Mardi Gras 2012 was my 25th celebration of the greatest free show on earth! What a fantastic celebration it was!
Gary and I kicked off Mardi Gras as we do all of our New Orleans visits, by heading to Morning Call Coffee Stand for beignets and cafe au lait. Morning Call has been serving these New Orleans classics since 1870. Originally located on Decatur Street in the French Quarter, in 1974 Morning Call moved to its present location in the suburb of Metairie, in a section once commonly referred to as Fat City, drawing an eclectic and colorful clientele. Morning Call brews the rich chicory coffee using the “french drip method” which allows the coffee to build intensity and body. Whole milk is heated to a near boil then mixed with the coffee to form the quintessential café au lait. Beignet dough is hand rolled and fried in hot oil. When cooked, beignets are light and airy. Liberally dusted with powdered sugar they are an irresistible New Orleans tradition. Morning Call is extra special to me because it's where Gary gave me my engagement ring. We decided to get married while having dinner at Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House in the Quarter (we're don't really remember who proposed to who) but he gave me the ring at Morning Call.
From Friday night - Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras day) 16 parades rolled through the streets of New Orleans, and we had a front row seat for every one, as the New Orleans Uptown parade route rolls directly by Emily's apartment building on St. Charles Avenue in the Garden Disrict. Where one will be watching the parades is a topic of discussion among New Orleanians during Carnival. It's all about location, location, location, and as far as parade-watching real estate goes, Emily's address is primo. Parade goers are very protective of their "spot." People set up their chairs, tents, grills, coolers, and ladders (to see over the crowd) hours, even days, in advance of the parade. It is a brave soul - or a novice - who tries to work her way in front of somebody who has a good "spot.
Mardi Gras is called the greatest "free" show on earth because the City of New Orleans doesn't pay for Mardi Gras. Each parade is put on by a krewe (pronounced crew); members of the krewe pay dues to ride in the krewe's parade. Their dues pay for the elaborate floats and the celebrity grand marshalls who ride in the super-krewes. Each rider is responsible for purchasing his/her own beads, plastic cups, stuffed animals and trinkets tossed from the float to the throngs of parade goers yelling "Throw me something, Mister (or Lady!)" These are everyday, regular, middle class people who spend several thousand dollars of their own money because they love Mardi Gras. The City does pay for the police who fantastically manage the 1,000,000 revelers who are on the streets, and for the sanitation workers who do an amazing job cleaning up each night after the parades. But other than that, Mardi Gras is by the people for the people. (I heard the City of New Orleans realized something like 324 million in tourism dollars from this year's Mardi Gras.)
Years ago the krewes were very segreated, by sex and race. There are still a few ladies-only krewes, but fortunately, race is no longer a consideration for krewe membersip. About 20 years ago, a New Oleans city councilwoman challenged the old line krewes which were very WASPy. She believed business deals were being conducted at the private club luncheons and meetings of the krewes, and minorities, who were excludied from krewe membership, were consequently excluded from business opportunities. Further, she insisted if the city was going to provide police and sanitation services for their parades, the krewes must integrate. The rest of the City Council and the courts agreed with her on the krewe-parade membership requirements, although there was nothing they could legally do about discussions of business deals that might have been taking place at legal private clubs. Today, race is not a consideration for krewe membership. Again, Mardi Gras is by ALL the people, for ALL the people, just as it should be.
It's difficult to explain to someone the pure fun of a Mardi Gras parade. "So I'm going to stand on the streets with thousands of people and yell at riders on a float to throw plastic beads at me?" I distinctly remember my skepticism before my first parade all those years ago. I remember Gary having his doubts, and this year was the first Mardi Gras for our (adopted) nephew David who too had to see it to believe it. Over the years I've experienced Mardi Gras with many first timers. Friends. Co-workers. My mom. My aunt and uncle. In every single instance, each first timer has been hooked after just one float. It's almost surreal at a parade. You cheer for the marching bands and dance along with the local high school dance troups. You become best friends with the stranger standing next to you. Problems and life's challenges are put on hold. The only thing that matters is catching that throw (beads, etc., are referred to as "throws").
Speaking of throws. The longer and bigger the beads, the better. All of the krewes also throw plastic go-cups emblazoned with the krewe's logo. Riders used to throw a lot of doubloons, a metal coin about the size of a half dollar coin. I learned very quickly never to reach down to pick up a doubloon off the ground; instead, I step on a doubloon to claim it, then reach down to pick it up. For some reason, krewes don't throw many doubloons anymore so catching one today is a challenge. The bigger krewes have beads with medallions which are always a favorite throw. Perhaps the most coveted throw in all of Mardi Gras is a Zulu coconut. Zulu is the first parade on Mardi Gras day. Years ago they had to stop throwing their decorated coconuts from their floats because of injuries; today, they pass the coconuts to the reveler of their choice. In 24 years I had never caught a coconut. This year I caught four!! I had to climb the police barricade and beg like a child, but it worked!
