Monday, February 4, 2008

Big Guy Wears Funny Hat, Has Fun

No, Michael Chertoff has no concerns here. This guy is a member of the local chapter of the Shriners, an offshoot of Freemasonry devoted to hijinks, the occasional tipple and supporting hospitals for crippled childern. What's not to like? Well the headgear may be a problem in contemporary society, inasmuch as the sign says it's Arab but fezes are Turkish, not Arabic, and anyway, fezes were banned in Turkey decades ago by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the father of the Turkish Republic. So nobody really wears them any more. Except Shriners. This man and his friends are driving tiny little cars around and around in circles in the parade, really go karts with fancy fiberglass bodies. Some are partial to huge, tricked-out Honda motorcycles. Shriners are known for things like this. All for fun in a fez.

TOMORROW: Yo-ho-ho, but Johnny Depp it's not.

6 comments:

Kunal Bhatia said...

this fest seems a good place to meet all kinds of people, mumbai doesn't have any such carnivals though :(

and, you'll learnt the brilliance-bull shit saying at law school? LOL... :)

- Mindless Mumbai

Denton said...

As a high school kid, my daughter volunteered for the Shriners hospital in our home town. As a result I think highly of the services they provide ... As many other parade watchers I also enjoy the fun they have in custome.

Anonymous said...

Excellent job in capturing some of our locale flavor in the Mardi Gras photos.

Nice to "meet" another St. Louis blogger. :)

Cheers,
Jami
Bionic Beauty

Olivier said...

une série de portraits superbes dans tes derniers posts. j'adore, j'aime bien en faire, mais je n'ose pas trop demander ;o(
A series of superb portraits in your latest posts. I love, I like to do, but I dare not ask too; o (

Daniel Chérouvrier said...

Fun and fraternity together, what else can we ask !

Ming the Merciless said...

I was told (as a kid) that the Shriners and Freemasons are like the Opus Dei -- a secret society.

I wonder if the Shriners and Freemasons have their own daVinci codes/secrets.