Jesus Attends Mardi Gras

Mobile, Alabama during Carnival.  When many people think of Mardi Gras, they automatically think New Orleans.  Actually, Mardi Gras began in Mobile.  Having grown up in Mobile, I have been to many a Mardi Gras parade.  I've been to both cities during The Season of Mardi Gras--New Orleans just does it drunker and more crowded. 

I have a love-hate relationship with Mardi Gras.  In my youth and early twenties, I loved, LOVED it.  However, when I worked downtown as a paralegal and had to deal with it traffic-wise, cops giving me a hard time for parking on the street (where my designated parking space was), the general drunken melee (sometimes not even during parade time) for the WHOLE two week carnival season, I began to hate it.   Well, hate is a strong word, so I guess I'd say it became a pain in the ass. 

After having a family, going to downtown Mobile for the parades became much less appealing.  People on the floats are sometimes quite drunk, the crowd is sometimes quite drunk and really push-y and shove-y with my kids, and just the logistics of getting everyone ready and in the car and finding a parking spot and walking and walking.  It became quite a lot of work.  There were a few Mardi Gras days we just stayed home and enjoyed the off-time. 

Until I discovered the parades at Gulf Shores and Orange Beach several years ago.  During the winter, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are a Snowbird's haven.  And the Crewes who roll on Mardi Gras Day at the beach are older, more laid back, and quite frankly, a heck of a lot more fun for families!  This is what Mardi Gras used to be in Mobile.  No barricades, no motorcycle cops yelling at you and trying to run over our toes during the parades, no drunken idiots falling over my kids and being grabby jerks.  The people on the floats are kind, and try to throw stuff directly to the kids.  The crowd is older, sober and super courteous. 

So you can imagine where I wanted to go since I happened to be in Mobile on Mardi Gras.  We had a super, super day!  One of the best Mardi Gras Days I can remember! 

Here is Dad and Lawrence enjoying the parade.

The stuffed animals were falling quite freely--The kids wracked up twelve!!!  Historically, getting one stuffed animal was very impressive.  And these were nice, Beanie Baby type new stuffed animals!

The beads were free-flowing as well.  We have a whole box full to donate to our Rec Centre for crafts!  Here I am doing my Earl Hickey pose, apparently.  The wind was just whipping that day.  It was rather exhausting to be out there in it, so my eyes were squinty because my hair kept blowing in my face.

Lawrence kept changing his mind about which stuffed animal he wanted to hold at one time. 

For my Northern counterparts who might not have ever done Mardi Gras, here is a float from the parade.  This one was rather well done!  The riders throw candy, Moon pies, beads, etc. from the float to the waiting crowd. 

I liked this one too.  The float says "Let the good times roll" which is the mantra of Mardi Gras.  The crowd yells and dances to get the float riders' attention so the float riders will throw trinkets to them. 

As I was taking the picture of the above crawfish float, and enjoying the appropriate party atmosphere, Mom says something like, "Wait til you see what's coming next!".  Imagine my shock and surprise when I looked up and saw this... 

Yes, that is what you think it is...THE CRUCIFIED JESUS ON A MARDI GRAS FLOAT!!!!  Gah! 

The discomfort was palpable...I only just had the presence of mind to snap the picture.  The crowd went from dancing and shouting "Throw me something, mister" to just gaping open-mouthed.  And please don't get me wrong.  I consider myself quite openly a Christian person.  I am comfortable with my relationship with The Lord.  I am fine with people who evangelize in different ways, for their whatever their chosen religion.  In fact, I admire people who are confident enough to stand up for whatever their beliefs are, taking the risk of being the object of possible ridicule and sometimes personal harm.  I just think the people who did this float could've done...well...something else to win souls for Jesus, if even that was the purpose.  Perhaps it was only to shock people.  If shock was the purpose, well, then they succeeded in spades.

For example, I like to think that Jesus is the kind of guy who would've enjoyed marching in a Mardi Gras parade, handing out beads, or perhaps broken bread or something, smiling and blessing the masses, given the atmosphere.  As I'm sure you can imagine, they got a 'thumbs up' from people who are already Christians.  But those who (I guess?) the evangelists were attempting to reach, though...I dunno.  In my limited experience, being a positive, loving person as well as demonstrating the love of Christ through one's actions is a far more powerful evangelical tool--i.e.  showing kindness to others, helping others who are in need, etc.

