Fat Tuesday Fright

           It was February sixteenth, and Kevin was excited to be attending his first ever Mardi Gras parade in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

           As usual, the crowds in the French Quarter were packed in tight for the Mardi Gras celebrations, so Kevin held tight to his mother’s hand as they neared Dauphine Street. His father walked two paces ahead of them and tried to clear a path so they could inch their way toward the edge of the street for a better look.

           His father had explained to Kevin that the name, Mardi Gras was French for “Fat Tuesday”. Kevin laughed at the phrase and asked his dad, “How can a day be fat?”

           It was 7:00 PM, and everyone began to cheer as the sound of trumpets began to play down the street. It was a familiar tune for all the New Orleans residents. “When the Saints Go Marching In”, was made famous by jazz legend, Louis Armstrong. As the music grew louder, the first float came into view. A ten-foot-high paper mache rendition of the New Orleans Saints NFL Quarterback, Drew Brees posed at the front of the float with one arm stretched out in front and the other held back beside its head preparing to toss a football.

           The crowd started cheering and shouting out, “Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?” It was a common chant known to all Saints fans. Young Kevin started chanting along with them.

           As the float passed by, Kevin gazed up to see all his favorite players dressed in their home team colors. Drew Brees tossed a bag in Kevin’s direction and he darted out in front of his dad to catch it. His father quickly grabbed hold of Kevin’s tee shirt and pulled him back just a half-second before he could claim his prize. Instead, a hefty red-headed boy stepped onto the bag and claimed it as his own.

           Kevin scowled first at the oversized pre-teen who took his prize away, then back at his father for stopping him from reaching the bag. His dad understood his son’s disappointment and apologized but made it clear that he did not want Kevin running out into the street by himself. Kevin crossed his arms and refused to respond to his father’s explanation.

           His mood lightened slightly as a group of people wearing bright colored costumes with oversized heads walked past waving at the crowds. One of them tossed a string of beads to Kevin as he passed. Beads were another tradition in New Orleans. The ones that Kevin received were purple which represented justice. There were also green- and gold-colored beads that represented faith and power, respectively as part of Christian symbolism.

           The next float soon arrived. The front had a massive head that was decorated to look like a jester. Two large arms reached out from either side of the head. Behind the head was a series of lookalike train cars painted purple, green, and gold. Inside the windows of each car, sat boys and girls dressed as jesters as well. They waved at the crowd and randomly threw gifts as far as they could from the moving float. A colorful button landed at Kevin’s feet and he leaned over to pick it up, half-expecting his father to grab onto his shirt once again.

Minutes later another band walked past. This time, it was the marching band from St. Augustine High School. Their purple and gold uniforms were worn proudly as they blew their horns, banged on their drums, and tapped away on their xylophones in perfect harmony. Kevin started lifting his knees high up into the air as he pretended to march like the band.

The next float soon followed. It was a bright green dragon lit up across the length of the float with LED lighting. The head shifted from side-to-side as if it were looking for an unsuspecting child to eat. Kevin stepped back slightly at the sight of it. Surrounding the dragon’s body atop the float, were several scantily clad women from a local tavern. Kevin’s father began to hoot and holler at them until his wife slapped him across the head.

A ruckus began close by on the sidewalk as two men began shoving one another back and forth. They both appeared to be intoxicated. One still had a tall green plastic cup in his hand that he would have purchased at the bar known as, “Tropical Isle” on Bourbon Street. The drink was called a “Hand Grenade”. The Hand Grenade soon went flying, and its contents splattered over several bystanders. People gave the two men some space as they duked it out. It was not long before a third man joined the fight. He appeared to be a friend of the man that was holding the drink. They double-teamed the first man, and the crowd grew more restless. Police whistles began to blow and people surrounding the fighters began to back off.

Kevin found himself caught up in the shuffle and he was separated from his parents. Frightened, Kevin shouted out for his mom and dad, but the noise of the crowd along with the bustle of the parade floats and bands made it impossible for them to hear or see their son.

Moments later, Kevin was grabbed on his shoulder by a mysterious stranger in a larger black top hat. He gave Kevin a sinister grin. His blackened teeth were crooked and frightening to the boy. Kevin pulled away from the man and began to run across the street in front of one of the floats. As he reached the other side, he looked back to see the stranger attempting to follow. Kevin pushed his way through the crowd on the sidewalk and ended up on St. Phillip Street.

He found himself surrounded by dozens of other strangers and became suddenly afraid of his surroundings. What began as a fun outing with his parents, had now turned into a terrifying nightmare. He walked aimlessly around the block calling out for his mom and dad. A group of men and women staggered along the street in front of him. One of the women leaned over and vomited all over the litter-covered street. Kevin kept looking back over his shoulder in case the stranger was after him again.

Two exceptionally large women with bodies like body builders walked up to Kevin. With a masculine voice, one spoke up and asked, “Are you lost, babe?” Kevin said nothing but turned and ran past. He travelled two more blocks before he came across a large brown horse. Atop the horse, sat a man dressed in a police officer’s uniform. The man looked down at the frightened child and asked where his parents were. Kevin told him that he didn’t know, so the police officer dismounted the horse and asked Kevin if he would like to take a ride on his horse to see if they could spot his parents. Kevin accepted the offer and the officer helped him up into the saddle, then climbed on behind him.

The policeman asked which direction Kevin had come from and they headed that way, but not before calling in a description of Kevin to his precinct in case his parents reported him missing. Sure enough, the dispatcher notified the officer that Kevin’s parents had filed a report and were on route to the station. The officer replied that they would be there shortly as well, and that Kevin was safe.

Seeing that Kevin was enjoying the ride, the officer decided to extend the trip and he took Kevin on a short tour down a few of the side streets, giving him a chance to calm down. They went past the St. Louis Cathedral on Royal Street and detoured to the back of the cathedral and into Jackson Square where dozens of musicians and artisans showed off their talents. They made their way back onto Royal street, and a few minutes later, they reached the front of the New Orleans Police Department.

The officer dismounted then helped Kevin down and held his hand as they walked in through the front doors. His mother and father stood anxiously in the middle of the room as they entered. When Kevin saw them, he ran into their open arms, squeezing them tightly. Tears of joy streamed down his face as he tried to fill them in on his frightening experience. His words became jumbled, and the officer tried to fill them in with the information that Kevin had given him on their ride over.

Kevin’s parents thanked the officer repeatedly while squeezing Kevin between them. It wasn’t until Kevin said, “Mom and dad, you are going to make my brains pop out!” that they eased off from their constricting hold.

The police officer asked them to hold on for a minute while he ran into the back room. When he returned, he handed a bag to Kevin and told him that it was a gift for being such a brave boy. Kevin smiled widely as he reached inside and excitedly pulled out his surprise. It was a tee shirt that read, New Orleans Police Department across the chest. Kevin asked his parents if he could put it on, so they removed the tags and slipped it over Kevin’s head. It was slightly larger than his tiny frame, but he did not care. He wore it proudly as they walked together out of the station.

Kevin would never forget his first his first Mardi Gras experience, but he informed his parents that he was in no hurry to see it again anytime soon.