Carnival 2023
For Lent this year I am trying to set aside some time each morning to write (or just to think.) This is the time usually spent scrolling through Facebook memories and comments and newsfeeds. I won’t necessarily post everything I write. Some things are worthy of being shared and some are just rambling thoughts. But I really need to spend more time being creative, and also just being quiet. (Not that I talk too much but with my phone and my computer and the TV I rarely let myself just be.)
I like sharing things on Facebook because some people enjoy what I say but also because I get to see it every year in my “Memories.” The memories feature is by far the best thing Facebook has to offer and the reason I can’t seem to move on to some other, less evil, social media platform (or maybe none at all?)
Mardi Gras was great but is getting more and more disgusting. I will dwell on that another time and will take this morning to just remember moments from this Carnival season. I had a great time riding in Muses. I had procrastinated on decorating shoes so I barely made the maximum of 30 shoes in time for the parade. For those that don’t know, I have been riding in Muses every other year since around 2012 (or maybe 2010?) The reason I am on an odd numbered year now is that there was no parade in 2021. You have to ride at least every other year to maintain your riding spot but it is expensive and exhausting and seriously time consuming so… every other year.
Each rider is allowed a maximum of 30 decorated shoes. This is for several reasons. The krewe is largely funded by throws sales so they really can’t have people only throwing shoes. (Some other krewes that have hand decorated signature throws sell their members the undecorated versions so they profit on them. We don’t do that. Also, Muses is a non-profit that benefits local charities. Many other krewes are as well but some are not. Not mentioning names here.) Another reason for the limit is that the shoes take up a lot of space and we are seriously crowded as it is. And the shoes are meant to be special so if everyone had 100 shoes they would become too commonplace. So we’re allowed a max of 30 shoes each (on the honor system.) Some might sneak in a few more. Some may make a few less. And some don’t make any at all.
The shoes are fun to make but, as previously stated, time consuming. I know lots of people have said they would like to join me in glittering shoes. The problem is that, in order to lessen the amount of glitter in my house (I say “lessen” because as soon as you join Muses the shoe fairies come and sprinkle glitter into the crevices of your hardwood floors) I have been decorating in my backyard or, when it is raining or very windy, in a little cubby in my shed. Hot or cold I have been out there, with my glue gun plugged into an extension cord, and it doesn’t seem like a hospitable environment for guests. Also, because I am sporadically busy, I tend to decorate in spontaneous bursts. And it also doesn’t seem very considerate to message people and say, “Hey! I have 2 hours free right this minute (unless something else comes up.) Want to come cover old shoes with glitter which will then follow you around for the rest of your life? Oh! And it may be either freezing cold or boiling hot, sometimes on the same day, because this is New Orleans, and we will be working in my grubby back yard.”
I do love giving out the shoes. In future years (and I only make them when I ride) feel free to ask for one. Your best bet is to ask me before parade day, when I can be sure to get you one that is specially picked out for you. There are no guarantees on the route and any shoes received are random. You can tell a rider where you’ll be but, once we get on the float, it is extremely difficult to keep track of where we are. Everything looks different. This year, when we were lined up, I had no idea where we were until I looked at Pokemon Go and saw a Pokestop that was at Crescent City Vet. I drive by this place all the time. But I was on this huge construction, surrounded by krewe members and their throws, so I couldn’t see anything but the single house in front of me, and that at an odd perspective. And whether or not you can see me, I can’t necessarily see or hear you.
This year, as we were waiting to move, our charming tractor driver came over to the side of the float to talk to us. It was funny because we trudge onto the float without looking at anyone or anything on the way so we didn’t know who he was at first. He was yelling at us and I assumed he was just another guy asking for shoes before the parade even started. (I think everyone else thought that too.) Then he said, ‘I’m K---, your tractor driver” and we all turned to listen. He told us that if any of our friends wanted him to slow down they should come offer him a bottle of water. If they didn’t have water they should just yell “Water” at him. I assume he got a few bottles of water from this but I think it was simply his way of cutting down the people trying to talk to him. (He didn’t always accept the water.) This was seriously the most charming tractor driver I have ever been aware of. We always give money (as a float) to tip our tractor driver and I hope we tipped him well.
