“Mardi Gras – part 1”
I dropped Diana off at the airport early on Wednesday. Rush hour traffic back from the airport was heavy and I looked around for somewhere to have breakfast and let it die down. Cafetomas in Kenner was a great underground find – very good coffee and Colombian food. My huevos rancheros were excellent.
Kara and Kenny very kindly invited me to dinner before the Uncle Lucius show at Tipitinas that evening. Kara enjoyed the “Garden district” scented candle that I took from the Petit Bleu store.
Kenny and Denny joined me and both seemed to enjoy the show and the opening act, while Diana was sad to miss it:
“Fess” was sporting his seasonal Mardi Gras crown:
The first Mardi Gras parade of our season, Krewe de Vieux (incorrectly pronounced “Voo” by New Orleanians), rolled on Saturday. We watched from the starting point in the Marigny – having time to visit with Greg and the Buttercup krewe and Chris Peet (with his Love flag) before they started moving.
This sign made me think of Giancarlo, our family poet:
Little Freddie King, a local blues musician was the head of the parade.
King is 84 years old and has performed at the last 42 Jazzfests. He is always very snazzily dressed. More here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Freddie_King
Our neighbors, Tony and Britney, walked in the parade and Tony reported that we picked the best place to watch. He said the French Quarter was pretty crazy and the CBD was mostly college kids.
It was pretty warm and I’m sure Greg was hot in his foghorn leghorn suit:
I watched the Saturday Night Live (SNL) 50th anniversary show on Sunday night. I’ve read some articles recently that said SNL is really a music show. That’s not true – there are typically two musical numbers in a 90 minute show, but there have been some amazing ones over the years.
The anniversary show started with Paul Simon performing “Homeword Bound” and ended with an outstanding medley by Sir Paul McCartney, performing with the same band that I saw in Oakland over 20 years ago.
I enjoyed this article about the pop-up shows that McCartney did at the Bowery Ballroom around the SNL show:
I started “Rabbit is Rich” by John Updike this week. This won the Pullitzer in 1982. Here’s an online summary:
“The hero of John Updike’s Rabbit, Run, ten years after the hectic events described in Rabbit Redux, has come to enjoy considerable prosperity as Chief Sales Representative of Springer Motors, a Toyota agency in Brewer, Pennsylvania. The time is 1979: Skylab is falling, gas lines are lengthening, the President collapses while running in a marathon, and double-digit inflation coincides with a deflation of national confidence. Nevertheless, Harry Angstrom feels in good shape, ready to enjoy life at last—until his son, Nelson, returns from the West, and the image of an old love pays a visit to his lot. New characters and old populate these scenes from Rabbit’s middle age, as he continues to pursue, in his erratic fashion, the rainbow of happiness.”
Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all!