HOWDY

 

I got a couple of decent street portraits at the Mardi Gras parade. This one shows how the drizzle dampened streets but not spirits. Speaking of which, she's not drinking alcohol. QT, Qwik Trip, is a chain of gas stations with big convenience stores. The contents of the cup are undoubtedly full of sugar.  

Today marks the completion of my 76th orbit around the sun. Doing pretty well for that, still upright, taking pictures and flying. In March and April I'll hit seven countries (albeit some briefly) plus a plane change in an eighth. Don't slow down.                

LOCAL SWILL

 

Anheuser-Busch used to be headquartered in St. Louis. Some years ago it was taken over or merged into the Belgian-Brazilian giant Inbev, which moved the North American headquarters to New York. Still, their biggest American brewery is here and it marked the end of the Mardi Gras parade route.

Another corporate headquarters lost to St. Louis. Still, it was announced yesterday that Boeing is moving its defense offices back here from a suburb of Washington. We were the HQ when it was McDonnell Douglas.                      

GATEWAY PRECISION LAWN CHAIR KREWE

 

Krewe is a word taken from Mardi Gras in New Orleans, used to identify a social group that has a float or performs together in the parade. A long-standing and delightfully wacky local one is the Gateway Precision Lawn Chair Krewe. They perform close order drill with light folding lawn chairs. I caught them rehearsing on an empty parking lot.              

FRED AND THE BOYS

 

Fredbird is the mascot of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. He shows up at all sorts of public events, besides his duties at games. Here he is hanging out at a gas station along the parade staging area that is losing its sales for a half day. The men in black are members of the Shriners, a Masonic organization, who buzz around the streets in mini go-karts.                    

CUPID

 

Do NOT send your arrows this way. You have  to remember, though, that the Mardi Gras parade was held on Valentine's Day.                 

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

 

It was drizzling yesterday morning when I decided to take a chance and go downtown to check out the Mardi Gras parade. As one of our colleagues reminded me, there is no bad weather, just bad clothing. The parade's policy is to go on, rain or shine. I go early and work the staging area, where the participants ane milling around and everyone is happy to pose.                   

VERY EASY, TODAY

 

Today, Saturday, is supposed to be our Mardi Gras parade. The organizers claim it is the second biggest in the U.S., after New Orleans. But they have several over a few days and we just have the one shot. The forecast is for rain all day but, from what I know, the parade isn't canceled. The organizers couldn't afford to lose all sales at their party tents. So the usual mass swilling on the street will be washed away.                  

SILLY DOGGIE

And owners. I dress in dark colors when I'm shooting on the street to blend in. People in the dog parade tend to go in the opposite direction. I guess I'm more of a observer than a participant (and besides, we just have a cat). Somebody has to make the record.                     

DOG PARADE!

 

Moving on from outdoor sculpture for a while. Lots of different material coming up because it's silly season in St. Louis (not that people take us very seriously). Mardi Gras is a big deal here. I think it started with community organizations but it's all commercialized now-still fairly crazy but orderly enough. Yesterday was the traditional dog parade, sponsored by Purina, the pet food company that is headquartered here. Lots of wacky puppies with owners to match.                  

ABOVE THE FRAY

 

Turn around from the parade route and look up. The locomotives of a Union Pacific freight train are about to cross the Mississippi, passing just in front of the Arch. Then there is a billboard promoting St. Louis Public Schools. A bit sad that they need one.                  

ANOTHER WAY TO PARADE

 

Mardi Gras parade participants don’t have to walk the route. Many ride on floats. Alternatively, you could decorate a motorized wheelchair. However, the cigarette won’t help you get back on your feet.                        

HUH?

The Mardi Gras parade floats are supposed to be colorful and eye-catching. It’s not as important that they make sense. This one seems to vaguely refer to barbecue (how does a boss grill?) without getting specific. The people look like retirees from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It got the attention of me and my lens.                       

DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY

 

Mardi Gras floats don’t have to make sense. They are supposed to have a theme but the idea is loose and I don’t remember what this one was about (if anything). The yellow-purple-green color scheme refers to the season, although maybe not art school standards. Some people put an awful lot of work into the center of this float.               

YES, YOU CAN DO THAT HERE

 

Recreational marijuana, or cannabis if you will, is legal in many but not all U.S. states. It was authorized here in Missouri by referendum. Pot remains unlawful on the federal level but the rules are not enforced in permissive states. Shops, called dispensaries, are all over. Never dreamed I’d see a sign like this back in college days when little plastic bags were smuggled in the dorm. Strange that I have not smelled it on the street recently. Chemistry, maybe.                     

UM, IT’S A BIT CHILLY

 

You might see someone in an outfit like this prancing down St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans and certainly in Rio de Janeiro. But South Broadway in St.Louis on a late winter day? The weather was wonderful for a parade, sunny, light winds, 42 F / 6 C, not hypothermia territory. I suppose you have to be young and resilient.              

SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE

 

The local chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is a fixture at the Mardi Gras parade, Pridefest and other out-there events. Who are they? See https://www.thesisters.org/ . Never met one who wasn’t happy to pose. If you are dressed like that you certainly aren’t shy.                                      

LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULLER

 

The phrase is universally associated with Mardi Gras in the U.S. - let the good times roll. I’ve heard that it makes almost no sense to French speakers. Still, there was plenty of fun as the floats rolled through our parade.                 

SILLY SEASON

 

Wednesday is the start of Lent in the Christian world, a season of self-denial and repentance. The days leading up to it, not so much. The time is called Carnival in most most places and the day before Ash Wednesday, at least in the U.S., is Mardi Gras - Fat Tuesday. No American city comes close to New Orleans but we have a pretty good party here. The big parade is on Saturday and St. Louis gets wacky, More to come.                 

SO WHAT'S THE POINT HERE?

Fahrenheit 451 is supposed to be the ignition temperature of paper. It is also the name of a 1953 dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury, in which all books are banned and "firemen" incinerate any that are found. It struck me as a strange theme for a boozy, silly festival. Maybe it had something to do with the troubling tendency in this country to remove books from libraries and schools that some people find objectionable. Okay, but at Mardi Gras?                

AN INCLUSIVE PARTY

This might be the most clever and, on a few levels, the funniest "float" in the Mardi Gras parade. He may have been associated with a group but I found him by himself and couldn't tell. The essence of independence and mobility.