This has become one of my favorite blog posts to write! The way we celebrate St. Patricks Day in New Orleans is, of course, with a parade. But not just any parade, oh no. We have to be over the top of course. So instead, we have floats as usual, we get drunk as usual, but then we add things to it. Things like...old men walking around in kilts with flowers which they'll give to a woman for a kiss, or drunken women doing the same with men....every now and then you'll see a man or a woman willing to exchange a rose with the same sex depending upon how much alcohol they've had :p
And then comes my absolute favorite part. This has always been my favorite parade because of the throws. For Mardi Gras, you get beads, cups, doubloons and then there are the trinkets like stuffed animals, play swords, bouncy balls...stuff like that. They have all of that for the St. Patrick's Day parade as well but then there are VEGETABLES and FRUIT that they throw too! And the most prized vegetable of all is the cabbage. Our record to date is 19 cabbages. Of course you get so excited about this and then go home and think "what the fuck are we going to do with all of this cabbage" and get SO SICK of eating cabbage. Also, they throw a lot of Irish Spring soap but I didn't catch any this year.
I remember the first time I posted about this parade people were like "WTF??? Y'all do some crazy ass shit in New Orleans" because I posted about it like it was just another day, another parade. I've grown up with this parade my whole life and it's always been my absolute favorite. It didn't occur to me that this would be a very strange thing to people who have never experienced it so the comments just cracked me up the first time I posted about it. I laughed so hard. So here are some pictures from today's festivities:
One of my favorite things about parades here are the free dinnerware :p Me and Matt have accumulated a nice collection of mardi gras cups...which is what we call plastic cups in New Orleans, lol. I got about 8 of these today to add to our collection!
And finally, the loot from this year...this is just the food, not the beads and other trinkets that we got. We ended up with 5 cabbages, 2 bell peppers, 4 moon pies, 1 bag of cookies, 1 zucchini, 17 potatoes, 10 bags of mini carrots, 1 head of garlic, 4 onions, 1 brussel sprout (yes 1 brussel sprout there in the bottom right corner), 1 banana, 6 carrots (mom had to make dirty jokes about them too), 5 oranges, 3 lemons, 1 box of lucky charms, 3 pixie stix, and one pack of peanut butter crackers. I see lots of stews, pot roasts, cabbage dishes and god knows what else in our future!
8 comments:
Oh jeez, I must have missed this the first time you posted about it. (I don't know how, I mean, I'm always totally on top of my Google Reader. =P) What a hilarious parade! I can't even imagine what it must look like with all the produce raining down upon you and leaving a parade with food you could actually make meals out of instead of, you know, a slew of stale Tootsie Rolls which are the typical parade fare in my neck of the woods.
I feel like this is something I really need to see in my life someday! =D
This is so freaking hilarious. Look at the loot you got!!! I just can't even imagine. I've never been to New Orleans so now I know that when I do, I need to try to make it happen in time for the St. Patrick's Day parade.
I'm calling your mom right now! LOL LOL.. (never happen lol) You are too funny ! But it is a great haul! Looks like soup to me! :o) (but don't use the banana! heh)
Your Mom is beautiful!
I wouldn't mind some free veggies, even if I had to catch them. New Orleans sounds like a fun place!
I cracked up when I read the title of this post. I miss St. Patrick's Day parades! And you are making me extremely hungry by posting pictures of crawfish I WANT CRAWFISH SO MUCH RIGHT NOW.
What you in LA call parades we in CA call food banks! :) A much more inventive way to celebrate than drinking till you pass out. (though I realize the two aren't mutually exclusive) Happy cooking!
I must have missed that first post, too -- or, more likely have forgotten it. Not sure, but I might even be willing to brave the crowds for free produce. Knowing me, I'd end up being carted off with a concussion after a cabbage hit me in the head. I'm much better at throwing than catching.
Your mom and sister are so cute.
When are you going to come visit me? We're almost beyond porch-sitting weather, ya know.
Your mom is so pretty, Chris! So is your sister. I loved reading about the parade, and seeing all the vegetables and fruit given out! lol that's quite a food haul, and sounds like so much fun. Thank you so much for sharing this with us! It made me smile.
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