Behind all the fuss of purple, gold, and green there is a culture, a way of life in New Orleans. Over the last few weeks I have further learned about this way of life through some very close friends of mine and I can safely say that I LOVE it.
The king cakes, the music, the happiness, the exchanging of beads and wisdom allows for an even greater appreciation and one of my close friends showed me this even further.
“...Mardi Gras is not a parade. Mardi Gras is
not girls flashing on French Quarter balconies. Mardi Gras is not an
alcoholic binge.
Mardi Gras is bars and restaurants changing out all the CD's in their jukeboxes to Professor Longhair and the Neville Brothers, and it is annual front-porch crawfish boils hours before the parades so your stomach and attitude reach a state of grace, and it is returning to the same street corner, year after year, and standing next to the same people, year after year--people whose names you may or may not even know but you've watched their kids grow up in this public tableau and when they're not there, you wonder: Where are those guys this year?
It is dressing your dog in a stupid costume and cheering when the marching bands go crazy and clapping and saluting the military bands when they crisply snap to.
It's wearing frightful color combination in public and rolling your eyes at the guy in your office who--like clockwork, year after year--denies that he got the baby in the king cake and now someone else has to pony up the ten bucks for the next one.
Mardi Gras is the love of life. It is the harmonic convergence of our food, our music, our creativity, our eccentricity, our neighborhoods, and our joy of living. All at once.” -Chris Rose
Mardi Gras is bars and restaurants changing out all the CD's in their jukeboxes to Professor Longhair and the Neville Brothers, and it is annual front-porch crawfish boils hours before the parades so your stomach and attitude reach a state of grace, and it is returning to the same street corner, year after year, and standing next to the same people, year after year--people whose names you may or may not even know but you've watched their kids grow up in this public tableau and when they're not there, you wonder: Where are those guys this year?
It is dressing your dog in a stupid costume and cheering when the marching bands go crazy and clapping and saluting the military bands when they crisply snap to.
It's wearing frightful color combination in public and rolling your eyes at the guy in your office who--like clockwork, year after year--denies that he got the baby in the king cake and now someone else has to pony up the ten bucks for the next one.
Mardi Gras is the love of life. It is the harmonic convergence of our food, our music, our creativity, our eccentricity, our neighborhoods, and our joy of living. All at once.” -Chris Rose
Thank you Ali Manion for the lesson and appreciation!
And as the days go on in the land of magic, I hear a cross between this being "Mardi Gras week" and "Happy Valentines day" and while all the cute red colors fight the purple, green, and gold throughout this week I still see this holiday as a mark for one person for the last 8 years now....
Happy Birthday to one of the greatest nieces of all time, Eva Sage Ramos :)
May the magic of life fill your heart for the years to come <3
And P.s. what better way to celebrate Mardi Gras week and Valentines day then with a new memory of a VERY close friend of mine :')
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