Throw me somethin' Mister!

Fat Tuesday is almost here!!! My anticipation stems from having a brother who actually lives in New Orleans, which makes Mardi Gras a much more exciting holiday. To live vicariously through him while he experiences the temporary insanity that permeates the city for one of the most festive and traditional times of year is pure greatness.

Two years ago I attended the celebration in person with my childhood friend Mandy. It was the first year after Hurricane Katrina, so people say it was a toned-down version compared to prior years; however, in my mind it was still absolutely crazy and out of control. Despite the crudeness, I believe it's one of those things that everyone should attend at least once in their life - kind of like going to Vegas.

Mandy and I began the treacherous 8 hour drive to nola on a Friday afternoon. We stopped in Lafayette to hear one of my all time favorite artists - Marc Broussard - promote his Carencro CD in concert. This guy is amazing, and I would highly recommend checking him out. He's a little white guy with a huge black guy voice - VERY talented with a lot of soul. Picture #1 below is of us before the concert outside a burger shack on the side of the road called Frankie's. Thank you, Frankie, for the thumbs up.

After the concert we made our way to my bro's, who ended up being an amazing host for the weekend. Picture #2 is of us at the actual parades on St. Charles St. The 2 guys on the left are Donnie and Paul. Donnie, aka Dperdue31, is one of my most special friends from A&M who now lives in Chicago and is a doctor. Paul is his friend who I'd never met, but gave us sunscreen that day, which I very much appreciated.

The bulk of our memories consist of, "you had to be there" moments. I could elaborate and try and explain further, but they just flat out wouldn't be funny. For the record, no flashing was involved or even contemplated for that matter, and we still obtained a plethora of beads by screaming the title of this post at the top of our lungs on a non-stop repetitive basis. Alas, here's to both the holiday itself and the annual reminiscence of my own historical experience at Mardi Gras New Orleans style...