Mardi Gras

February 12

I am thankful for Mardi Gras. Not because I enjoy all out partying and debauchery prior to Lent, in fact quite the contrary. I think Mardi Gras can be good clean fun and enjoyment. But I like Mardi Gras more because it is so identifiable with Louisiana and because the children enjoy the parades so much.

I enjoy watching people at Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras parades were the first parades I ever went to where they had throws from the floats. I am amazed at how people get caught up in the thrill of trying to catch what are essentially worthless trinkets. It's easy to become bitten by that thrill (I confess).  Those trinkets become gold, especially if you can catch the rare ones like doubloons, large beads, coconuts, or who knows what.

This is a photo I took at this past Saturday's Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade in Baton Rouge. The brightly colored inverted umbrella is a device used by some ingenious parade-goers to act as a large surface area to catch more beads.

Pink flamingos are the symbol for this parade. Every year on one day a couple of weeks prior to the parade day at least 20 giant plywood pink flamingos are placed on wooden stakes in City Park Lake. Within 24 hours those flamingos are removed and put in yards around town. This has become a very unusual tradition for a neighborhood that pulls out all the stops to be unusal (although sometimes maybe not very family appropriate). The outlandish costumes you see nearly everyone wearing in some form or fashion are very colorful. It is odd and irreverant, but often hilarious. One of the more unusual parts of the parade is by the Krewe of Yazoo and their lawnmower brigade, who march with decorated lawnmowers. This year they were the Lawn of the Dead, decked out as zombies who did synchronized dances with their lawnmowers.

Below is a picture of a "bead tree" after the parade.

February 12b

trow me sumpin mista

trow me sumpin mista

trow me sumpin

ah keep tryin to catch dem beads

but da old lady keeps bumpin me away

an jumpin higha

she da worst ah saw

she een took from dat der kid

well ahma gonna show her

what ahma gonna did

ahma gonna step on her foot

keep her rat from jumpin

dat’ll keep her away

dat’ll get me sumpin

an ah woulda done dat

an ah woulda done did dat too

but dat dad gum old lady

she jus jump outta her shoe!

© rt tulley