New Orleans may be famous for their Mardi Gras, but it’s not even comparable to the Cajun version. Back home in Eunice there is the traditional “courir” or run. Here in Lafayette it’s sort of a hybrid with parades of real floats and costumes that… well, you’ll just have to watch the video.<\/p>\n
I spent the weekend with my brothers and sister as well as my Aunt Sis, Dad’s only sister and kinfolk from “up North,” as Dad used to say. Mike and his family love to come down for Mardi Gras. They’ve been doing it for years now, but this is really the first time I’m there, too. Had a great time. Danny made cracklins and his lovely wife, Brenda, made a sauce piquante. Next day David had us all over for a gumbo. I wondered what the “poor” people were doing, and by poor I meant those who didn’t have home-made cracklins or gumbo from the Gumbo King. David does wonders with chicken and sausage, let me tell you.<\/p>\n
Got my share of beads from a few parades. Not bad for an old white guy who’s too busy holding his beer to raise his arm for beads. I guess I got the mercy beads. We had a couple of small children in tow, and they racked up! We’re talking stuffed animals and such. I guess it pays to be cute. I’m only cute while I’m sleeping, and you’ll just have to take my wife’s word for it. Yeah, I don’t believe her either.<\/p>\n
After the parade the streets are littered with beads. Poor beads. These are the ones nobody wants. They’re kind of cheap, which is saying a lot when you’re talking about Mardi Gras beads. Parade-goers around here have their standards, I imagine. Well, so do I, I suppose, since I didn’t bend over to pick them up. Then again, it’s gotta be pretty important for me to bend over to do anything.<\/p>\n
For your entertainment, The Krewe of Couche Couche leading the Independents’ Parade in Lafayette, La.:
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