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April 1, 2007
It Don’t Take a Lot to Be Happy
By: Larry Duffy
Creative Director
I came across this quote recently in an Associated Press article about Antoine “Fats” Domino. If you’re too young to know who Fats Domino is, suffice to say he is one of the founding fathers of rock and roll. One of the inaugural class of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that included Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley Buddy Holly, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. All of them undeniable legends in the annals of rock history. Along with Chuck Berry, Fats Domino records provided some of my very first exposure to music. In fact, the songs Rock & Roll Music by Berry and I’m Walkin’ by Domino were two of my mom’s old 45s that were given countless spins on our record player by my siblings and me.
I still have these original records on the Chess and Imperial labels. The grooves in the vinyl have taken on that white cast that is peculiar to records that have been played far too many times. They are treasured fifty-year old relics that remind me of simpler days. They were the launching pad for a lifetime love affair with music in all its forms. When I look at them I come back to the quote by Mr. Domino, “It don’t take a lot to be happy”.
The remarkable thing about this statement is that it came from a man who was standing in the gutted shell of his former home in New Orleans Katrina-ravaged 9th Ward. The article covered Domino’s return to the neighborhood where he was born in 1928 and lived his entire life. Initially feared to be a victim of Katrina, Domino survived the hurricane after staying behind with his wife who was in poor health. The Hall of Famer ended up in the deplorable environment at the Super Dome along with countless others displaced by the storm.
I read this story in a newspaper I picked up in Mississippi on a recent trip down to New Orleans. I kept finding myself referring back to it as we drove down highway 59 and witnessed the utter devastation still visible eighteen months after Katrina. I thought about the resilience and determination of the 79-year old icon who could likely afford to live comfortably anywhere he pleased but instead chose to return to New Orleans. It made me marvel at the devotion a person can have to the place that they call home and it made me realize how special New Orleans is to those who inhabit it. It made me think about my own home in New Town and wonder if in this day and age it is still possible to put down roots that can hold so firmly. I thought abut the first baby actually born in New Town recently and the many others who have never known any other home. Will they grow up to be so fiercely loyal to their hometown?
New Orleans has about 300 years of history and New Town has two but a town has to start somewhere and sometime. It is only through the diversity of its inhabitants over these many years that New Orleans has established the unique character that makes it so special. Generation after generation of families have called New Orleans home. While visiting this storied city it was exciting to imagine what New Town will be like one hundred yeas from now. Will the families that begin in New Town remain here for many years to come? In many cases I suspect that they will.
The reason for this is that New Town is not just another neighborhood without an identity or sense of community. The fact that people are so passionate about New Town indicates that it has something more to offer. Passion comes from loyalty to an idea or institution and New Town is establishing itself as both. It’s not the bricks and mortar that make New Town special but the interaction between people and place.
According to Mr. Domino, just being in the place you love and call home is enough for happiness. Many people lost everything they had and to see them face so much adversity and still remain committed to their community makes me all the more appreciative of everything we have here in New Town. The smiling faces of children playing in the park, the tempting smell of smoke from Rudy’s barbeque gently wafting on a warm breeze, or the sounds of music coming from the amphitheater are all beautiful things. I’m reminded that it really doesn’t take a lot to be happy.
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