The Healing Power of Music

Someone just sent me this wonderful trailer for The Whole Gritty City, a movie about marching bands in New Orleans.  As y'all already know, I love, love, LOVE marching bands.  Watch the trailer to see what I mean about just how wonderful these marching bands are.  

In my jazz class today our teacher was told us, "to musicians, music is a narcotic,"  just like what the guy in this trailer says:

"You get all these kids to perform, and you get them to sound a certain way.  All of your cares, all of your worries - I don't care if you just had something very tragic in your life - once that band gives you that downbeat, and the music is right, and it's poppin', and its strong - just for that brief two or three minutes - you forget every problem you have, you have no cares in the world."

Warm Rain

This evening it has been raining.  Wonderful, drenching downpours, with shockingly close claps of thunder and the relentless pounding of raindrops on the roof and windows.  And boy, have I missed the rain - that spring- and summer-time warm rain that you can just feel in your bones coming for hours.  It reminded me of this photo, and how amazing it is to swim in the rain.  I can't wait for summer.  

(Dane Peterson via Aubrey Road)

Marching Bands

While some of my friends enjoy being social butterflies during the parades, flitting from one group of friends to the next, all I really want to do is plop myself  down on a ladder and listen to the marching bands.  Well, maybe not a ladder since they're not exactly conducive to dancing, but you get the picture.  I want to be front and center, up close and personal with when the bands come marching by.  I want to get shoved out of the way when the dads scout the perimeters.  I want to be scared that the big kid with the drum might take out my nose if he swings that drumstick just a little bit further.  I want to feel that infectious, brassy music reverberating in my belly.

Mardi Gras Lovin'

I know Mardi Gras is officially over, but I'm gonna keep thinking about it until next week because it's such a wonderful time of year.

I love the big, elaborate floats that are amazing works of art in themselves.  

I love that face painting is accepted and encouraged at Mardi Gras time.  After doing a little face paint two days in a row, I wondered (just like a little kid) that really, why shouldn't face painting be acceptable all the time?  I mean, not on the job or at school, but whenever you go out to a concert?  Why not jazz up your outfit with a little face paint?  I've decided to try and bring this tradition back.  (Or would I be creating it?)

And I love that it's totally acceptable for adults to stand on ladders and scream for beads.  All in all, Mardi Gras is the best time to act like a big kid.  

Everything is Better with a Little Glitter

Happy Mardi Gras!! 

The past five days have been absolutely phenomenal.  Since this week is spring break, we could go out to the parades every night and know that we have 5 whole days to rest up afterwards.  

I absolutely love the spirit of New Orleans, and this carnival season has just entrenched that feeling even more.  

Here are my majorette boots that I embellished for Mardi Gras with some gold glitter, because, really, everything is better with a little glitter.  I'm going to miss the New Orleans costuming.  Really, no where else quite knows how to do it.  I can't tell you how many over-the-top, semi-professional, home-made costumes I've seen in my time here, and how much I'm going to miss that enthusiasm next year in Charleston.

Today's Love

Riding my bike to school while eating a slice of king cake.  Did I mention that it's 65º?

Front Porches

One of most wonderful manifestations of the openness of New Orleans is the front porch.  Sure, lots of places have front porches, even front porches with benches or chairs, but I have never been anywhere where people sit around on their front porches as much as New Orleans.  It used to be that before air conditioning, sitting on the front porch was just what everyone did, you tried to capture every possible flutter of a breeze to cool down. 

But three things really forced people off their porches and into their living rooms: the air conditioner, the television, and the suburban house set back from the street.  Suddenly you didn't need to chat with your neighbors for entertainment, it was delivered to you right on your couch, where it suddenly wasn't too hot to sit anymore.  We became complacent, and front porch sitting just kind of fell out of fashion. 

But that's not as true in New Orleans as in the rest of the world.  Here people still sit on the porch in the evening with a glass of wine and talk to everyone that passes by - after all, you know most everyone, but even if you don't there's still the obligatory "Hey, how're you?" 

This is yet another little twist of the knife in my gut when I think about leaving New Orleans.  I'll just have to bring the tradition back wherever I end up.