Tuesday, March 8, 2011

I Miss the Real Thing…

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Today in Fort Smith it is rainy, gloomy and cold.  There’s nothing special about this ordinary Tuesday for most people here.  Both the boys rushed out the front door this morning with their Walmart King Cakes and bags of beads to share with their classmates and I’ll have a pot of red beans and rice for dinner.  We four Teagles will celebrate with the memories we carry in our hearts of Mardi Gras past.   Nothing can beat it.

I guess it’s the excitement of it all…getting a good spot on St. Charles, great, and I mean GREAT food all day long, New Orleans funk Mardi Gras music blaring on somebody’s car stereo, a good buzz, live oak trees stretching out over your head, running into old friend on the parade route you haven’t seen in years, the thunder and pomp of Saint Aug’s band stompin’ on the avenue right in front of you, neck aches from the weight of all the beads, a “terlot” around the corner, beads in the trees, strangers making you feel like family, the smell of stale alcohol in the air at mass the next morning, amazingly clean streets the next day from a party that hosted millions…love my New Orleans and I miss the real thing this year.

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Top: the A Walmart sized King Cake baby holding a regular sized NOLA baby!

Next best thing to Mardi Gras…the Irish-Italian parade in Metry 2006

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Last year’s fun

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Happy Mardi Gras, y’all!

1 comment:

  1. Is Mr. Teagle wearing green panties on his head in the family photo?:)

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