Charmed Chaos
Musings on Life, Love, and Linguine-Poetry & Writing
NOLA
Early Morning March 4,2005
We are sitting in Cafe du Monde enjoying beignets and robust coffee. It’s an overcast day, but we don’t care for we are in the Crescent city. This is NOLA, a city of dark secrets, rich gumbo, ancient ghosts, and spontaneous celebrations.
We are enjoying the atmosphere of the cafe, for it is lively and loud. Above the din of the cafe noise, I hear the sound of a joyous trumpet. Taking our coffee to go we begin a stroll down the rain slick street. Following the music, we know we are getting closer for we hear people laughing.
It’s a parade, and it looks to be for St Patrick’s Day but that’s a few weeks away. My husband who can talk to anyone, asks a guy- hey what’s this? The guy tells him, Come on, join us- it’s a Practice St. Patrick’s Day Parade! Who knew you have practice parades? We spent the rest of the morning in the parade, talking and walking with folks, stopping to drink at every bar we passed. They were some of the nicest people we’ve ever met on our travels.
Little did we know, that following August Katrina would hit and devastate the city. We often wonder if those wonderful people we met made it through.
and the rains came down
Katrina flooding NOLA
and still, the music
©2021 Linda Lee Lyberg
Author’s Note: We will never forget this trip and our unplanned participation in the Practice Parade. I had never drunk a beer before at 8:30 in the morning!
dVerse Poetics: Mardi Gras Mambo
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Charmed Chaos 
Looks like you had a grand old time with yourselves. It’s so nice to have such fun memories and photos of such a great trip!
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Yes, it certainly is!
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I do remember one time in New Orleans, and it was party everywhere… that was before Katherina and sometimes I wonder too (though I think most of the people I met were visitors like me)
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Yes, it is a party city!
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Fantastic pics!!!
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Thanks!
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Lots o’ loot around your necks. I tell you, that city refuses to die. I went down to help after Katrina and yes, still the music. It was a third world country but still….I have a feeling, a lot of those folks made it through. NOLA is just that kind of place. The Bonton Café, the Camellia Grill, Antoines…they all flooded but they are back. Big time. I love your wondering at the end about the people. And yes, they are some of the best folks in the world.
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Thank you Toni! It’s a magical city.
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Yes ma’am it is.
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This was fun!
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Thank you Ken.
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I didn’t know they practiced parades either. It may be just an excuse to have a parade.
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Lol- perhaps so! Either way, it was so much fun!!!
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It is funny the memories we make, and what makes them more special in hindsight.
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Yes, it is. Thank you!
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That’s a great story, and then that shocking ending. Leaving Katrina aside – impossible though that is – I love your piece, and the pictures. We should all practice parading more.
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Thank you Sarah. I couldn’t agree more!
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Thank you, Linda, for bringing ‘rich gumbo, ancient ghosts, and spontaneous celebrations’ to an overcast, very windy East Anglian morning. I like that there is as much fun in a practice parade as there is in the real one. Our wind is nowhere near as strong as Katrina but I’m amazed at the stoicism of the people and their music. I love the images, too!
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Thank you Kim. It’s an incredibly unique city and the people are amazing.
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Such trips are just the best! We had a little carnival here last week and it was awesome:)
All the best
Laureen
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Thank you for stopping by. Yes, they are.
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Nice! I haven’t been, but my husband keeps telling me I need to go.
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It’s an incredible city!
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It’s just the best when you feel welcomed into something and not just a googly-eyed onlooker. I’m glad you had such a positive experience of the city. You should watch a fascinating documentary by Spike Lee about Katrina, called “When the Levees Broke.” And for some reason I can’t read your haiku as your party picture is covering it. Would you mind writing just the haiku in a comment?
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Let me see if I can correct that Grace. Here it is though:
and the rains came down
Katrina flooding NOLA
and still, the music
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Don’t worry, it seems everyone else can read it just fine. It’s probably my old outdated phone/software/app, something! Thanks again for sharing.
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Sure thing!
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One can’t help but wonder what happened to all those local revelers, partying unaware in your photos. The tragedy that was Katrina will linger long in our minds.
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Yes, it surely will. Thank you for your thoughts.
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And still the music…
My friend from New Orleans has this quote at the bottom of all her email
“We dance even if there’s no radio. we drink at funerals. we talk too much & laugh too loud & live too large, and, frankly, we’re suspicious of others who don’t.”
― Chris Rose, 1 Dead in Attic: Post-Katrina Stories
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Oh, I love that!
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