| 04 March 2003
We got up at the crack of noon on Sunday, and no one was
happy to be up that early. People started showering and what-not, and
before too long Donna and Jimmy showed up. Around two we all trooped down
to St. Charles for some more parades. We took folding chairs and the
cooler and joined a couple of Sonya's coworkers who were already there. It
was very mellow because we were, as a rule, very tired and hung over. I called Shawn to talk him in to town. He, too, found that
Tchoupitoulas was blocked off. "Park the car," I told him, "and start walking towards me.
You've got to get across the parade route before the next parade starts." I got in my car and drove towards the monstrously clogged
intersection of Napoleon and St. Charles. Shawn and I were cell-phoning
back and forth constantly, trying to work our way towards each other.
Finally, I saw him coming through the crowd. "Straight ahead!" I yelled into the phone, "come on down
the street! I see you!" How did people get along without cell phones in mob scenes
like that? Shawn and I got beers at the apartment and joined the
family at St. Charles. Barbara borrowed our keys and disappeared with
Baris, causing much speculation amongst our little group. "The beads are gonna be slappin'," Lark guessed. Bacchus finally came along, but the crowd was swollen, it
was cold and everyone was tired. Two-thirds of the way through the parade
I gathered up my people. "Y'all ready to get some dinner?" They were. It wasn't easy, though. I kept calling restaurants, but
everyone was either full or closed. We ended up at Mystic on Magazine for
another late-night dinner. I was sitting next to Barbara. "Guess what?" I whispered to her. "What?" she whispered back. "You're a filthy whore." "Shut up!" she screeched. |
|||||||