Right place, wrong time
"If you're going to New Orleans," sang Professor Longhair, "you ought to go see the Mardi Gras." If you want to see how New Orleans pulls itself back together after Katrina, says HBO, you ought to see "Treme." It's a superb 10-episode series that finished its first season in the U.S. in June. Czechs who thought they had it bad after the floods, or who are fed up with corruption, political hypocrisy, judicial injustices or slow construction contractors, might be surprised at how much their life resembles that of post-Katrina New Orleanians. Czechs might get a kick out of D.J. Davis, who campaigns for the city council on a platform calling for Palm Sunday, when bribe sessions would be aired on TV for all to see. In true the-shirt-is-closer-than-the-coat style, Davis later drops out of the race when a politician offers him a quid pro quo. Hypocrisy abounds, even among those complaining the most about it. Davis, in the end, "just wants his city back." As Dr. John would say, he was in the right place at the wrong time.
Glossary of difficult words
Right Place Wrong Time - a song by Dr. John, a well-known musician from New Orleans;Professor Longhair - one of the most influential New Orleans blues singers and pianists; in "Treme" Davis says that "there is only one god, and his name is Professor Longhair"; sorry the clip is not better;
to have it bad - to be in a bad state or predicament;
to get a kick out of something - to enjoy or receive gratification from something;
Palm Sunday - the Sunday before Easter; this is a play on words that alludes to "greasing someone's palm" - paying a bribe;
the shirt is closer to the coat - a Czech idiom that means "charity begins at home";
quid pro quo - a favor or advantage granted or expected in return for something;
to abound - to exist in large numbers or amounts.