Weather is Irrelevant

It's cold. It's wet. It's Mardi Gras. I'm not sure if it's the suddenness of the early Carnival or the nasty weather but it is more difficult than usual to get fully into the spirit this year. But this weekend I have determined not to complain about this because:

1. There's nothing I can do about it.
2. I am not a pussy
3. Chris Rose is complaining about it
4. Chris Rose is a...

Besides, some of my favorite childhood Mardi Gras memories involve being uncomfortably cold. In 1986, my family rode in a truck parade for the first time. It was a cold early February Fat Tuesday made even more frigid by the fact that we had to ride from the warehouse to the formation area on the open air flatbed truck float. On the interstate. It's probably the coldest I've ever been. Luckily our truck's theme that year was Rambo which allowed us to bundle up in heavy camouflage coats we bought at the army surplus store. Still.. it was cold... but I wouldn't give that memory up for all the sunshine in the world. This year we have similarly cold and dreary weather at Carnival time AND there is a whole new Rambo movie in the theater. I'm pretty sure this is a coincidence. Saturday we bundled up, filled the Pink Thing and uncomplainingly trudged onto the avenue to try and make some more frigid memories.

As you can imagine, it started kind of slowly, the weather being what it was, the crowds anticipating the Krewe of Pontchartrain were a little sparse.



But that's not the worst thing in the world since it gives everyone who does show up plenty of room to move around and that means everyone. Especially the dogs.



Technically there are no dogs allowed on the parade route but you wouldn't know that this weekend as they seemed to be everywhere. A few years ago, Daisy and Susie and I discovered that the dog laws are far more strictly enforced on the second weekend of Carnival than they are the first. Which is only fair since the dogs do seem to enjoy themselves for the most part.



In fact, this year there were more than just dogs running around out there. All sorts of unusual animals were spotted along the avenue including this camel... which I seem to remember someone warning me about somewhere.



Also making the scene was the Beadmaster 2008 (formerly Beadmaster 2007). They tell me the lights are still broken after last year's pummeling but that doesn't stop them from making full use of the apparatus during the day parades.



Of Saturday's four parades Shangri-La and Sparta were the prettiest. I have a feeling that Pegasus is struggling finding enough riders these days. But, of course, the whole spectacle is worth standing in the cold. I'm not sure anything is worth the headache I ended the night with. Unless you count these Water Meter beads.



Luckily Sunday went a bit more smoothly. Maybe it was seeing the Sun for the first time in a week that kept me from falling out... or maybe it was that rum and orange juice I started the day with.



That straw is a very good friend of mine. His name is Harvey. Anyway Sunday was gorgeous. It was sunny and cool. Not too cold but nice enough for me to wear my big jacket with the big pockets... which are good for carrying lots of extra beer. Carrollton and King Arthur were both pretty good looking parades with lots of bands and, as I said below, a cameo appearance from Maitri. Here are a few shots which I don't think need captions.









You see what kind of a day it was. And still I have two questions both of which are law enforcement related. First, do you really have to be a cop to get a Hubig Pie at the parade?



Okay don't answer that one. I don't care. What I'd like to know is what the fuck is this?



You see at least one in every Mardi Gras parade. But what does it do the rest of the year? For that matter.. what does it do in the parade other than just roll through? How much money do these things cost to do... whatever it is they do? How many "Harry Lee Tanks" could we trade them in for if we ever wanted to do so?

After the parades, we made it down to the Quarter and eventually (inevitably?) to Fahy's where we (inevitably again?) threw darts with r and Goldschmidt until everyone was too drunk to stand it any more. And that's about where I am at the moment. Drunk... but not too cold... and definitely not sorry I decided to ignore the weather.