Thursday, June 14, 2018 5:58 AM

Posters cover a wide column on the square where the roads meet. The outermost, visible layer announces dance parties, piano lessons, a burlesque show that may be a drag show, and an international Unicode hackathon. Hints of other events, sales, and offers peek out from behind it. I can't tell how deep the history goes. Another nearby pillar, carefully maintained, shows a single well-lit poster for municipal events behind clean, clear plastic: film festivals, the Democracy Pavillion, the current Book Week, and the upcoming local New Orleans Jazz Festival. Just past the square's edge, a woman with a rolling suitcase heaves two green trash bags into an open dumpster. Between the first and the second, a screaming cat launches itself from inside, rushes past three other cats sharing an abandoned meal, and disappears under a fence.