Mardi Gras, Dream Come True!
Yours Truly in a Swamp
by
Leonard Earl Johnson
***
Reprinted from Les Amis de Marigny, New Orleans
February 2004
* * *
To paraphrase Tennessee Williams, we survive in New Orleans by the liberal kindness of strangers. It is True. Daily, above our cozy green swamp, tourists fly through the air like Carnival beads.
New Orleans has but a half-million sometimes sober citizens, and this year's best-ever Mardi Gras will attract millions of bead tossing, flesh flashing, credit-card slinging strangers, come to Town to pay our bills, take us to supper and laugh at our jokes.
". . . ever hear the one about the tourist who ate their paper bag?"
Tourism is a cultural exchange. They dance to our tunes, fill our hotels, eat our food, and buy our art -- many is the Yankee trading pit titan who will have a moss-stuffed Voodoo Doll sitting atop his desk after Ash Wednesday. We show them our tits and they pay our house notes.
* * *
One morning, from Squalor Heights' tall dormers, looking over cold slate roofs we saw the flying bridge of the U. S. S. Iwo Jima pulling away from her moorings at the Governor Nichols Street Wharf. Gracefully, her tugs pulled her midstream where she turned about and made way down to the open Sea.
The Sunday before, L. A. Norma and I walked to the levee hoping to board her - - a courtesy usually extended by a visiting man-of-war. This time a black and white sign fixed to a shiny steel post turned us away. It read: "Stop / No Visitors Because of Heightened Security."
A platoon in civilian clothes came running along behind Marine colors. It was a warm day so we stayed awhile admiring them and the sleek hull of their ship. They ran atop the levee, framed by a clear blue sky, their red flag snapping in the wind.
* * *
I enjoyed this year's pre-Carnival holidays - - that time between Ramadan / Hanukkah / Thanksgiving / Christmas / Kwanzaa / New Year's and January 6, King Day or Twelfth Night, the first night of Carnival. Pity them who think theirs the biggest celebration of all, for they do not know our Carnival.
For more detail on what actually happens during Mardi Gras, come see. Till then take a look through the Live Cam Over Bourbon Street linked below, and read some of the most important terms related to the big party.
- Ball (tableau ball) - This is a masked party featuring, as entertainment, the performance of scenes representing a specific theme. Boeuf Gras - This is the fatted bull or ox and symbolizes the last meat eaten before the Lenten season of fasting (the live ox presented in the Rex parade was replaced in 1959 by a papier-mache version). The Boeuf Gras is one of the most photographed sights at Mardi Gras.
- Captain - The leader of each Mardi Gras organization
- Court - The king, queen, maids and dukes of a Mardi Gras organization
- Doubloons - These are aluminum, coin-like objects bearing the krewe's insignia on one side and the parade's theme on the reverse. Doubloons were first introduced in 1960 and created by New Orleans artist H. Alvin Sharpe.
- Favor - This is a personalized souvenir, given by organization members to friends attending the ball. Invitation - This is a non-transferable printed request for attendance at a Mardi Gras ball.
- King Cake - This is an oval, sugared cake with a plastic baby doll hidden inside. The person who finds the doll is crowned "king" and buys the next colorful cake and gives the next party. The King Cake season opens on King's Day, January 6.
- Krewe - This is the generic term for all carnival organizations and clubs in New Orleans. Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology are the sources for nearly half the krewe names. Some clubs are named after neighborhoods, while others are named after historical figures or places. Clubs are chartered by The City as non-profit entities and are financed by dues, by the sale of krewe-emblemed merchandise to its members and by fund-raising projects. Most Mardi Gras krewes are also involved in charity work, but not much.
- Lundi Gras - This is French for Fat Monday. From 1897 to 1917, the day before Mardi Gras was celebrated by the arrival of King Rex aboard a steamboat. The custom was revived in 1987.
- Throws - These are inexpensive souvenirs tossed from floats (since around 1871) by costumed and masked krewe members in response to traditional calls of, "Throw me something, mister!" These "throws" include doubloons, plastic cups and beads.
- Hangover - Hell, you know this one.
The next five Mardi Gras dates:
- February 24, 2004
- February 8, 2005
- February 28, 2006
- February 20, 2007
- February 5, 2008