These kind of accidents had happened as long as their were boilers on a pretty regualr bases. So out of this explosion the decision was made that there needed to be a way to inspect boilers to be sure they are safe. My first question to the group was do we still make boilers? Turns out there are thousands of boilers in every city in America, Soemthimes tens of thousands of them.

And, since there have been inspections, there has not been one boiler blowup in the country. Besides, they have now moved into insopecting nuclear power plants - recently shut one down near NOLA. 

I am glad to know there is such a job and glad to knwo they are busily at work. Their wives were a great group to meet. 

Of course, while your at it, what’s a trip to New Orleans without at least one or more trips to Café du Monde (800 Decatur Street across the street and down a bit from Central Grocery) for the ultimate reurrection from a long night of drinking in New Orleans with powdered-sugar beignets, hot from the fryer, chicory coffee and orange juice (good any time of the day).

Mimi's in the Marigny, 2601 Royal Street. There is little doubt that they have the best tapas in New Orleans, located in the city's funkiest neighborhood. Bars on two levels, billiards downstairs, lounge upstairs with awesome food late, late at night amid a very funky lounge scene, usually with a great DJ thumpin.

My favorite thing to do at Mimi's: show up on Sunday nights for DJ Soul Sister -- old school R&B, funk, groove. Great dancing.

 
When it comes to burgers, it’s a toss up for me between Port of Calllocated at 838 Esplanade Avenue (Truly great burgers, but usually there’s a line to get them.) and Yo Mama's at 727 Saint Peter Street in the Quarter with equally great burgers.  It's a bar that specializes in peanut butter bacon burgers and some rare and delicious tequilas. A winning combination in my book for sure.
 
Boucherie was opened by chef Nathanial Zimet who used to pull up ‘Que Crawl’ – a purple truck on the neutral ground outside Tipitina's nightclub during set breaks and sell AWESOME food to everyone with his take on New Orleans specialties, like fried boudin balls and duck gumbo. Late last year, he opened a real restaurant called Boucheriewith more ambitious dishes than those he still serves at his truck, but nothing costs more than $15. Both the truck and the restaurant are better than just good and kind of off the map of the mainstays.

Domenica (504 648.6020; 123 Baronne Street New Orleans, Louisiana 70112; www.domenicarestaurant.com) the newest of Iron Chef finalist / Louisiana native John Besh’s amazing eateries. Using fresh and local ingredients, he conjures up wonderful rural Italian dishes – hand-made pasta, wood-fired pizzas and wonderful house-cured meats. All of this inside the handsomely-restored and chic Roosevelt Hotel 

Coquette’s chef / proprietor Michael Stoltzfus serves up dishes like scallops w/ roast pork and mustard green ravioli and old-fashioned chocolate-filled beignets at this, the newest of Magazine Street's wonderful gathering of eateries. A+ local faire and seasonal dishes. (2800 Magazine St.; 504-265-0421)
 
During any month with a ‘r’ in it and May thrown in for good measure – that is oyster season, head over to Casamento’s at 4330 Magazine Street for some of the best oysters around. Truth is, folks around here eat oysters all year round these days, but they don’t eat ‘em within the tiled walls of Casamento’s except during oyster season and to be sure they don’t, the place is closed from June 1 until Labor Day. They have a good gumbo and an even better oyster stew.
 
You might not think of New Orleans as a barbeque city, but you'd be wrong.  The Joint at 801 Poland Avenue is Exhibition A. The place is terrific and off the tourist path, in The Bywater.www.alwayssmokin.com
 
Lola's on Esplanade, that is 3312 Esplanade Avenue, has really good Spanish fare is funky and byo except for maybe wine…I can’t remember. What I do remember and often ask for is their garlic-infused seafood paellas or their fidueas. The fish dishes are great and the ambiance is perfect.
 
