New Orleans and drinking and depression?

Question

Just finished a book "density of souls". Are most of the inhabitants of the garden district drinkers of top shelf booze? do they drink all day and night? do they get boozed up and accuse each other of all sorts of mischief? is every neighrbor intimatley tied up with each other and know each and every secret going baCK YEARS, YEARS? after reads like this and others, are Neo-orleos just constantly depressed and drunk and obsessed with death.? no wonder they have a mardi gras. let out the steam that buids up all the other days. What the f**k is a bayou anyway?

I dont want to be insuting I just cant figure out New Orleans... NYC and far away from all that

Answer 1

II have not read the book you are asking about, but it sounds typical of fiction set in New Orleans.  The best example is the Anne Rice group of vampire novels set here when New Orleans actually has zero tradition of vampire myths.  Note that the author of "A Density of Souls" (Christopher Rice) is the son of Anne Rice.

Also, visitors to New Orleans tend to hugely over-indulge in everything. They often leave here assuming NOLA is some sort of 24/365 bacchanalian orgy because THEY got falling-down drunk every night. It sounds like the novel was written from that perspective as people elsewhere would find it believable (again, not having read the book).

New Orleans is great and I don't want to live anywhere else (not even NYC).  However, almost everyone (including in the Garden District) has a quite ordinary life and we aren't more alcoholic, depressed, or familiar with our neighbors than people elsewhere in the USA.

In fact, NOLA historically has had a lower suicide rate than other cities in America.  One possible reason for that is the constant cycle of events (not just Mardi Gras and not all are "festivals") that give people something to look forward to all year long:

http://www.nola.com/festivals/

You should visit and see for yourself.

A bayou is a natural opening through a swamp, usually the result of currents.  Bayous can be used to navigate boats through the swamp and people would often build homes on the banks of a bayou..

An example in New Orleans is Bayou Saint John, which still exists today (the swamp is long gone). This link has photos:

http://www.katrinafilm.com/id1.html

Bayou Saint John extended into the uptown part of New Orleans until the mid 19th century, but there has been no bayou through or near the Garden District for more than 150 years.

About the Garden District:  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_Dist...

Finally, we are "New Orleanians".

Answer 2

People aren't constantly depressed but I would say that people down here sure do drink a whole lot more then other places I've lived.

Answer 3

A bayou is a body of water like a lake or stream.  I can't speak for the garden district because I dont live there but yes I get depressed and yes I drink, but I wouldnt say I am constantly drunk.  I dont know about the neighbor thing.