Watching the Parade from the Potato Patch

 I was planting potatoes on a beautiful Monday morning.  It was Lundi Gras.  That means "Fat Monday," the day before Mardi Gras.  The revelers were making the most of it.  As I was planting, I heard the French music playing in the distance.  The heifers, LuLu and Elsie, lifted their tails and ran across the pasture at break-neck speed.  They must have been scared.  The craziness surrounding Mardi Gras sometimes scares me too!

The police escorted the floats across LA 26, a state highway near our land.  They blocked off north and south traffic to give the floats a chance to cross.  I should have counted the floats.  It was more than 20, for sure.  The floats aren't typical floats like you see in the parades in New Orleans.  This is Cajun Mardi Gras.  It is more of a country celebration.  The floats are made of old school buses that have been altered and painted or a gooseneck trailer that has been transformed into an Acadian house.  They are very creative and I know a lot of time and money goes into this.  There are celebrations each of the preceding weekends, so it's not just one day.  The revelers are very committed to their cause.

The guy pulling this float is a neighbor that lives down the road.  We purchased all our square bales from his grandpa.  His grandfather is now deceased, but we continue to purchase from the daughter, who runs the operation now.

Most of the floats have barbeque pits on them.  They were smoking and I could smell the BBQ.  It made me hungry!

Most of the floats were flying American flags, Mardi Gras flags, and Louisiana flags.  Many flew the Acadiana flag.  You can see it below - the red white and blue one.  It was created in 1965 at USL. The gold star in the field of white represents Acadian exiles in America.  The fleurs de lis against a background of blue stands for the French heritage of the Cajuns.  Finally, the gold castle against a background of red represents Spanish colonial rule of Louisiana.  That's when the Cajuns arrived. 

Their parade route is long and goes all throughout the country.  They were eating and drinking and listening to (loud) music.

Many of the floats also have Port-A-Potty's on them.  Some call them K - John's.  Get it?

Let the Good Times Roll.  Literally...

If you look at all the cars backed up and stopped on LA 26 while the floats cross the road, that's the closest thing you'll see to a traffic jam out in my neck of the woods.

The house of crazy Cajuns, indeed.

And finally, the parade was over.

The French music faded into the distance as the parade snaked its way into the distance.  And I went back to planting potatoes.

Those Crazy Cajuns

Mardi Gras is the love of life. It is the harmonic convergence of our food, our music, our creativity, our eccentricity, our neighborhoods, and our joy of living. All at once. — Chris Rose

It was Saturday shortly after lunchtime.  Tricia and I have a tradition on weekends in which we'll put a pot of strong coffee on and sit outside and visit.  It was a perfect day to do so.  We took a break from burning a big pile of sticks in the pasture and sat on a concrete bench under the live oak tree to enjoy a cup of coffee and conversation.

It is nice to live in the country.  However, we looked north toward the blacktop road and saw... (gasp) a traffic jam!  What in the devil is going on?

Traffic Jam

A Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff's cruiser turned down the road in front of our house.  Suddenly, loud music filled the air...

Tricia turned to me and said, "We didn't have to go to the parade.  The parade came to us."  We aren't big "Mardi Gras People."  A little too crazy for us.  We sat and waved at the revelers as they passed.  They were having a good time.  The floats were interesting and creative.  This one had Spanish Moss draping the sides along with palmetto leaves and a cabin on the back with purple, green, and gold flags flying.

This one was a simpler one.  American Flags and the Louisiana Flag waved proudly alongside the ubiquitous Port-A-Potty anchoring the float.

Revelers showing their Tiger Spirit...

Purple, Green and Gold draping hung from this float with an Acadiana Flag bringing up the rear.

This float was made with tin from an old barn with the phrase, "Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler!" on the side. (Let the Good Times Roll).  It looked like they were doing just that.

Some krewes had purchased old school buses and "tricked them out."  This one seemed to be almost dragging the ground in the back.  Perhaps their Port-a-Potty was full?

This float had "Maison des Cooyon Kajans" emblazoned on the side.  House of Crazy Cajuns!

This one was the Krewe De Bayou and their float looked like a house on the bayou.

The whole parade probably had about 20 floats.  Nothing fancy.  All homemade.  One observation that we saw was that the majority of the floats had Trump flags proudly flying.  I think Trump pretty much has the Cajun demographic firmly in his corner.

Finally, the last float passed by and the loud music faded into the quiet countryside.  We finished our coffee and walked out to check the mail.  I bent over and picked up some purple beads on my way back in.  Those crazy Cajuns.