Careful what you catch out there

Hope everyone is staying safe out there.  Happy to see that the COVID numbers are at their lowest point since the start of the Omicron wave.  Hopefully the closest you will come to catching COVID out there is if you get it in bead form like the above photo.  We've been doing our best to stay safe but we have been gathering in large crowds because how can you not.  That's still relatively low risk, or so we are given to understand. But just in case, maybe someone will throw us a few rapid tests in order to be sure. 

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - We all know that Carnival is known for catching unique throws and trinkets, but one crew has decided to make this year even more unique.

The New Orleans Health Department plans to hand out at-home rapid COVID-19 this Thursday at the Krewe of Muses parade. The at-home test will give you results in 15 minutes.

“We are excited to be part of the Krewe of Muses because we knew this would allow us to put more tests in the hands of our community,” said Dr. Jennifer Avegno, Director of NOHD. “If we want to participate in the activities we love at Carnival, we can’t let our guard down. COVID is not over yet, and we need to use every tool at our disposal to prevent a repeat of the tragedies of Mardi Gras 2020. Masking slows the spread, testing identifies cases and pandemic trends, and vaccines with boosters prevent hospitalizations and deaths.”

I didn't catch any rapid tests at Muses. I did get a krewe branded neck gaiter so, you know, every little bit helps.  

Anyway we're getting into the part of the year where I fall behind on getting my camera photos uploaded. But I did get a few with the phone last night.

Babylon was gorgeous. They did a fairy tales type theme. Here is their Golidlocks float. Kind of creepy, this one, actually.

 

Chaos is back... in more ways than one.

 

And, of course, the sight of this lantern after two years (actually three if you recall that Muses had to roll in the daytime because of the 2020 postponement) elicited a few goosebumps. 

As for the vibe check, it was mostly very good.  I'm trying to get an app on my phone that can detect vibes but until that gets invented, I just have video.

 

Also bonus video. This is the L.B. Landry band. 

 

Unfortunately, it wasn't perfect. There was a shooting along the route a few blocks down from us.  That hasn't happened at Muses since 2014. Previously there have been shootings during the Thursday parades in 2012 and 2004. In 2009 there was a shooting on Fat Tuesday so near to our place that we had to stay inside on a police-imposed "lockdown" for about an hour.  When these things happen it's ugly and horrifying and a reminder that real life is still going on around us and violence is a part of that. 

Anyway, once I get more photos uploaded (and tagged and described because yes that is still a thing I care about) I will try to post more stuff in between all the parading and doomscrolling which the times do in fact require one to do simultaneously.