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Mardi Gras: The morning-after
Aaaaah, sweet Wednesday.
Across the city, the day after a shortened but active Carnival season, residents of New Orleans celebrated the-day-after Mardi Gras in the traditional ways.
We nurse the various ailments that come with seven straight Saturday nights in a row. There's "Catcher's Croak"--ridiculously strained vocal cords from days of yelling--to float riders. Successful bead catchers wear their imaginary wealth, resulting in often-severe cases of "Beadneck"--abrasions from 10-pound necklace collections. And of course, the garden-variety maladies: chronic weeklong hangovers, long-term sleep deprivation, ringing ears, sore feet and a few additional pounds from King Cake nibbling.
And this year, we can spend Ash Wednesday thinking about how Mardi Gras 2006 helped recharge our spirits and strengthen our resolve. For all the dire predictions, New Orleans pulled off a party that paid homage to the tragedies of 2005's hurricane season while providing cultural continuity.
Despite the damage and often-too-slow recovery process, Zulu and Rex rolled down St. Charles Avenue to cap off the season. Barbecue grills sent fragrant smoke underneath the Claiborne Street overpass, tempting revelers with grilled sausages and chicken plates as a throng waited for Mardi Gras Indians to appear with a second-line parade. The anarchic St. Ann's parade made its way from the Bywater through the Quarter just like any other year, treating gawkers and other costumers to inspired satire, exquisite costume design and truly inventive nudity.
They might not be for everyone, but these traditions are both important and affirming. They'll keep us focused on next year, and the next, until life gets back to our "abnormal normal." As soon as the brain haze lifts, we'll start work on next year's Carnival.
But for now, we rest.
See you next year?
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