On to Orpheus

We left the Hevrons', and honestly, most of the krewe was hurting and tired. Some even felt as if they had ruptured their lower intestines. Half the gang opted to retreat to Lindsay’s for some rest and recovery time. Stupidly, trying to get the most out of the Mardi Gras experience, I opted to join J-R, Marshall, Alex, Andy, Kevin, Bart, and Teddy at the Orpheus parade.

The men who made it to Orpheus.

Orpheus is Harry Connick’s parade (we did get to see old Harry Connick, Sr. on one of the floats), and it was the first parade to racially integrate…all the way back in 1993. (That is not a typo.) It’s clear that they spend a fortune on their floats, as they are very professional and many have their own portable lighting systems. In all, these floats were lightyears beyond anything I would see at other parades, and many looked as if they had come straight from Disney World. Oddly enough, our position on the neutral ground lacked direct lighting on the floats, and seeing as how it was dark, this made it awfully difficult to catch beads. Compounding the problem was the fact that many of the beads were the same color as the floats, and if the thrower was on the bottom tier of the float, you had little chance to see the guided missile about to whack you in the face. I took a few shots to the noggin. Fun.

Attempting to catch beads during Orpheus. Photo by Bart.

Marshall and Bart at the Orpheus parade. Photo by J-R.

Teddy and Amanda during Orpheus. Photo by J-R.

Finally, we went home, and even though everyone was raring to ramp up a big pre-party in the backyard, I was ready to crash. And I did. And they partied in the back. And I didn’t hear a damn thing. And it was good. Very good.