 
Napoleon House Bar & Café in the heart of the French Quarter at the corner of Chartres Street and St. Louis Street is a favorite of mine for a drink. Anywhere else my drink would most likely be a Jack and water, but because it is the Napoleon House where my uncles once drank in the backroom speakeasy fronted by a grocery store, I like to order a Pimm‘s Cup in their memory. The story is that a previous owner of the house offered it for use by the Emperor / General in exile. The décor is perfect in every detail and its one of the best places to start a long night.
 
Last time I was in New Orleans, I tried a brand new place called Green Goodess at 307 Exchange Place in the French Quarter. It’s Chris DeBarr’s new place. He came out of Commander’s Palace. One of my best foodie friends took me there and it was well worth it on every level. The place is small and the DeBarr’s handiwork is amazing.
 
Irene’s Cuisine known to most simply as ‘Irene’s’ can be found at 539 St. Phillip Street. I would sum it up as pure local. The cuisine is country French and Italian with garlic a staple of both. The food is worth whatever the wait. Just try not to act the role of the tourist. The regulars would like to think none of us have ever found the place. The wait staff could not be more welcoming.
 
My dad use to tell how, in 1909, his parents first entered the world that is Galatoire's Restaurant at 209 Bourbon Street on 1909. That would be four years after the restaurant opened its doors to the world. He would then always add, “You do have to wonder what took them so long to get here.” But no matter what the delay was, my family has been eating there for the last hundred years. I went there with the Louisiana Revival architect, A. Hays Town, many years ago and sat at what he claimed to be “my table.” As he lived in Baton Rouge, I was never sure that he really had “a table,” but Galatoire’s always seems like the kind of place where someone really could  have “a table.” Beyond that, the food is rich and old-fashioned as is the service and the room. Even though I have waited over an hour for a table for a large party, I even like that fact that its still first come, first serve, at least downstairs. There is a sense that nothing has changed since my grandparents enter the place, though, truth be told, much has had to change even since Katrina. Still, when I’m in New Orleans, a return to Galatoire’s is a must for me, usually with something like broiled pompano covered in fresh crabmeat.
 
If my dad or grandfather were still around, I have little doubt that they would be frequenting Chef Donald Link's Herbsaint Restaurant and Bar located at 701 St. Charles Avenue. You see, like my dining choices, Donald’s cooking is inspired by his grandfather. And while Galatoire’s will always remain linked to me and my times in New Orleans, there is little doubt that Donald Link is the man of the hour. Dinner at Herbsaint can match any other grand meal in New Orleans these days. Julia Reed and her husband, John Pearce, first introduced me to the joint and for that, I will owe them forever.
 
So while we’re about praising the mastery of Chef Link, let’ not forget Cochon. This is Donald’s second restaurant. With a his tip of the hat to his own Cajun roots with dishes like Spoon Bread with Okra and Tomatoes or Rabbit and Dumplings or the makings of a Louisiana Cochon du Lait (pig roast) with Turnips and Cracklings – all of it his sophisticated take on Cajun cuisine and all things pig (930 Tchoupitoulas St.; 504-588-2123). And then above it, Calcasieu, his new private dining space (504-588-2188).
 
A trip to New Orleans without a muffalotto at Central Grocery or a Po Boy at Parasol’s or dinner at Galatoire's is never complete. Now add Herbsaint and John Besh’ Domenica to the top of that list. What’s good there? Ask Donald or John, they’re both usually around. A fro me, I would say simply “Everything!”

At this point, I begin to ponder why exactly I don’t live in New Orleans. Oh, yea, possibly because I would weigh in at 350 Lbs. That’s why.

So enough of my recommendations. After all, if you need more than these, then you already live there and don’t need any of these. It’s your town, for Pete’s sake. Bon appétit.

There is little doubt that they have the best tapas in New Orleans, located in the city's funkiest neighborhood. Bars on two levels, billiards downstairs, lounge upstairs with awesome food late, late at night amid a very funky lounge scene, usually with a great DJ thumpin.

Other than David Saderis, it's time for all the elves to go away.

