The Curmudgeon Report: I am a Mardi Gras Parade widower.

[trof]

Miz t. is off to a Mardi Gras parade in Fairhope, about 30 minutes away.
She and 3 or 4 of her chums. Post Parade, they will dine at Gambino's estimable Italian trattoria, which sounds like a mafia joint and possibly is for all I know. Probably split a bottle of chianti.
They do serve an excellent veal piccata.

I lost my fascination for parades when I was around 9 or 10.

One of the great things about hitting your 60s is that "I don't want to" is now accepted by friends and family as a perfectly valid reason.

I did go to my first Mardi Gras parade a few years ago.
I had more fun watching grown up adult people with their butts sticking up scrabbling for cheap Chinese beads in the gutter.
Oh, and I got a couple of Moon Pies.

They're pretty good.
Anyway...now I can say "Been there, done that, filled in that square".

I guess if there were a Mardi Gras parade coming down our street I'd walk to the end of the driveway to see it.
Outside of that, I'll pass.

Well, I DID label this The Curmudgeon Report.
;-)

Miz t. will roll in around 9 looking like Mister T,

with ropes and ropes of multicolored beads around her neck.

That's the nice thing about our relationship.
She gets to do the things she enjoys and so do I.
Like stay home.
And, YES, there are some things we like to do together.

But for tonight, I'm batching it for a few hours, listening to Prairie Home Companion, throwing back a few Scotches, dining on some very good andouille, and that ain't so bad.
:-)

[trof]

1. M-G trivia: North American origination was in Mobile, Alabama.

Mobile, Alabama has the longest tradition of observing Mardi Gras in North America, with the Celebration of Mardi Gras in Mobile dating back to 1703, and detailed by the Mardi Gras Museum in downtown Mobile.

It is said to have originated in Mobile. Celebrations were halted with the American Civil War, but were revived with a parade by Joe Cain in 1866, whose memory is still honored each Carnival (see: the Joe Cain Parade, including his honorary "Merry Widows"). The Mobile Mardi Gras season has always been concluded by the Order of Myths (OOM) parade, produced by the society of the same name since 1868.

This is a special honor, because the 'double-O M's' are one of the oldest continuously parading Mardi Gras society in America. Other parading organizations of long-standing include the Infant Mystics, an annual event since 1874 and who roll on the Monday evening prior to Mardi Gras; the Knights of Revelry, who have rolled at midday on Fat Tuesday since 1875; and the satirical Comic Cowboys, who have paraded on Mardi Gras afternoon since 1884. Mobile Mardi Gras royalty includes King Felix, who has reigned since 1872, and his queen, as well as the king and queen of the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association.

Each of Mobile's more than two dozen parades draw, according to careful police estimates, anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 spectators. During these parades - held on Mardi Gras itself and in the three weeks preceding it - masked and costumed float riders toss candy, beads (bead necklaces), toys, stuffed animals, commemorative stamped coins, and Moon Pies, a sweet baked good that combines a graham cracker like crust with marshmallow and is then covered in a flavored frosting (typically chocolate, banana, or strawberry). While most parading societies also hold elaborate balls, other societies stage balls only, such as the city's oldest mystic society, the Striker's Independent Society, formed in 1843.

Events: On February 28, 2006, Mobile had what is believed to be the largest Mardi Gras celebration in its history, with more than 244,000 revelers packing the downtown area on Fat Tuesday.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras#Mobile

[Bunny]

2. Have a good time, troffy!

Sounds like you have an excellent plan for whiling away the hours till Miz T returns. :thumbsup: I didn't realize Mardi Gras started in Mobile - that's pretty cool.

I took my oldest girl (age 15) on her first "date" today. We picked up her gentleman friend and I dropped them at the movies. Wasted time for 90 minutes until the show was over, then picked them up and drove the young man home. Would you believe he didn't even buy my girl's ticket? She had to buy her own! And, he didn't get any popcorn or anything! What's the matter with kids these days? :crazy:

Anyway, I had given her plenty of cash for just such an occurrance, and would you believe she didn't offer to buy him any snacks either??!! I told her it wouldn't have killed her to get him something to eat fer cryin' out loud. She just doesn't seem to think this stuff is important, I guess. :eyes:

[trof]

3. Kids these days, indeed. You bring back memories.

Miz t. and/or I chauffeured our one and only on her first dates to school dances (with the boy she eventually married).

Then they both got their licenses and I wished I was still driving them.

For the Jr.-Sr. prom, he picked her up in his dad's BENTLEY!
I started keeping an eye on the kid as a distinct possibility then.
;-)

Naw, not really. I would have liked him if he had been dirt poor.
His dad was a neurosurgeon and, shall we say, a CONSPICUOUS consumer.
Hence the Bentley.
He's still a jerk.
Happily, none of it rubbed off on his son.

