Seasons and Soundtracks

Here are the seasons of our lives: there is summer then Mardi Gras, then summer again. That's it - the whole year. I'm gathering recipes for cold blended coffee drinks now, getting ready for summer. Spring is upon us and its really my favorite. It doesn't last as long as Mardi Gras and can't rank as a season, but its a wonderful time when flowers bloom again, the city smells better, and the days lengthen for lounging in the evening's fading sunlight.

The soundtrack of our lives changes with the seasons. Gone are the marching bands' boom, boom, boom. The roar of our soundtrack modulates to a murmur. Its hard to work up excitement in a New Orleans summer. Part of being "The Big Easy" is the need to slow down in the heat. The Big Easy sobriquet is remarkably apt. It explains pot holes and parties equally well. Its great for lifestyle but bad for our work ethic.

There are strings of beads hanging from trees and power lines on parade routes. They are the physical echos of Mardi Gras - of marching bands and "Throw me somthin', Mista" The soundtrack of Mardi Gras is gone but its memory lingers in the lasting echos dangling from trees and power lines. Look up. Look for the beads and maybe you will hear the faint and distant sounds of a parade marching by. It never really leaves the collective memory of the city.