We saw celebrity grand marshalls in several parades. Maroon 5 led the Krewe of Endymion. I was looking for Adam Levine and thought I missed him. I heard later he thought it was too windy and wouldn't ride on the float and rode in a limo. Puh...lease. I'll definitely be rooting for Team Blake on The Voice. Will Ferrell was King of Bacchus and threw cow bells (if you've seen the Saturday Night Live skit you get this). Brett Michaels, Harry Connick, Jr, Hilary Swank, Mariska Hargitay, and Cyndi Lauper were the celebrity riders of Orpheus. My favorite band of all was the Tulane University Marching Band, which marched in 3 parades Mardi Gras weekend. Our son Kyle plays on the drum line, and he moved like Jagger everytime we saw him pass by!
Everthing I've described about Mardi Gras is the Mardi Gras that takes place outside of the French Quarter. The "girls (and guys) gone wild that so many have a picture of in their mind's eye about Mardi Gras is not the Mardi Gras I enjoy year after year. I've been to the Quarter during Mardi Gras, and I've had fun, but the parades are my favorite, and they don't roll through the Quarter. We did roam the Quarter one afternoon and heard great music streaming from several bars, saw a lot of street musicians, several marching groups parding through the streets, and lots of people on balconies throwing beads. In fact, I saw one of my oldest lawyer friends up there on a balcony. He threw me beads with his law firm's name on the medallion. When I was the marketing director at that law firm I would send 400+ Mardi Gras king cake packages to firm clients. Now the firm has personalized beads. Not sure what to think about that!
I already mentioned beignets and cafe au lait. Here's what else we ate (and drank!): Bar-b-q shrimp. Muffaletta. Gumbo. Shrimp po-boy. Boiled crawfish and boiled shrimp. Spinach and artichoke dip. Charboiled oysters. Crablegs. Jambalaya. Southern fried chicken. Red beans and rice. King cake. Macaroni and cheese with crawfish and andouille sausage. Bloody Mary's. Daiquiris. Skinny Girl Cosmo. Nola beer. Abita beer. Makers Mark. Margaritas. Red Bull (alot of Red Bull). Miller Lite. Bud Lite. G2. Bottled water.
We saw a bunch of parades, caught pounds and pounds of beads, and ate some of the best food you can get anywhere. The best part of my 25th Mardi Gras was letting loose with Gary, Emily, Kyle, our nephew David, and our dearest New Orleans friends Toodie and Jerry and their kids, in one of my favorite places in the world, a city that means so much to me and is such a part of me. Laissez les bon temps roule.....until we meet again (hopefully at Jazz Fest!)
Did I mention the fried green tomatoes with fresh crab meat and remoulaude sauce?
Just sayin'.
Laurie
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
My Valentine
"Every kiss begins with K....." We all heard that commercial during the Christmas holidays, and it's on repeat as Valentine's Day approaches. I heard on the news Americans spend an average of $126.00 on cards, candy, gifts, and dinners for V-Day; this is second only to the Christmas season - a retailer's dream.
I remember in elementary school decorating a brown paper bag in which classmates would place Valentine's. This was in the days before it was mandated that a student had to give a Valentine to every classmate, and the anticipation of waiting to see who would give me a Valentine was as much fun as receiving the Valentine itself. We would have a Valentine's Day party; the room mothers would bring decorated cupcakes and cookies, and and those little heart candies with messages. We'd decorate a doily so we'd have a valentine to take home to Mom and Dad. Valentine's Day was fun and simple.
In middle and high school there would often be a Sweethearts Dance scheduled around Valentine's Day. Oh, the advance agony! Will he ask me? Should I ask him? Should we go as a group without dates? What a relief, I have a date! The night of the big dance we’d wait for that big moment when the DJ would spin everyone’s favorite slow dance song…..Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven.
When Emily was young I helped her prepare Valentine's for her classmates and all the kids at daycare, as well as for her Dad, out of town grandparents and cousins. I always gave her a special Valentine along with a small gift. It was an opportunity for me to teach her the importance of expressing love and affection.
Gary and I will celebrate Valentine's Day, as we do every year. He told me a few weeks ago he made dinner reservations, and I have a small gift for him that I'm pretty sure will surprise him (which is very difficult to do!) We express our feelings to each other in words and actions every day and don't need a V-Day dinner or gifts as an affirmation of our love or commitment to one another. So why do we make a big deal out of February 14th each year? I’ve been giving that some thought the past few days. There is no revelation that has come to me other than Gary
And when we come home from the restaurant, I’ll ask him to put on some classic rock, and maybe we’ll slow dance to some Led Zep.
Just sayin'.
Laurie
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