Mardi Gras is over and done, and for a change Nadia and I didn’t try to escape the tourons and locals alike. We used this as a prime opportunity to catch up with old friends who usually gather in one place around this time of year to party and… well, catch up with each other. Our friend Krazy is the crowned King of Mardi Gras. He is a host extraordinaire. He arranges, organizes and agonizes over the annual Mardi Gras extravaganza, ensuring that everyone keeps safe, has a place to stay, gets to the parades on time and generally has a good time. He’s very good at his job. Krazy’s apartment was the local hub of activity and general all-around meeting place – and our destination on many a night during the festivities, much to the chagrin of his neighbors. The place was jumping and filled to the rafters with people, all of us laughing, joking, drinking (of course) and, well, catching up. I’ve taken a number of fond memories away with me from this Mardi Gras, and I primarily have Krazy to thank for them.
It was also a golden opportunity to visit with Heather and Gonzo. Gonzo is Krazy’s brother and one of my many good friends who pulled up stakes and moved to California (you cowards!). Gonzo, like Phreeq and myself, is a technology fiend and aficionado of some of the finer things in life. I stocked up on some good cigars, scraped the last of my precious Dancing Bear tobacco from it’s jar (forgetting completely that Phreeq has a full jar at home) and filled an ice-chest with Guinness in anticipation of enjoying them all with Gonzo and Phreeq. I was not disappointed. The best of it all was standing on the landing, talking and smoking the twisted trio of Davidoff Special "C" cigars that I saved for the last possible moment before having to depart the night before Gonzo and Heather were to leave for home.
I am also and single-handedly responsible for planting a dangerous seed in Gonzo’s brain with regards to a certain arcade contraption of mine. That is a story for another time.
We also made a handful of other friends from out-of-town. Two more temporary immigrants from California were Andy and Dawn. Andy is a closet processed-cheese loving pervert, and Dawn had been known to kill a man over a piece of sushi. There were also some Michigan-ites in the hizouse. Trevor, Ivory and Sonic were great fun to hang out with. Greets, guys! If I forgot anyone, I apologize, my walnut sized memory can only hold so much.
The only unfulfilled wish I had for this Mardi Gras was to see two other special folks from Cali who have been known in the past to come into town for the festivities. Maybe next year. Till then, greets and love to you. Keep safe, sane and satiated.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Happy Birthday, Cuz! Snap, I don’t want to see you freebasing any of that Angelo Brocado ice cream. Pounders, me want mead!
Now to catch up on all that lost sleep.