Camille - Mardi Gras

The Time of Your Life Could Be the End

A jab of the elbow here and there, a little shove to the old lady. Everyone has been through the fight.
I first discovered “The Fight” when I had to wrestle with a thirty-something year old woman who seriously wanted some beads. My friend Simone rode in the Zulu parade and man, did she have some things ready to hand down to me and Meredith. Be prepared to hear the horror of this day, Meredith almost lost her life. As the float approached, Simone got all our bags of beads and catches ready. As she lowered it down, among the regular commotion, this unknown lady threw herself in front of us. She was going for our catches! After that, everything happened in slow motion. Meredith and the woman struggled over the bags. Back and forth, both sides were not giving up. Then, the contents flew up in the air as the bag split open in two. We were almost pushed under the float and crushed to death.
I am grateful that we survived to tell the tale.

Even the French don’t venture to such lengths on their famous, Mardi Gras. My recent exchange student came for this past Mardi Gras. Her dad came with her and had the time of his life, as people do down in New Orleans. He told us stories of his late night on the town. He had gone up to the concierge and simply put it, “I just want to dance.” He just wanted to dance after all. He was directed to a night club on Frenchman Street, ironically where he met “the love of his life.” He was kidding when he said this. The lady was his age and he told us that his wife had never said such things to him. She told him, and this is not a joke, that he was “so beautiful.” And they danced the night away. He told us he returned to his hotel room at 2 a.m. the first night, then went a little crazy and stayed out until 4 a.m. the next day.

Camille, age 17