I have read all of them. If I ever stop by the Cafe du Monde for beignets, I will definitely think of him ;-) Clete Purcel is my favorite character. (Robicheaux himself is often a PITA, as I'm sure he is meant to be). When Clete shows up, things ignite. Similar to Robert Crais's Joe Pike.

Today's local color: I wandered over to the cafeteria to pour myself a cup of cold water this afternoon (nice cold water, very space age dispensers) and noticed that the HDTV mounted on the wall plays Fox News. The people all seem nice so I suspect it's a case of We all agree so there's nothing to discuss ;-) In traffic after work I waited at one light behind a pickup truck the size of the Titanic with a Bobby Jindal bumper sticker. It's definitely a different environment for me. So far -- and I hope it stays that way -- that's a lot more interesting than troubling.

The place I am staying is kind of a dump but I don't intend to do much more than sleep here, so no big deal. It feels great to have some income and something useful to do again.

Talk to you again tomorrow maybe. Sometimes I suspect I'm better in small doses than large ones ;-)

>If you've not yet read James Lee Burke this would be a great time to get into the Dave Robicheaux books. Or, better yet, see if the library there has them on CD read by Will Patton. It's like Olivier reading Shakespeare. Exceptional writing, amazing local color ( local being Jefferson Parrish )
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>http://www.jamesleeburke.com/
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>( a couple of his books on CD do not have Will Patton - avoid them )
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>>I found out the residential hotel where I will be staying has free in-room broadband, so I may not be completely out of touch after all. But only away from working hours, and I want to get out and explore more than stay in the room.