I had never wanted to go to New Orleans. Not even a little bit.

My high school and college friends dreamt of Mardi Gras parades and parties in the French Quarter. My family talked up the jazz and the food. None of it held any interest for me.

So when I got the call to fly to NOLA for a conference I was…unimpressed. The conference events and speakers excited me far more than the venue. In fact I was happier for my wife, who had always wanted to explore New Orleans. Lucky for me, her curiosity overcame my ambivalence and we booked a nighttime ghost tour of gothic cemeteries.

The overcast sky caught the glow of the city lights, and cast it back down on headstones and mausoleums.