Mardi Gras...
When I think of Mardi Gras...
I remember king cakes and getting the golden baby; riding on floats when I was little girl, waving my hand in that debutante manner, looking out in the crowd for my family and friends; I remember growing up and seeing my sister marching with her band and watching my friends marching in the band or with the cheerleaders or the dance team; I remember having parties at my house for the Cleopatra, Alla, and Nomtoc parades (two of which went right past my house), going uptown and Carollton to hang out with my friends to see Bacchus, Endymion and others; I remember going to balls with my family, dressing up and feeling so beautiful with my mask and my beads and my ball gown; I remember celebrating Lundi Gras with my friends on St. Charles Avenue and then going to Zulu on Mardi Gras with my family.
I remember the beautiful colors and floats that roam the cities during this time of revelry; how every little person is so excited when January 6th comes around and you take the Christmas lights down and start getting ready for Carnival; I remember heading to McKenzies with my mom to get king cakes but really wanting some more pedafors (I'm not sure if that's spelled right or not); and of course I remember getting a couple days off from school cuz Mardi Gras is a holiday in Louisiana.
I vaguely remember going downtown and to the French Quarter and seeing crazy tourists doing crazy things, thinking that was what Mardi Gras was all about and I remember feeling a certain sadness for them that they couldn't understand or really participate in the true celebration of it. I remember gathering my plastic bag as a little girl before each parade, knowing that the beads I caught would overflow the bag and me, but looking forward to saying those magic words... "Throw me something, mister!" I remember playing Mardi Gras with my sisters after it was all over and pretending like we were in parades again and throwing our beads around the house, making the sofa into a float and putting on our costumes... and then having to pick up all that junk later on when mom finally got fed up...lol. Daddy was such an enabler, he didnt care.
I remember jambalaya (the homeade kind, not Zatarains), red beans and rice, gumbo, crawfish etoufee, crawfish pies, stuffed artichoke, boiled shrimp, crabs, and crawfish, the best sausage and corn on the cob that just so happens to be found in the crawfish pot, million dollar pie, rum cake, and beignets. I LOVE BEIGNETS!
Most of all, I remember the love and comradery that you can only get during this time, how it made you feel to see your family and friends all in smiles, how much everyone thought purple, green and gold actually went together and how you just wanted to laisse le bon temps rouler.
I hope on this day, during this time, these are the kinds of things people are thinking about, that they are finding a way to be happy, so that tomorrow on Ash Wednesday we can get to really rebuilding one of the greatest cities ever... did I mention I was a homer before?
I remember king cakes and getting the golden baby; riding on floats when I was little girl, waving my hand in that debutante manner, looking out in the crowd for my family and friends; I remember growing up and seeing my sister marching with her band and watching my friends marching in the band or with the cheerleaders or the dance team; I remember having parties at my house for the Cleopatra, Alla, and Nomtoc parades (two of which went right past my house), going uptown and Carollton to hang out with my friends to see Bacchus, Endymion and others; I remember going to balls with my family, dressing up and feeling so beautiful with my mask and my beads and my ball gown; I remember celebrating Lundi Gras with my friends on St. Charles Avenue and then going to Zulu on Mardi Gras with my family.
I remember the beautiful colors and floats that roam the cities during this time of revelry; how every little person is so excited when January 6th comes around and you take the Christmas lights down and start getting ready for Carnival; I remember heading to McKenzies with my mom to get king cakes but really wanting some more pedafors (I'm not sure if that's spelled right or not); and of course I remember getting a couple days off from school cuz Mardi Gras is a holiday in Louisiana.
I vaguely remember going downtown and to the French Quarter and seeing crazy tourists doing crazy things, thinking that was what Mardi Gras was all about and I remember feeling a certain sadness for them that they couldn't understand or really participate in the true celebration of it. I remember gathering my plastic bag as a little girl before each parade, knowing that the beads I caught would overflow the bag and me, but looking forward to saying those magic words... "Throw me something, mister!" I remember playing Mardi Gras with my sisters after it was all over and pretending like we were in parades again and throwing our beads around the house, making the sofa into a float and putting on our costumes... and then having to pick up all that junk later on when mom finally got fed up...lol. Daddy was such an enabler, he didnt care.
I remember jambalaya (the homeade kind, not Zatarains), red beans and rice, gumbo, crawfish etoufee, crawfish pies, stuffed artichoke, boiled shrimp, crabs, and crawfish, the best sausage and corn on the cob that just so happens to be found in the crawfish pot, million dollar pie, rum cake, and beignets. I LOVE BEIGNETS!
Most of all, I remember the love and comradery that you can only get during this time, how it made you feel to see your family and friends all in smiles, how much everyone thought purple, green and gold actually went together and how you just wanted to laisse le bon temps rouler.
I hope on this day, during this time, these are the kinds of things people are thinking about, that they are finding a way to be happy, so that tomorrow on Ash Wednesday we can get to really rebuilding one of the greatest cities ever... did I mention I was a homer before?
posted by Darby | 1:35 PM
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