Spellbound by New Orleans

Sorry for not writing in for the last few days. I was in New Orleans, Louisiana! Golden Key International Honor Society was having their Regional Summit. I serve as the Service Director for Denton's UNT Chapter.

It was a really interesting trip! I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked, nor did I get to explore the city as much as I would have wanted. I guess that just gives me an excuse to go back, soon, though!

For those of you who don't know what Golden Key is, it is the world's largest collegiate honor society. It applies to the top 15% of college students, and invitations are sent out on a yearly basis. We also have a host of honorary members. Some big name members you might be familiar with include Walt Disney, Elie Wiesel (author of 57 books, including 'Night'), Bill Clinton... you get the drift. We're pretty much awesome.

Golden Key has three pillars that members dedicate themselves to- academics, leadership, and service. As far as service goes, Golden Key has a program called Spark A Change, which has a mission of improving the lives of at risk youth, ages 0-17, through "literacy, education, and real-world preparedness". Now that's something I can get behind! You can expect to see future blogs about the UNT chapter's efforts with Spark A Change, especially as far as literacy goes. What Spark a Change means by "at-risk" is those that are statistically more likely, due to a variety of circumstances, to fail in the area of academics. These circumstances take into account socioeconomic status, demographic background, behavioral challenges, failing grades, etc. Basically, Spark A Change wants to make sure everyone gets the chance to succeed instead of being burdened with additional challenges brought on by circumstances out of the child's control. They keep track of meeting this goal by aiming to raise $40,000 (at this time we are at $2,209), and counting the number of hours volunteered and the number of lives touched. At the conference, we did workshops and service projects. My favorite service project was making bookmarks.

This is the bookmark I made. What can I say? I love dogs. It brings a new meaning to the term dog-eared. *rimshot* My husband made me say that, blame him for any groans.

On the back I wrote the Groucho Marx quote I heard at the Little Free Library dedication. "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."



The events and workshops were a lot of fun and very informative. I'm excited to do more work with Spark A Change.

After everything was said and done, on Sunday before we left I got to take a look at a few really interesting spots! We didn't have much time, so I only got to go to two historic literary spots, but I did get to see a
restaurant called Huck Finn's, and a gay bar called Oz. There are literary references everywhere!

New Orleans has hosted a plethora of famous authors, including Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Anne Rice, William Faulkner, Thornton Wilder, and several others. It's the setting for several literary works from these authors. I got to see where Tennessee Williams lived, as well as Thornton Wilder's home!

This plaque is on the outside of 722 Toulouse Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Tennessee Williams set one of his most famous plays, 'A Streetcar Names Desire', in New Orleans. Since my bachelor's degree is in Drama, this was a really special place for me!

Thornton Wilder is also a playwright, who penned such plays as 'Our Town' and 'The Skin of Our Teeth'. Since I only had enough time to visit one more house, and this one was close, I decided to stop here at 623 Bourbon Street. 

You can go on a self guided walking tour of these houses, along with the houses of others I mentioned above. The addresses are listed in New Orleans Visitor's Guides. Don't miss out on this, because it has you right in the French Quarter, and you get to wander down Bourbon Street, where Marie Laveau's Voodoo Shop is! Next time I go, I'll be sure to stop by Truman Capote's and Anne Rice's homes, along with the cemetery which we were too late to see.

On the way back to the car, we stopped by another literary place that I was quite excited about- Kitchen Witch! It was filled with so many cookbooks, old and new. I even saw a copy of 'The Booklover's Guide to New Orleans'! I didn't buy it, though. I'll have to do it later. One of our party bought a Cajun cookbook for his husband, who is a fabulous cook. I can't wait to taste the recipes in it!

I loved the trip, and I can't wait to go back. New Orleans is a city rich with culture, history, and literary significance. Inside Kitchen Witch was a sign that pretty much sums up my basic needs, and I loved it. I'll have to get one for my home.

I have to get back to my books, husband, and cat. They all missed me while I was away, but probably nowhere near as much as I missed them. Until next time, don't forget to...