Cobb County Public Library - Marietta

September 29th , 7:00 P.M.

Hey folks, join photographer/architect/ friend Nell Dickerson & me to talk about ”The Role of Women in the Historic South,” or whatever else I decide to talk about as part of the 75th anniversary observance of the publication of ”Gone With the Wind.” Dickerson, a native of Mississippi. is the creator of the recently published book ”Gone: A Photographic Plea for Preservation,” which presents an eloquent case for saving some of the most important but decaying historic structures around the South. Her book is truly a must have & oh so beautiful.

I wrote the Foreword for that book.  The program is free and will take place at the Cobb County Central Library. 266 Roswell Street in Marietta.

As the nation is now well into the Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with the next four years to follow, there is a rebirth of interest and curiosity about the war. Much media attention is beginning to be devoted to its history and what it all means as professional and amateur historians alike try to place it within the context of the American experience. They will revisit the events and personalities that made up those tumultuous and bloody years that have been called ‘our national fratricide.’ And along with all the history that is coming down the pike, we are beginning to hear the endless discussions and accusations from some that our nation has not come far enough and from others that we have come far too far.

We will hear talking heads argue, to no end, as to whether the war, and by that they will mean secession, was about ‘states’ rights’ or slavery. Other folks will write letters explaining that it was not a ‘civil war’ and, hence, must be called ‘The War Between the States’ despite both Lee and Forrest, two who, for sure, really should have known, calling it a ‘civil war.’

Before you start that letter to the editor or burn my last book, don’t get me wrong or assume I have some liberal or conservative bias and you know what it is. I, like many of you, have strong opinions about all that will be discussed and rehashed.  As someone who grew up in the South, in a time when there were still real, living links to the past (my grandfather was born the year before the war began and had vivid memories of Grant’s army coming to his family farm in West Tennessee), I look forward to all the historians and pundits that are waiting around the corner. With the book-publishing world facing a not so glorious future in light of the ever-growing electronic media, the Sesquicentennial may be timed to be their last hurrah as they churn out books covering every detail and minutia of it all.

If it’s like the Centennial, which I have some childhood memory of, it will all begin to fade well before the four years are over. That would be a great shame because the battle I’m most interested in, Franklin, happened in late 1864, which means we won’t get around to it until 2014. But, then again, as Americans living in the second decade of the 21^st Century, can we really keep focused on anything for very long? I hope so. For I love history and I know there are many of you out there just like me.

Yet, for the rest of America – those who are neither historians nor from my interest group – is their any real reason to keep looking backwards? Does the American Civil War still have any value or impact as to who we are, what this nation is, good or bad? Are there any lessons to be learned from the war as we move forward?

In the end, these are going to be the most important questions to come out of all the hoopla. Our biggest hurdle is not whether the war was about slavery or ‘states’ rights’ but whether the American Civil War is any longer relevant.

That’s the issue I would like to address. For if we don’t, I will predict, here and now, that the American Civil War will continue to travel that same road that The English Civil War took long ago and will fade into the darkest crevasses of ancient history. 

That would be the greatest of shames. For the truth is, if the line to immigrate into this country is longer than the line to immigrate into any other country on earth, it is because of the Civil War.

Let me be clear when I say the Civil War is not something reserved for those whose ancestors fought on one side or the other or even for those whose ancestors were freed from enslavement. The Civil War is important if you came over last year from Ecuador, Laos or anywhere else. For if you have chosen to throw your lot in with this country, the American Civil War is at the foundation of ‘why,’ whether you ever understand it or not.

That said it would be an equal shame if you never understood this. You see, all those glorious platitudes that our Founding Fathers were spouting ‘four score and seven years’ before were at the heart of the struggle.  Again, I will let others argue about what all those issues were (and believe me, they will) but there should be little or no argument about whether or not there were issues.

