NIGHT BLOOMING CERUS / for heloise lamothe

+EARLY ONE MORNING+

>about this time of the year in the seventies<

>i found the tomb of my great grandmother<

+HELOISE LAMOTHE+

>in the ancient st. louis cemetery # one<

 >not far from that of marie lavaux in<
+OLD NEW ORLEANS+

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>the tomb was alone and i wondered<

>where her family was but as time<

+(CAVAROC & LAMOTHE+

+were FROM BORDEAUX)+

>goes on i believe there was a sad<

>seperation from charles cavaroc<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

+FLOWERS FOR HELOISE+
>(night blooming cerus)<
+is MY THEME TONIGHT+

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

                                      
 >it was heloise lamothe cavaroc whose<
>brother, working for charles cavaroc &<
+(BARQS NOLA STAR+
+BEFORE NATIONAL)+
>sons invented the great sazarac cocktail<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>bradley smith who took this photo of oak alley<
>for life magazine was my interesting neighbor<
+(HIS WEST INDIES BOOK+
+A MUST TROPIC READ)+
>in lajolla and fixed gumbo for our great lunch<
>(he & his russian child bride liked my house)<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>this photo of the napoleon house by john<
>messina , my favorite nola interior photo<
+(CLASSIC MUSIC, SAZARACS+
+W/ 4  MUFFELETAS  PLEASE)+ !
>one of the most precious gifts that i have<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>john & tania & i exchanged much correspondence<
>this being one of the best i ever received of many<
+(JOHN'S LOVE FOR PHOTOS+
+SAME AS ARCHITECTURE)+
>that i treasure in my nola archive gifts for thnoc<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >when jean baptiste degruy planted the first<
>sugar cane along bayou barataria the tropic<
+(TROPIC BIRDS / 1809 /+
+BARATARIA JUNGLE)+
>parakeets still flew by the many thousands<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >john & tania are great aficionados of french<
>nola desirable coffee and pat obrians bar is<
+(DESIRABLE COFFEE FOR+
+GOOD NOLA FRIENDS)+
>where pat & betty used to listen to emile<
>(i found their cup in the gutter outside<)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >my brother ranny saw tennessee williams on<
>the desire streetcar in 1947 headed for canal<
+(RANNY LIVED AT 1111+
+ON BOURBON STREET)+
>street where he bought the panama gazette<
>(irma thomas was our father's #1 favorite)<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >the new orleans "item" newspaper published<
>this article on bernard marigny a favorite of<
+(BERNARD de MARIGNY AND+
+FRANCOIS V. DEGRUY HAD+
+ADJOINING PLANTATIONS)+
>cousin debore out on his (tulane) plantation<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >old seymore weiss st. tammany parish house<
>may have been part of the degruy plantation<
+(BEAU CHENE HOUSE @+
+DEGRUY PLANTATION)+
>across tchefuncta river from madisonville<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>st tammany parish horse headed from red bluff<

>to the nola fairgrounds wearing the demarigny<

+(BERNARD LOVED to+

+"FRENCH GAMBLE")+ 

>colors (bernard once named a street "craps")<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 >this creole beauty reminds of so many…is it<
>heloise lamothe, is it filicie foucher de circe..<
+(FOR COUSIN NEAL AND+
+BEAUTIFUL LORRAINE)+
>is it neal pendleton's mother who died so<
>that he could live to write radiant visions<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>marianne and i once stayed in the lamothe<
>house, (my great grandmother) with our<
+(THEY GAVE US THE+
+"OLD PARLOR" SUITE)+
>ancestors peering down (embarrassed)<
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>my metaphysical graphic piece for you tonight<

>is based on whitney plantation w/ its precious<

+"RUINS" CAN BE POIGNANT+

+GOOGLE : CANOVA MURAL+

+/ WHITNEY PLANTATION+

>canova mural amid wreck and ruin property<

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

+CALIFORNIA SAVED US BUT+

>(duality a profound alchemy)<

+ONE NEVER LEAVES ROOTS+

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

eugene ray, mfa, architect

professor emeritus, sdsu