like others who’ve commented, I too aspire to be this vibrant when I reach 88.
Glad to spark a happy memory – here’s to health and good spirits for all of us when we’re older!
I love this! What a fantastic place to live and to meet such wonderful people like Jean. She looks so wonderful on her bike. I want to be like her too! Thanks for sharing this!