Our daughter gave him the thorough briefing before we met for the first time.
"Look him straight in the eye and give him a FIRM handshake. Let HIM talk. Smile."

They celebrate their 10th anniversary this year and our second grand child (little girl) is due in late May.

I agree. It's too bad a lot of today's kids are just lost when it comes to what we used to call "social graces".
More's the pity.

[Richardo]

6. "Fer cryin' out loud"

:rofl: There's my 'Burgh gal! :hug:

Bunny, I don't get it - he's definitely not good enough for teen Bunny. Why, back when I was their age.... <boring geezer lecture deleted>

Better luck next time, I hope.

Havin' a good weekend?

[greatauntoftriplets]

9. Yeah, that was lame, wasn't it???

@ Bunny, your daughter's date needs some social couth. But good that your daughter didn't pop for his snacks.

And what was teenBunny's reaction?

[Bunny]

13. She didn't seem to care. I had given her money and told her to use

it if need be - I suggested that if he bought her ticket, she should offer to spring for snacks. But if he insisted on buying the tickets AND the food, then she should go with the flow. Turns out he didn't do either! :rofl:

[greatauntoftriplets]

14. Did she seem to like him and want to go out with him again????

My first date (and at the same age) was a blind date with a guy whose mother my aunt worked with to a school dance. He kept making references all night to tall girls (I am 5' 10" and towered over the little shit) until one of the Christian Brothers at the school told him that tall girls were the best. That particular Christian Brother was probably 6' 5". And far more attractive and interesting than my date....who I never saw again.

[Bunny]

15. Oh, she is *into* him! "He's s-o-o-o-o hot!" she says (as my hair gets grayer).

I think that's why she doesn't see this as sort of a social gaffe - he's a cute boy and she's thrilled that he's shown an interest in her. Plus, she's a freshman and he's a sophomore, so she's got big points amongst her girl posse.

I'm just getting started with this dating stuff - I will need tranquilizers before it's all over.

[greatauntoftriplets]

16. I found the whole high school dating thing very difficult....

Mostly through high school I dated a guy who my sister knew in college. I think it made things much easier being someone no one knew. Though the other girls (I went to a Catholic all-girls school) would give me the eye when this guy years older than me (9 years) would meet me at school and carry my books to the bus stop. It was the man my sister married and has been my brother-in-law from almost 39 years. The job he had at the time let him get off before school ended and he lived across the street from it. But it was great fun. He is still good looking, though a Republican.

I hope that this guy's social graces improve. Good luck with your nerves.

[Bunny]

11. Richie!!!!

*squeals with delight* :hi: darlin'! I'm having a nice weekend - drinking some wine and watching Scrubs reruns. :beer: How about you? PS - weekdays around here completely S.U.C.K. without you! :cry:

Her dad called to see how the big date went, and he is pretty aggravated by this. I told him to shut the hell up and give it a rest. He can't understand why this boy's parents let him leave the house without plenty of money and a big lecture about his "responsibility". Holy crap - it was a Saturday matinee, not the prom for Chrissake. :eyes:

[Richardo]

12. I'm doing OK, but that whole 'work' thing Monday-Friday is a huge drag

Nice seeing you on the weekend, tho! :bounce:

[trof]

4. When I am abandoned, BUNNY is always there.

When my folksy, personal observation, sometimes somewhat humorous, and just plain heartwarming :-), slice-of-life posts are ignored by all others, Bunny is there.
;-)

Thanks, Buns.
:hug:

The REST of you Philistines?
feh

[Bunny]

7. You can count on me, hon!

:pals:

[Richardo]

8. I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter...

I read your curdmudgeon report with great interest - as a curmudgeon-in-training I hope to learn from the best. (Although my dad (75) has a leg up on both of us...) :hi:

[greatauntoftriplets]

5. I am still in my 50s (for a couple of years)

but I refused to do the company holiday party this year. Said I had other plans for the evening...four weeks ago tonight. I did have other plans. I stayed home. It was great. Didn't have to put up with the BS.

I am also listening to the Prairie Home Companion.

[trof]

17. Hey, only 2 years away from "I don't want to". It's great!

I don't even have to say "other plans" now.
Just "No thanks, I don't want to".
yesss

[greatauntoftriplets]

19. 2 1/2 years....

:hi:

[Redstone]

10. I remember whan Mardi Gras was more than a college-girl slutfest.

Not to sound old, or to dengerate that fine 20-year-old hootage, but it was more than that at one time.

Redstone

[trof]

18. The Alabama 'celebration' is a bit tamer.

Pretty much a 'family affair'.
Especially over here on the other side of the bay from Mobile.
No "Show us your tits!"