Mardi Gras in The Big Shreasy?

It was like the hip and the cool had waited for a pretty day and the ability to be pelted by shiny beads to come out.  But when the opportunity arose, they emptied into the streets like zombies in the "Thriller" video.

I had given the kids two paper bags and alerted them to the fact that there might not be a whole hell of a lot of bead tossing.  After all, I thought, this is Shreveport.  Little did I know, Shreveport has more than embraced its South Louisiana cousin's tradition.  Might T and Daisy were inundated with trinkets.  This included, but isn't exclusive to:  beads (I'm sure they were crafted by the most skilled, and least paid Asian workers), doubloons, footballs, cups, baseballs, Moon Pies, assorted candies, lip gloss, teddy bears, basketballs, t-shirts and more.  Needless to say, I had to find a bigger bag for both of them.

In the end, the kids had a blast and now think they can contribute to their college fund by putting their beads on Ebay. I haven't discouraged them and will expect all of you to bid on them.