Growing up Catholic, I have seen my fair share of crucifixes, having gazed at a very large one in the very center of church every single Sunday of my youth.  I have been a player in several 'live' nativities, plays displaying scenes out of Jesus life, and participated in a number of Stations of the Cross services.  This was just weird.  And rather uncomfortable.  Do you shout "Throw me something, mister" to the crucified Jesus????

My Mom made me chuckle, which broke the ice a bit...She waved at Jesus.  And the guy, despite the fact that he was supposed to be representing someone who was experiencing a torturous death, smiled and waived back!  In retrospect, what else could he do, I suppose?   

                            

And if the Crucified Jesus rolling down the parade route wasn't enough...guess which float came next???  Why, the Mystics of Pleasure, of course!!!  Are you serious????  Right after dying Jesus?  They couldn't schedule a marching band or something between these two?  I was speechless AGAIN! 

We certainly experienced a broad spectrum this Mardi Gras.

After the parade, we walked across the road to the car to check out our loot.  And get out of the wind.  It was absolutely beating us up!

Here is Lawrence enjoying his Moon pie.  Moon pies are a staple of Mardi Gras, for those who don't know.  Two flat pieces of cake with marshmallow goo in between, all covered in chocolate.  Either you like them or you don't.  I don't.  Apparently they are a-okay with Lawrence.

After the parade, we went to the beach for a walk and to dip our toes in the sand and water.  Lawrence didn't remember the feel of sand from last summer, so it was fun to watch him kick off his shoes and socks and squish his feet in the sand.  He kept laughing because it tickled!  Lydia wasn't too sure about all that unsteady ground at first, but she got into the swing by grabbing fistfuls of sand and feeling it between her fingers!

Lawrence the Destroyer.  He could hardly wait to kick over someone's leftover sand castle.

This was quite interesting...There were all these Man o' Wars all over the beach, just washing up.  It wouldn't have been a good day for swimming even if it was warm enough, let me tell you.  These things were washing up everywhere!

You probably can't tell what's going on in this picture, but the small person is Lawrence who was running to scatter a flock of birds resting on the sand!  He just kept running down the beach after them whenever they would fly up and land somewhere else!  Mom is running after him, trying to catch him!

A Lesson in Short Fuses

The great thing about homeschooling is that everything counts as school.  Also, anyone can be your teacher. 

Archie has a bit of an infatuation with Mythbusters.  Wait.  Did I say a bit of an infatuation?  I mean an obsession.  He could sit in front of the Mythbuster tv show for hours.  If I wasn't the TV nazi, then he definitely would.  There has been a day when my attention was elsewhere for a period of time, when he watched so many episodes in a row that he got a headache.    He writes comics called "Archie The Mythbuster".  He has asked for 'more science!  The-blowing-stuff-up-kind' in his curriculum.  There are some things that just don't fall into the "Mama" category.  Blowing shit up is one of those things.  In cases like these, thank goodness we have Regular E. 

When he was a lad, Regular E experimented with explosives from time to time.  Purely recreational, teenage boy stuff...He's no unibomber or anything.  However, we're thankful he still has all his limbs and appendages.  So the lessons in the chemistry of explosives were to be taught by Regular E!

As soon as we arrived in Alabama, Archie talked non-stop about smoke bombs with Regular E.  So, after a bit o shopping (and my brother's name possibly now on the ATF's and Homeland Security's 'watch list') we have lessons in chemistry and smoke bombs!

Here they are beginning to prepare the ingredients.  Black powder, oxidizer, sugar, paper, tape, and pvc pipe.

I think some adult supervision is required here, don't you?

This one did make a bit of a pop, because it was wrapped pretty tightly in the tape. 

The leftovers. 

This is a smoke bomb they made out of pvc pipe.  It smoked for a long time, making me think that they need to be the ones who make the smoke bombs that fireworks stands sell.  The fireworks ones don't last as long as this one did!  The melty-goo on the pipe was the sugar.  The device itself gave off a bit of a marshmallow-y plastic-y smell after it did it's thang. 

The video below is the explosive Archie made by himself.  I asked him if it scared him after it blew up so close to his shoes.  He said it did!  A little fear is a good thing, in my opinion!  My favourite part of the video is when my sister-in-law was fussing at my brother to be more responsible.  While he is chuckling at the aftermath!  A good lesson learned:  Longer fuses!  Longer fuses!