Tomorrow At The Latest

• Chasing Ron, The Surfer
• Jasmine Sold Again
• 3 Dollar Night

Yesterday, I woke up on the other side of the river with $2.50 in my pocket.
I had come across Monday night, hoping to find Ron, the surfer, who owes me 10 dollars.
The ferry took off on me after one of the workers (the one who opens and closes the gate to let people on and off) told me that I had "plenty of time" before the boat was going to leave, and who then slammed the same gate as soon as I had walked the lenght of the tunnel out into the terminal to see if Ron was there charging his phone.
Ron wasn't there, and the ferry had embarked upon its last run of the night back to NOLA, and wasn't there, either.
I found Ron and Howard in a stand of trees about a mile down the levee...
Ron didn't have my 10 dollars and acted upset over the fact that I had found them.

-Sidenote: It would be interesting to introduce the two of them to Ron Howard (the film director who played Opie on the Andy Griffith Show as a kid).
It would go something like: "Ron Howard; Ron...Ron; Ron Howard...Ron Howard; Howard...Howard; Ron Howard...

Ron And Howard Ousted
They had been kicked out of the stand of cedars right by the terminal; during the week that I had spent on the other side of the river. They, therefore couldn't blame me and the miniscule amount of "trash" which I left on the ground, while I was there.
It was probably Rons tent being pitched and his bike locked to the fence in plain sight of the workers at the power plant behind us, who maintain that particular stand of trees.
Still, Ron said "If those guys see you here, they're gonna kick us out of here..."
"They" were the guys who once invited me to live there, saying that I could catch huge catfish out of the river and cook them over a fire.
I had declined, because of the additional walk of a mile, and due to the fact that I made some money playing music, and I could forsee them panhandling me for things on those days that they couldn't panhandle enough from the wealthy, to provide for their "needs."
I was down to 50 cents at that point, and just barely made it to the little store in time to get some food and  (non alcoholic) drink.
I Help An Elderly Lady
As I walked up Pelican street, eating a sandwich, there was an elderly lady opening the trunk of a car which held about 4 cases of bottled water.
I started to ask her if she needed help at the same time that she opened her mouth to ask me if I would help her.
She gave me 2 dollars for my efforts and talked to me about how she had lived her whole life right there on Pelican Street and was "an old maid schoolteacher," which is what she exactly looked like, actually...
I went to the old spot, not wanting to get Ron in trouble (even though the other campers knew that I knew where that spot was, and would believe Ron if he told them that he hadn't told anybody where to find him) and went to sleep there.
I had no alcohol to drink that night, but rather meditated and then fell asleep to music.
Yesterday, I went into town with my $2.50 and almost extended my one day of not drinking into a second one, but got a couple Hurricanes and went to my playing spot.
But not before having a half of a lit blunt handed to me at the spot near Popeyes where I like to consume "the first Hurricane," out of habit.
I played like "the finest violinist in all of Europe," to quote Mozart...
I only had 3 dollars thrown to me, but a guy rode up on a bike and asked me if I smoked pot.
"Yeah, but I don't have any money for any..."
He threw me about a 20 dollar bag of premium numbface purple haze kush Afganistani kind sticky bud for free and rode off, saying "I'm always around here, I'll see you again..."
So, I went on a mission after I stopped playing (Bourbon Street was as "dead" as I've seen it since last year in this same season) at about 10 p.m. and was able to trade bud for cigarettes and beer money.
Like The Jasmine In My Mind...
Then, I guy walked up to me, whom I had spoken to before.
He is the guy who fell asleep on Bourbon Street (passed out is more like it) and woke up to discover that his bag and his guitar had vanished into thin air.
He was looking to buy a guitar and had 20 dollars to do so.
Enter the Jasmine.
Right now I am off to try to contact Dorise to see if I can bring the guy to her house with me to get it; or if Dorise is in New York (they are on a 2 week vacation) maybe her housemate could contact her to get the OK to let me have the guitar...
Or, if her housemate recognized me as the person who last came and got the guitar, which then re-appeared later, he should probably give it to me again....
I will Facebook them and wait about a half hour for a reply; and then maybe just walk to Dorises house on pure speculation....a 3 miles walk worth of speculation.....
The 20 dollars, plus the 10 from Ron, the surfer would mean that I will be on the road tomorrow at the latest....