Here are some things I want to do this weekend:
I performed one of my most cherished Carnival rituals last night as me and a my posse caught the Krewes of Babylon, Chaos and the magnificent Muses. We met up at our usual spot on the corner of St. Charles and Canal, drinking tall boys, dancing, singin, screaming and laughing. Chaos had some very witty floats filled with razor sharp satire and Muses was as great as always. We were showered in throws including an entire pack of glass beads, tons of great signature Muses beads, a pack of cards displaying all of Chaos' smart floats (I'll scan and post these later) and Rose caught the ultimate throw, a hand-painted and bedazzled Muses shoe! That's got to be a good omen for the rest of the season.
As usual, the marching groups were my favorite part of the parade and this year the MAX band, consisting of St. Aug, St. Mary's and Xavier Prep students was the hands-down winner. Other groups holding it down were the 9th Ward Marching Band, the Camel Toe Lady Steppers, and the Rolling Elvi.
Now I just need to make it through one more day of work and errands before Shanna and I park the car for 5 days and enjoy this magnificent and joyous city in her finest moment.
We started at the R Bar drinking beers and talking about normal things. It felt almost like a regular after-work gathering for cocktails. The chalkboard over the toilet read "Welcome Home Brah!!!!" and I felt like someone had written it just for me.
We walked past stinking abandoned refrigerators with the cryptic but ubiquitous phrase "Voodoo Today Here Now 5" written on all of them.
We dined at Coop's and met a staff writer for the New Yorker named Danny and talked about how incredibly fucked up and sad this whole situation is and Will and I gave him juicy details about Dorothy Mae Taylor and the death of the Old Line Krewes and the false nostalgia of Kabakoff and Co.
We drank pints at Molly's and had to scream to hear each other over the off duty Guard and Police and the Jukebox. Just as we were about to walk to the next bar Cassady, who everyone thought was in New York, walked in to bartend. So nice to see familiar faces right now.
We went back to the R Bar and drank beers with the Blackwood Brothers until the curfew came and cops started pulling cars over and National Guardsmen flirted shamelessly with the busty, tatooed ladies of the place.
When we finally left to drive back across the Causeway it was nearly 1:00 and we got pulled over by the NOPD who demanded to know where were going and why we were out after curfew. Lara kept her cool and explained that it took longer than expected to close the bar and that we were on our way back to the Northshore. The officer relented and let us on our way but we were all shaken a bit.
I want things to return to normal but I know they never "really" will. It's going to be exciting to see what comes out of this.
Tonight I will brave the streets of the Marigny and the French Quarter for the first time in over 6 weeks! Sarah Martinez, Rick and I are headed downtown to meet Shanna, Will, Sonny and Lara for a night of drinking and urban exploration/reclamation. I'll have pictures and a story to post tomorrow.
Last night Shanna and I went downtown and met up with a whole slew of friends. We saw the Krewe of Saturn followed by the Krewe of Muses, who are undoubtedly the most fun Carnival organization rolling right now. Hot Damn those ladies know how to mount a parade! There were Go Go's, Rolling Elvi, Babydolls, Camel Toe Steppers, Pussyfooters, Purple Knights, C Ray Nagin and a gaggle of other far-out Carnival spectacles. We stood in our usual spot right outside the Pickwick Club where we proceeded to drink and laugh and dance the night away. Afterwards we went to visit Cass at Molly's and had a few nightcaps before making it back home at what passes for late to me these days. It was the finest night out I've enjoyed in quite some time. It also proved to me that no matter the weather or the crowd size it truly is Carnival time and everybody's having fun.
