If ever I cease to Mardi Gras

Louis Lederman, a member of the Krewe of Cosmic Debris and a jester at Mardi Gras

Like a meteor hurling through the atmosphere, there was no doubt that the mad rush towards Fat Tuesday would end very quickly with somewhat unsettling results. The black and gold tinged festival ended very abruptly last night after the final weekend of parades extended into Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras, but Saints fever will no doubt continue unabated for months to come. It was an amazing ride, but still had a few surprises for those of who extended out into the hoopla or watched it unfold on TV. I did get a few hours of sleep following my return from the Krewe of Orpheus Orphescapade at approximately 4:00 a.m. With some urging, I took to the streets of the Faubourg Marigny and the Vieux Carre to soak up the latter portions of the day. Many more people seemed to be in costume or masked for the day of celebration and revelry and it wasn't hard to see that everyone was enjoying himself, from the kids taking it all in to the police officers and state troopers dealing with the huge, but peaceable crowds. Still smarting from the blows to my face from beads thrown by happy paraders on Sunday, I paced myself throughout the day and into the night with appropriate libations and wound up having a most enjoyable day. Still, there's only so much one can do and I missed the final moments of the meeting of the courts of the Krewe of Rex and the Mystick Krewe of Comus that has been an annual broadcast event for decades. It was a beautiful, but chilly day and one I will recall with great affection for some time to come. The one item of note that I did catch was the ceremonial passing of the whistle from the captain of Rex to the Rex official who will take over that prestigious post now. The new captain of Rex like the the new captain of Comus is surprisingly young and it seems this new blood may guarantee many years of continued success for the two oldest Carnival organizations. So, it's back to work for all of us today in the Crescent City, but the countdown to the next Mardi Gras has already begun.