The truth is, in the end, when it was all over, those four arduous years had given birth to The American Century. While quoting Nathan Bedford Forrest may offend some, I feel that he summed up the future in his farewell address to his men on May 9, 1865 when he said;

“Civil War, such as you have just passed through, naturally engenders feelings of animosity, hatred and revenge. It is our duty to divest ourselves of all such feelings, and, so far as it is in our power to do so, to cultivate feelings toward those with whom we have so long contested…whatever your responsibilities may be to government, to society, or to individuals, meet them like men.”

We should remember that while the Civil War was not a given, because of the way the constitution was set up, secession pretty much was. It was only time before some state or states, whether it was to be New England or the South, bolted over something. How can I say that? Well, that’s what was threatened and that’s what finally happened.

So more than just redefining who we are as individuals, as people, as humans, as if that was not enough, the Civil War sealed us as a nation. Shelby Foote liked to say that before the war our representatives abroad would refer to us as these United States and afterwards we became The United States.

Don’t be tricked, while Europe remained outwardly neutral, the powers that be overwhelming wanted The United States, as a world player, out of the picture. Out of our ashes, came the rise of their worst nightmare, The United States as a world power.

Do any of us really believe that we wouldn’t (at least in all official communications) be speaking German today without the American Century? Think about it, ‘Isolationism’ was rampant in the years before both World War I and II. What if each sovereign nation-state could have voted on whether or not to support a war-effort?

The truth is the Civil War not only redefined who we were, black and white, as a people, but also gave us the opportunity to do good and great things. Understand, I am not saying that we have arrived at our final destination as a nation or as a people. There is much that has been worked out, but there is still much to come.

So as we move into this Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, we have much to commemorate. Somehow, The American Century, the ‘Greatest Generation’ and all that has come about since the war is linked to those four years and it’s outcome and aftermath. None of it has been perfect, but I wouldn’t want to be here without it. 

If you’re like me and felt the attack ‘personal’ when those planes crashed into the towers, in a way that someone in France or Canada or wherever else could never have felt, then you will have good reason to commemorate the Civil War. If we are to remain that nation that 620,000 men and boys died for, we must understand what they gave us through their sacrifice. It would seem that the Civil War matters at this time in our history as much as it ever has, if not more. Besides, truth be told, my German is lousy.

I am reminded, again, of the words of Sam Watkins, a soldier from the 1^st Tennessee, who fought as hard as anyone, when he wrote some twenty years afterwards;

“America has no north, no south, no east, no west. The sun rises over the hills and sets over the mountains, the compass just points up and down, and we can laugh now at the absurd notion of their being a north and a south. We are one and undivided.”

Presents this week's Episode of A Guitar and  Pen Old Time Radio Hour with Robert Hicks

This weeks Guests:

Rodney Crowell, Eric Brace, Peter Cooper & others! 

This Thursday evening at Puckett's Grocery & Restaurant in Franklin Tennessee

Call Puckett's in Franklin to make reservations!

On May 19th, one of America's finest writers, William Gay will join us w/ his son, Chris Gay (think John Prine meets Steve Earle) along w/ some surprise guests and then on the 26th, Eric Brace, Petter Cooper & Fayssoux Starling McLean join Rodney Crowell.

There is Very Limited Seating so call Puckett's (615-794-5527) before it is sold out. 

GONE really should be THE BOOK this year for every member of the National Trust, for every preservationist, for every person who loves The South.

She came to me several years ago with the project and asked me if I would write the introduction. She asked me how much I would charge. I told her my fee for writing the introduction was having her give me the opportunity to fulfill a lifetime goal to collaborate on a project w/ Mr. Foote who had such a role in where I am today.

Order Gone Today. Go to your bookstore, big or small, and say you want them to carry this book right next to the new paperback of A Separate Country. There is a real link between the two books. 

What an amazing, brilliant work by one of our nation's most literate historians. Order your copy today. I am honestly convinced that this beautifully written book is on the fast track to a well-deserved Pulitzer! Get a copy while they last.