Mardi Gras

I know something about Mardi Gras. I have visited New Orleans many times and watched both seasons of Treme. I listen to Trombone Shorty and even watched Dr. John perform at a jazz festival. I have marched in a pretend parade complete with a band with a tuba player. I have maintained my dignity throughout showing nothing that is not normally visible.


I learned more about Mardi Gras on this trip. I had assumed that the parades and the event were a New Orleans thing. Not so. It appears every little town along the southern coast has an event and a parade. We attended such a parade yesterday and accidentally got in line behind a parade last night. Evidently, it is the thing to run a parade down a major highway. If your parade is a little short you soon have a couple miles of cars bringing up the rear. They are not honking because they are celebrating.


I still am mystified by the bead thing. They are cheap, but even the old ladies fight to get them. Do not get in the way or do what I was doing - trying to take photos. Beads would bounce off me as I searched for interesting shots through the view finder. The moon pie thing was new, but the moon pie is not a favorite. Why not throw Snickers bars? You can get bags of the minis cheap after Halloween and keep them in the freezer.


I wonder what happens to the bags of beads some carry away. Cindy says they might sell them on eBay. I think they throw them in the back seat and then throw them out when they eventually clean. The moon pies may even taste better when they dry out.

We attended the parade of the Mullet Magic Krewe.

The Queen

Bands played on floats. Doesn't this guy look like the perfect southern rocker. He was good.

[Gulf Shories, Alabama]