Lots more essential New Orleans experiences from our readers

Last week we ran a list of 10 experiences that separate life in New Orleans from life anywhere else. You know, like learning that the power went out in your neighborhood for four hours because of an electrocuted racoon. Or, blistering your finger with a hot glue gun because you forgot the glue was so hot.

Since then, several readers have shared their own essential experiences. Here are our favorites.

1. Being served a black soup with a claw sticking out of it and finding it tastes delicious — Ed Tedrow

2. Being beat down by the heat (or crowd, or rain) at Jazz Fest. then looking at the cubes to see who's playing tomorrow — Ed Tedrow

3. Visiting the Chalmette Battlefield and learning that Dalmatians fought and died during the Battle of New Orleans, then learning that they were humans from the land called Dalmatia — Ed Tedrow

Fireworks and bonfires warm a chilly night on Christmas Eve Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022, on the Mississippi River levee in Gramercy. Dozens of bonfires in St. John the Baptist and St. James parishes lit the way for Papa Noel, the Cajun Santa Claus, as he flew across south Louisiana to bring toys to boys and girls. The Christmas Eve tradition dates to the 1700s. (Photo by Scott Threlkeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

4. You’ve driven on Christmas Eve to see the bonfires on the levee — Lorre Lei

5. Kicking yourself for being dressed in black when your friends insists on going for coffee and beignets — Lorre Lei

6. You always carry a folding fan in your purse during the summer — Lorre Lei

7. You’ve longed to hear a mockingbird's song when you’re in a place where there are no mockingbirds — Lorre Lei

8. You’ve traveled from the Parish to Carrollton for a snowball at Williams’ (Plum Street) Snowball stand or a hamburger at Camellia Grill — Lorre Lei

Sno-balls are ready for pick-up at Williams Plum Street Snowballs in New Orleans, La. Thursday, March 21, 2019.

9. I don't think there's any other city in the entire United States where residents take the alligators into stride and don't let the scary reptiles prevent them from frolicking together in the same recreational public waterways. — Southshore resident L. Montgomery

10. Having lived for many years in "dry cities" in mid-America and later in Georgia, where you have to cross county lines to find adult beverages, I am awed that you can buy hard alcohol products in Wal-Mart and even in Walgreens, for heaven's sake! Amazing! – Southshore resident L. Montgomery

Note: This reporter was recently greeted at a suburban grocery store by an enthusiastic man offering samples of 106-proof rye whiskey. This reporter accepted purely out of politeness. By the time this reporter reached the dairy section, he dropped the cheese into the wrong shopping cart.

11. Standing on my front porch waving a white handkerchief as a wedding second line goes past coming from Rosy's (Jazz Hall) and being photographed by the wedding party – Louise Chapman Hoffman

Streetcar passengers April 19, 2022.

12. Fearing for your mental health if you don't hear the streetcar rumbling down St. Charles — Lou

13. Going to a neighborhood restaurant like Mandina's, walking in the door at any time and seeing 20+ pre-made Old Fashions on the bar waiting to be served — A. Labas

14. Having a brief — less than a minute — conversation with the doctor's receptionist, Miss Wanda at the Rouse's on Carrollton, and just about anyone else in which "my Baaaaaby..." is used at least once — A. Labas

15. Having a good friend/family member who has been "royalty," a king, queen; duke; maid, etc. in a Carnival Krewe -- doesn't matter which one — over the last few years — A. Labas

The Knights of King Arthur parade in New Orleans on Sunday, February 16, 2020.

16. Having a Jazz Fest poster, framed, preferably an early one (pre-2000) — A. Labas

17. Knowing about Saints "Ex-pe-deet" and "Fra-gile" and where to go and what to do to gain their intercession. Likewise, knowing which Saint can help and what to do if your house isn't selling -- A. Labas

Ok, these New Orleans metaphysical references require a smidge of explanation. As reported in The Times-Picayune, the legend of St. Expedite goes something like this: Sometime around 1921, Catholic nuns at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on Rampart Street received a crate marked "expedite" (which may or may not have been intended to indicate it was a rush order). Inside was an otherwise unidentified statue of a Roman soldier, helmetless and swordless. In one hand he held a palm branch, a symbol of martyrdom. In the other was a cross marked "hodie," Latin for "today." The nuns declared him to be St. Expedite, and installed him in the church, near the entrance, where he has for years drawn prayers from legions of people seeking rapid intervention.

Also, people sometimes bury a St. Joseph statue upside down in the yard of a house that's for sale. We’re not sure who "St. Fra-gile" is.

18. Mispronouncing words like Esplanade, Burgundy, filet, ambulance, and so forth to make it easy to spot a tourist — Paul Freese, Metairie

19. When I get e-mails from California to Massachusetts every time a tropical storm comes into the Gulf — Patty Friedmann

20. Getting caught on Constance Street while waiting for the Drexel Prep band to pass by, practicing for Mardi Gras parades — Elaine Cullen

Long-distance reader Nick Cowley shared a collection of vintage experiences that he labeled "my memories of an Englishman's two years working at One Shell Square from October 1979 to September 1981 and living first on the 4000 block of St Charles Avenue and then in a third-floor apartment in what is now the Saint Philip Residence, with a balcony overlooking the street and with a view of the Mississippi." They included:

21. Walking to work through the Quarter and imagining myself in the opening scenes of King Creole.

22. Ordering dirty rice at the Popeye's on Canal Street.

23. Attending benefit nights at Tipitina's to raise money for air conditioning, which never materialized.

24. Visiting the pound under I-10 at North Claiborne to collect my car - yes, it'd been towed because when I moved into the Quarter, I didn't realize that parking your car on the street the night before street cleaning was a surefire way of getting towed.

25. Looking forward to the commercials on TV, such as "Shoe Town! Shoe Town!", the Universal chairman, and of course Al Scramuzza's Seafood City at 1826 North Broad. Is it just my imagination, or did he really proclaim that it was "Where all the staff wear tuxedos"?

26. Accompanying a lady friend to the Hummingbird Grill, where she had a pre-wedding haircut while sitting next to a policeman in the barber shop that seemed to be attached to the diner. I swear this is true.

27. Standing with the crowd outside the funeral parlor on Dryades on a cold February morning when Professor Longhair's coffin was brought out, accompanied by the saddest chords that I have ever heard.

28. Picking up Sunday's Times-Picayune on a Saturday night/Sunday morning from the vendor on Canal Street so I could read it in bed when I woke up later on Sunday.

Many thanks to everyone who chimed in. Write me whenever you wanna at [email protected], and remember: New Orleans can't be unique without U.

Email Doug MacCash at [email protected]. Follow him on Instagram at dougmaccash, on Twitter at Doug MacCash and on Facebook at Douglas James MacCash.