DAVID MARLOWE

There ain’t no justice There are times when you just can’t win. You have good intentions. You have a simple goal and a simple plan to reach that goal, but little do you know that your mission is dead in the water before it even begins. Happens to me…more often than I like. Last Sunday’s escapade was a prime example. And Monday’s wasn’t much better. It started innocently enough, I went to church, had lunch, then went home to change clothes and decide how to spend the rest of the afternoon. One of the things on my priority list is to help my wife locate an art teaching position for next fall. So I decided to be a nice guy and do a little leg-work for her. Archbishop Rummel High School, in Metairie had posted an opening for an art teacher, so I decided to make a quick run into Metairie, locate the school and see how difficult the commute would be from our home in Norco. Seemed simple enough to me. I figured I’d get on the interstate, drive to the Causeway exit, go to Veterans and then turn up Severn to the 1900 block, where the school is located (according to the address I had) No problem, right? Wrong. Everything was fine until I made the exit to get on Veterans – only to find out Veterans was closed to westbound traffic. I must have been the only person in the River Parishes who didn’t know there was a St. Patrick’s Day Parade scheduled for Sunday in Metairie. I say “the only one” because the rest of them were already lined up waiting for the parade. Now I had no choice but to double back along the Frontage Road to Clearview, turn north and hit Esplanade, then hope I could get to Severn from that side. Forget that, too. Besides not knowing about the parade; besides not knowing that Veterans would not be accessible, I also didn’t have a clue that Severn was part of the traditional parade route. I couldn’t get within a block of it and wouldn’t have been able to park if I’d wanted to, which I didn’t. By that point all I wanted to do was get out of town as quickly as possible. By the time all was said and done I’d wasted the better part of two hours and had accomplished nothing. Not one to give up easily, I justified all this by telling myself it was no big deal. At least, I now knew where I was going and could run over there Monday and take care of business with no problems. Monday morning I left the office and drove on over to Metairie again. It didn’t take long to get to the corner of 19th Street and Severn, where Archbishop Rummel High School was “supposedly” located. The school’s address is 1901 Severn. I was at 19th and Severn. I should have been there. The problem was the 1900 block of Severn is nowhere near the intersection of 19th and Severn. That is the 4200 block of Severn (I think.). Instead, 1901 Severn is located on the other side of the interstate, at the junction of West Napoleon and Severn. Next Sunday I’ll go fishing after church. Except, I already know the wind will most likely be blowing 50-gazillion mph or it’ll be storming. There just ain’t no justice. DAVID MARLOWE is the editor and publisher of L’Observateur.