Maxed Out On Mardi Gras

President Obama would be mighty proud of me. I am nothing, if not persistent.

Having made three or four attempts each and every week since the New Year - and not connecting with my sister in NOLA - I was totally frustrated. She will not own an answering machine or subscribe to voice-mail. She will not own a cell phone. You reach her when she's at home, or not at all. That's just the way she is. Recognizing all that didn't do anything to alleviate my frustration.

I checked the PO box last weekend to discover, along with the usual bills, a notice that a package was waiting for me. No information about the sender and knowing that I didn't order anything, I was curious as to what it might be. After work on Monday I paid a visit and presented the notice to my friend at the counter, who sighed and shook his head when I pointed out that there was nothing to identify the sender. Just another person too lazy to do their job.

Rick disappeared and as he retrieved the box called out, "hey, it's from NOLA - your sister sent you something pretty heavy. He presented it to me with a big smile and sent me on my way with a cheery "Enjoy!"

When I returned to the apartment there was a message from my niece asking if I had received the package yet, and telling me that my wayward sister would be home all afternoon, if I had time to call.

You can imagine my surprise when I opened the box and found nearly 10 pounds of Mardi Gras beads and other throws from various parades, (all unique, no duplicates) including the krewe she has belonged to for years. The Krewe of The Knights of Nemesis. The Krewe has only had a parade for the last 4 years, but their floats are pretty nice. Yes, my crazy sister rode on a float again this year - along with my niece - having the time of her life. She will be 69 years old next month. In the note included in the box of throws she wrote that after the parade when someone asked if she would be riding next Mardi Gras, she replied, "As long as I can climb up onto the floats, I'll be riding!" Laissez les bons temps rouler. Indeed.

After opening the box, reading the note and examining the contents - a far cry from the cheap stuff that used to be thrown when I was a kid - I called and she was excited that I enjoyed the gift. She told stories of other Mardi Gras happenings she attended or was otherwise somehow involved and we caught up on the past 3 months that we were out of touch. Seems she was everywhere from King's Day (also known as Epiphany - January 6) until Midnight and the beginning of Ash Wednesday. We talked for almost 2 hours until it was time to get supper. Hers was on the stove, but mine needed attention, so after providing info on the best days and times to call her we said our goodbyes.

The pictures above are one pair of generic beads and one pair of the Nemesis 2009 collector's 'special' throw. Yes, that's a FEMA trailer. And, yes, these special throws are copyrighted. You need a sense of humor to live in NOLA. Click on the images to make biggen.

Note to self: Don't call on Tuesdays or Fridays (volunteer nights) and only after 6 pm on the other days. And I still may not find her home. So there! Yes, Ma'am!

And so it goes.
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