Accepting the Challenge
March 13, 2019
Cantrelle files suit against Parish Council
March 15, 2019
As a lover of poems, I was born in the wrong century. The Raven, Annabel le Lee, Hiawatha, Evangeline – how glorious they were and how forgotten they are. Sad!
Gone, too, are dime novels, pulp fiction. Big Little Books, LiT Abner and The Shadow Knows. Fortunately. Mardi Gras lives, more modern and more up town and the throws are much better. No WiFi nor smart phones in my day but we found entertainment. No, we didn’t carve animal pictures on the walls of our caves.
This past week I had the privilege of viewing the Golden Meadow Krewe of Athena from my daughter Lisa s front porch and not being as agile anymore, through the Mildness of Lisa and her friend Sheila I now possess throws any one of which would equal a box of the Japanese stuff from my youth. That thank B to Athena and other Krewes kept alive by the sprit of Cajuns past. I was amazed that the 20 floats were restored, renovated, painted and elec-trified by over 200 members who contributed their muscles and sweat far us to enjoy. What a sight! It might have been a small town, but the parade was big time! Joey had t all cleaned up “lickety split” and he led the garbage detail.
When I tell people, ray family lived three years in New Orleans during World War IL they commented you must have enjoyed Mardi Gras.” NOT! Those were the years with no Mardi Gras. Why? A little disagreement among nations known as World War II.
This was early in the war and the Japanese in the Pacific Rommel in North Africa, and the Nazis in Belgium were kicking our butts and there was no time for gaiety in New Orleans or the nation. Most of the worst news was kept from us but there were no parades nor Mardi Gras gaiety for the years 1943, 1944 and 1945.
Some people masked and walked with little red wagons but there were no gas for trucks or oil for flambeaus, and a severe shortage of able-bodied young men America was in total war!
It was harder on the New Orleans natives, but for us Cajun emigrates, never having seen parades we didn’t miss it as much.
Edward R. Morrow was on radio every night with “This is London”, broadcasting from roof tops amid falling bombs, which told roe that a 12-year old boy and his family had been brought to a big city from the safe Cajun countryside which was frightening to say the least. Morrow made his point “Bombs fell on big cities.”
We have just enjoyed two weeks of parades, floats, marrhing hands and having fun knocking each other down to catch the throws. The Japanese no longer make them. They now make cars, computers. IPhones. IPads and I-Hop. OK, scratch I-Hop … We make the cheap stuff now.
Back then For Catholic Cajuns, over 90 percent of the population. Ash Wednesday meant the festivities were over and for 40 days of Lent, we were to fast, pray give up something. (I usually gave up csbbage and no dancing except on St Joseph’s Day, my band’s only gig for 40 days.
(It was nice to see the commentators an Fox proudly wear their ashes There were few, if any on other networks.)
But being curious youths, found a loop hole.
In the Kingdom of Jefferson, the juke joints on Grand Isle were flourishing so we came and we danced, hut we had to discuss it with our priests in the confessional. I usually got by with ten Hail Marys and ten Our Fathers.
I was ambivalent about Mardi Gras parades but my wife and kids used to drag me to act as a shill. because being well known I would get many throws aimed my way. The kids would gather them up and Ouch! Some of those riders could throw very hard, maybe because of my politics or my music. No problem, my wife would wipe off the blood and throw them in the kid’s ditty bags. Next week…. Mardi Gras. Cajuns high on Canal Street. (It’s not what you think.) BYE NOW!
Mardi Gras is an awesome in Louistana and it has that way for years. In this week’s column Mr. Leroy Martin looks at the holiday and gives a little look into Carmival Time locally.
