Decadence Unbound
Another Mardi Gras has passed, and I once again find myself reflecting on this most unique of experiences. Mardi Gras is like no other celebration on earth. While Rio has its Carnival, that seems to be most about the pageantry. Mardi Gras in New Orleans is about decadence, in all its forms.
Mardi Gras in New Orleans is about decadence unbound for even the most meek and conservative. Where else do you take a regular day of the week and grind it to a screaming halt so floats full of costumed riders may pass, while throwing you trinkets? Where else do otherwise church-going and God-fearing families pull out all the stops to camp out with tents, and grills, and blankets, and coolers on what is normally rail tracks in the median of a major city thoroughfare? Where else would girls with otherwise high moral standards be compelled to lift their shirts all in the hopes the beads thrown to them this time might be bigger and better than the last ones?
From the crowds of mostly young people living the dream in the French Quarter (and trying to remember it today, Ash Wednesday), to the families with toddlers experiencing their first Mardi Gras on St. Charles Avenue, this year’s carnival was a spectacular success. The parades rolled on time more than ever before, and, for the most part, the weather cooperated, culminating in a spectacular Mardi Gras day that was sunny and in the upper 60’s with low humidity (for New Orleans, at least).
The only blemish on an otherwise perfect carnival season were the 19 and 20 year old kids who decided their form of decadence would be to start shooting people on St. Charles in the middle of Mardi Gras day. Seven people were injured. None were life threatening and only two were serious. We don’t yet know what they were setting out to prove, but we do know this: they did prove the New Orleans police department is ready and capable to handle these unfortunate events. Within seconds, they were apprehended. By the end of the day they had already been charged with 7 counts of first degree murder.
While I am sure the national news will focus on this unfortunate event, the real focus should be on the thousands of people who had a great time. One person interviewed on the local news who was near the shooting even said they understood this was something that could happen anywhere.
As for us, we spent almost all of it near our house, which is only one block off the main parade route uptown, with friends from both here and out of town. Our “decadence unbound” is to cook great food, feed whoever shows up, and try to leave the least amount of leftovers possible. The carcass from our deep fried turkey is now comfortably resting in a pot of simmering hot water, creating incredibly flavored stock for what will eventually become Turkey and Sausage Gumbo, the final mark of a successful event for us here in New Orleans.
Even as the many Krewe members are nursing their over-indulgent wounds, they are already turning their attention to next year’s celebration. After all, there are only 356 days until Mardi Gras 2010 (February 16th).
