Do the Mardi Gras Mambo

While beer, boobs, and beads are all great, (not so much the boobs) I never got into Mardi Gras as much as some of my friends. The whole standing outside for hours on end just to watch some floats go by and catch some beads, or in my case, get hit with beads, (I have horrible hand-eye coordination made only worse by copious amounts of booze) was never that appealing. You better believe this didn’t stop me from participating, but if I missed a parade it was no big deal, there would be another.

I never made it to Zulu, never caught a shoe at Muses, and never dressed up and to be honest, I didn’t really care. It’s not until 2 years after my last Mardi Gras do I truly miss it. Maybe it’s the terrible weather we’re having or maybe it’s the Saints winning the Superbowl, but more than ever I wish I was at Mardi Gras leaving a parade with a neckful of beads.

Speaking of beads...

somewhere out there someone knows why people go so crazy over a strand of plastic bobbles. I'm sure some British institution did a study on the effects Mardi Gras beads have on people. The Brits are always doing some crazy study, like the one they did that showed 1 out of 10 people have been injured eating a biscuit. Really? A biscuit?

Back to the beads…People react (myself included) to these Chinese manufactured trinkets like Pippi does when I hold up her squeaky toy. “Ooo..is that for me? Are you going to throw that to me? I want it! I want it!”

Over my Mardi Gras years I accumulated mountains of beads and for what? Yea, they were great when I was drunk but then sobriety sets in and I’m stuck with all these damn beads.

Okay, I didn't really want this turn into a bead rant, so back to missing Mardi Gras...

I miss packing up coolers and backpacks with beer and trekking down St Charles to find a prime location. I miss dancing to the beat of one of the marching band's drums. I miss the food. God, how I miss the food. I'm tempted to move back to the Big Easy for jambalaya alone. But most of all I miss the feeling of a community. Mardi Gras knows no strangers. It's not uncommon to hold hands and dance in the streets with an unfamiliar face or even be invited into a fellow parade goers home to use the bathroom. Heck, a man even left his 7 year old son with my friends and I once so that he could go to the bathroom. (something I woulnd't recommend) During Mardi Gras everyone's family.

Thanks to nola.com I am able to watch the parades. How awesome is that? I asked my roommate if she would stand behind my computer and throw me beads. You know, to get more of the Mardi Gras feel. She rolled her eyes and graciously declined my request. So instead, I watched Breesus reign over Bacchus singing Mardi Gras Mambo to myself.

While I am a thousand miles away, tomorrow I will experience my first Zulu (once again, thanks nola.com) I will wear some beads and eat some king cake. It may not be the Mardi Gras I miss, but it will have to do until next year.

Laissez le bon temps rouler