I ride my bike past this fire hydrant almost every day and finally stopped to take a picture of it this afternoon. New Orleans has a notoriously bad infrastructure. Something like 40% of the water pumped each day is lost to leaks in the hundred year old water and sewer system. The roads are booby trapped with potholes like I’d never seen. Even when streets get repaved, as mine currently is, they don’t seem to get any better. But then there’s this hydrant, with its jaunty yellow cap, nestled in vibrant, almost neon green foliage. It’s a rare moment when the infrastructure of this place appears up and running. For some reason this one fire hydrant always fills me with hope. Funny thing.