Finding no words to explain his experience, a Gentilly man is trying to find his way back home after a waterspout transported him to the fabulous realm of Oz New Orleans.
Ervin Moore was in the back garden of his home on Wednesday, laying his new patio when he looked up and spotted a large waterspout forming over Lake Pontchartrain near the University of New Orleans campus.
It quickly began spiraling and Moore, 32, realized he was being pulled toward the spout.
“I could see what looked like a funnel forming and then the spout was just there,” Moore said. ”The wind picked up and I suddenly felt myself being yanked skyward. All of a sudden I was lifted off the ground and twirling in the air.”
Moore, who had landed in a foreign and unfamiliar place, had no clue how he had gotten there and couldn’t believe his eyes.
“The next thing I know a big, muscular guy wearing red heels catches me, breaking my fall, and the dance party music that was thumping goes silent. A bunch of people dressed in drag start surrounding me and I knew right then that somehow I wasn’t in Gentilly anymore.”
Searching for some sort of logical explanation, that maybe he had bumped his head or was dreaming, Moore asked a drag queen known by the name The Tim Man where he was.
“Boy, you over the rainbow. You’re in the fabulous world of Oz New Orleans, full of otters, wolves, cubs, and bears.”
“Oh. My.” responded Moore before passing out.
Now, over 24 hours later, Moore is trying to get back home to prepare for the coming storm. But the deteriorating weather has temporarily discontinued Lyft services so the man in the red heels will be giving Moore a lift instead.
“I’m kind of sad to leave. At first, I was downright terrified but since then it’s been a blast. I’ve gotten to know several interesting characters here. It’s like they’re the best friends anybody ever had. And it’s funny, but I feel as if I’d known them all the time, but I couldn’t have, could I?”