Laissez les bons temps rouler!

[flippyshark]

To paraphrase Marge Simpson:

"I thought my life would be a Mardi Gras
A never ending party - ha!
I'm just an East Coast dude without a dime"

[Drince88]

I almost hate to post in this thread!
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
If I ever get the picture of myself online where I can link to it (probably later tonight) I'll update this.

I had a FANTASTIC Mardi Gras - this was the first year I 'masked' - Going into the new year I wanted something 'biting political' but not Katrina related. And then the Mayor spoke on MLK day, and did some very ill-thought-out back-tracking. And he set himself up so well, I just couldn't resist!

I poked pretty direct fun at him - and as we're on St. Charles Ave waiting for Zulu to get rolling, he stops RIGHT in front of us on his horseback (in his 4-star General costume!) - I saw him see my costume and was laughing, so I turned to the side so he could see it, and I got a little more laugh and a thumbs up. If I had 1 picture taken of my while 'strolling' I had 50. I knew it would be well received, but I really was shocked at the level or 'well received'. It was a blast!

More later when I finish getting caught up in the lounge and get the picture uploaded.

[Drince88]

Ok - here's the long version:
Some of you may remember Mayor Ray Nagin’s MLK Day speech. Part of it:

Originally Posted by New Orleans Mayor - C. Ray Nagin

It's time for us to rebuild a New Orleans, the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans. And I don't care what people are saying in Uptown or wherever they are. This city will be chocolate at the end of the day. This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have it no other way.

Part of his initial back pedaling inspired my costume:

Originally Posted by New Orleans Mayor - C. Ray Nagin

"How do you make chocolate? You take dark chocolate, you mix it with white milk, and it becomes a delicious drink. That is the chocolate I am talking about," he said. "New Orleans was a chocolate city before Katrina. It is going to be a chocolate city after. How is that divisive? It is white and black working together, coming together and making something special."

Here’s a picture of me in my costume, before the parading started.

And here are some other Mardi Gras pictures.


The Zulu Aid and Social Club (the first African American Parading Group in New Orleans) had actual Zulu Warriors from South Africa near the beginning of their parade. The specific picture of them (in the photo album, too)


For those of you wondering: Brown’s Dairy is a local dairy that had a fairly recognizable carton style, which is why I chose it. NOTHING in the dairy selection is related to Chocolate or an Ex-Federal Official.

[wendybeth]

Those are great, Drince- and your costume is fantastic!