Know The N.O.NO

Biloxi is pleasant and has fine dining and what has to be the smallest casino. It was fun watching MGM Park get built and attending one of the early games. Current Milwaukee Brewer Nate Orf played for Biloxi and the crown enjoyed barking like a dog when Nate was involved in the action: ORF ORF ORF ORF ORF ORF ORF!!! In fact, The Village Idiot has a series of stories under construction in the vault of escalating mystery adventure that start with the finding of the body buried in center field. The stories then expand to other MLife properties.

   
Biloxi is not far from New Orleans. It is west on I-10 and then across Lake Pontchartrain. No reason not to include day trips to New Orleans or even staying at Harrah’s.

It is funny to think of The Precious staying in a casino. The Precious was a Depression Era child from a family that had little money and a father who was a stern Roman Catholic. The Precious never gambled in her life. The Precious never understood the concept of gaming and entertainment. Gambling is the Devil at work and Sinners gambled. God and Saint Peter have a list of everyone’s sins.

The Precious was never allowed to work by The Father. The Father earns the money and The Precious raises the kids. It was the Code of The Past. And since The Father was at a really small religious college there was little money for anything not 100% necessary. The idea of a new car was something that others may have but not a self-righteous Catholic family. The only new car The Precious ever owned was a 1986 Cutlass Cierra bought in anticipation of Dad’s Amazing Journey for a long drive west and back before cancer rotted away the life of The Father. The Precious never thought she would own a Cadillac in her life; it was just by sheer coincidence that a used one that fit the price range for the next car was sitting on a Chevrolet dealership lot.
   

The Precious enjoyed her New Orleans visit. City Park has 2 really nice mini golf courses and Story Book land. The infamous French Quarter was visited for the first time in her lifetime of travels as well as a Christmas concert at the Saint Louis Cathedral.

Time the Avenger took the legs of The Precious. Walking distance for mini golf or sightseeing. So…how to make a day trip the New Orleans worthwhile for The Precious was the question. A Gilligan’s Island city tour was decided upon.

When booking the tour the question was asked “where are we supposed to park?” The answer was to park at “The Basin Street Station.” It was only after arriving for pickup was there any notice that the big lot is marked “park at your own risk.”

The tour went for 3+ hours. The tour went through the damage from Hurricane Katrina and the rebuilding of the city…and how the city was grateful for the outside help so many in New Orleans received in their time of need. Along the way there was a stop for a coffee and donut break.

When the tour was over we were dropped off back at the parking lot. That’s when The Village Idiot’s jaw dropped due to the car having been keyed during the tour causing $2,000 worth of vehicle damage.

Of course, the tour driver had never ever heard of anything bad happening in this parking lot. Neither had the owner of the tour ever heard of any such thing happening.

The Village Idiot needed a phone # to call NOPD since this wasn’t a 911 situation. The Village Idiot walked into the Basin Street Station and everything became clear: everything is a “bait” operation. The people inside the station have a clear view of the lots. They know when the tours pick up and deliver. They have cell phones and can text the “hit crew” when to make their move. It was like a mini-Goodfellas set-up. And since there are no cameras they have free reign to commit any crime they want. And since the victims all come from out of the city they have nothing to worry about because City Hall and the property owner could really give a damn. It was absolutely a scream to have the people inside the building act with shock while they practically stand there with the NOPD # to call right at hand. No one had to look it up.

Know the N.O. No is the story of:

A business owner who could care less if people are robbed (or worse) in the parking properties he owns.

The local police happy to have so nice an evidence case provided to them for use in investigating the crime. The local police know it is a bait operation targeting tourists because the victims come over seemingly daily to report the crimes. But the local police hands are tied by the system.

The City of New Orleans licensing permit department who stated that a bait lot operation really isn’t grounds for investigating or a factor in permit authorization. But…hey! Look at all the new construction New Orleans has going on!

The City of New Orleans Mayor’s office who…when presented with the evidence…did nothing. The lot is owned by a buddy of the New Orleans political machine and that is all that matters. The Mayor’s office could give a damn if some out of towners get robbed in an easily preventable situation.

Of course, any group of people perpetrating a bait operation with impunity is obviously capable of doing much worse. Once you start B&E and vandalism and know you can get away with it then it’s easy to graduate to armed robbery…or worse.