A Tranquil Respite in The Big Easy

Upon stepping off the cable car at the City Park stop, I immediately saw an expansive park to my left, with towering oak trees, a large lake, and a promenade leading up to the impressive New Orleans Museum of Art, the centerpiece of City Park. Singing the chorus from Hey Jude (inspired by a visit from the Beatles to the park in the 1960s), I made my way to the Singing Tree, a majestic oak near the shore of the lake. Seven chimes of various sizes hang from the Spanish moss covered branches, ringing out with a bravado of choruses, as if the spirits from the nearby cemeteries are unleashing the long pent-up anguish of the dead.