New Orleans is full of Saints. Whether it's our football team shining golden on the field or the golden statue of Joan gleaming on Decatur Street, this place has a way of making us believe in miracles. While I sometimes think that living here has turned me into a cynic, I'm renewed constantly by the random acts of kindness of strangers, the spontaneous celebration of a second line, the unifying force of a Mardi Gras parade, or the daily moments of surrealism that I almost take for granted now that I work in the French Quarter.
Until I fulfill one of my several Joan-meets-New Orleans fantasies of Joan of Arc riding onto the Saints field before a homegame, leading the boys out of the tunnel onto the field, I'll have to settle for the simple but profound idea that our awesome team has a name that evokes Joan...and that some day when Joan officially becomes our city's patron saint, they'll have no choice but to use her image somehow when rallying the troops.
(Two of the krewe's JoaNola goals are being accomplished this year: one, the choosing of a local student Joan of Arc who will be leading our parade; and two, local singer/songwriter Paul Sanchez penning and presenting a song about Joan and NOLA--examples of how Joan and New Orleans go together like...well, like France and New Orleans or like powerful chicks and the South or like...Catholic Saints and pop culture..)
Our first annual Joan of Arts Fete is happening at the same time as the Saints game on Sunday...but they are going to the playoffs no matter what and they have home field advantage throughout the playoffs...aka it's a "meaningless game"...
So bring your Iphone and check the score while listening to stories about another Saint whose life was far from meaningless. Go Saints and Vive Jeanne d'Arc!
Visit the http://www.joanofarcproject.org/ for details about the fete and parade.