I did manage to see quite a number of my friends, some I was looking for and some I wasn’t. I missed a few (2 to be exact.) If you want to be sure to see me, carry a sign and come to the area of the float I post. (I am always on the neutral ground side, bottom, near the middle towards the back.) (I sincerely hope that doesn’t change.)
Some memorable moments:
Two young women (probably in their early 20’s and I was getting big sister/little sister vibes from them) came up as we were stopped for a minute (probably for a “water” break.) The younger said to me “Are you having fun?” I was sweating and itchy under my wig and headdress but I gave a grin and said, “Sure.” She smiled and said “Good” and retreated back. After a few seconds I beckoned her forward and handed her a shoe, saying, ‘No one has ever asked me whether I was having fun.” She was delighted and said, “Well, are you?” With more enthusiasm I said, “Yes!” and she said, "Good!” and went back into the crowd as the two young women were joyfully appreciating their bounty. Really nice interaction.
A man came up to the float, holding up one of his shoes, and yelled “A shoe for my baby!” pointing back to his 2 year old sitting in a ladder seat. I smiled and said (KIDDING) “You mean as a trade?” He clearly misunderstood me and thrust his shoe up further, offering it to me. I said, “No. Like as a trade for your baby.” He ran away and seconds later returned with his and his child’s shoes. I shook my head and luckily the float started to move so I didn’t have to explain that I was asking if he was offering to trade his baby for a shoe and that I was joking and not suggesting that I would indeed trade a shoe for his baby and that, no matter how cute the child was, I didn’t even want his baby. Later, as I was recounting this story, my friend told me that the rider on the other side of her was actually offered a child for a baby. (I assume they were kidding but who knows?) The child was held up, butt first, and my friend quickly warned the other rider to not touch the baby. (I’m sure she wasn’t going to.) What was more shocking was that during another year’s ride someone did this and the krewe member actually took and held the baby before handing it back. Seriously. People on the route are insane.
I have only once before traded a shoe for something (a fancily beaded bottle of wine). This year we were nearing the end of the route and I had one shoe remaining and I saw this man holding up a T shirt. It said, "Zilla chews Daddy’s shoes but not Muses” and had a picture of his dog. I will attach a picture to this post. I was very amused. I leaned over and said “I only have one shoe left but that is very funny.” I then traded him a shoe for the shirt.
The bad weather that we were worried about happened around ¾ through the ride for about 20 minutes. (These are just guesses.) The skies opened and it poured on us. I was in a section of the float under a small roof but this seemed to do very little good. I was soaked but continued to try to hand out throws for a bit. (I had already given my last shoe to the T shirt guy.) Finally I ducked into the middle of the float. I had a long sleeved T shirt in my bag, stowed in a dry area, and luckily I wear a tank top instead of a bra, so I stripped off my tunic and my soaking wet T shirt and put on this dry one and felt better. Unfortunately I then neglected to put my mask back on. When I came back out my friend noticed and I rushed back on, frantically searching. I found it rolled up in my wet shirt. Anyway, the rain had died down but was still dripping and I’d had to put my wet tunic back on so when we got to the after party I was soaked again and quite uncomfortable. That’s when I remembered that I had traded a shoe for a T shirt and it was in with the dry stuff! I was able to enjoy the after party in my new Zilla shirt.
I like sharing things on Facebook because some people enjoy what I say but also because I get to see it every year in my “Memories.” The memories feature is by far the best thing Facebook has to offer and the reason I can’t seem to move on to some other, less evil, social media platform (or maybe none at all?)
Mardi Gras was great but is getting more and more disgusting. I will dwell on that another time and will take this morning to just remember moments from this Carnival season. I had a great time riding in Muses. I had procrastinated on decorating shoes so I barely made the maximum of 30 shoes in time for the parade. For those that don’t know, I have been riding in Muses every other year since around 2012 (or maybe 2010?) The reason I am on an odd numbered year now is that there was no parade in 2021. You have to ride at least every other year to maintain your riding spot but it is expensive and exhausting and seriously time consuming so… every other year.
Each rider is allowed a maximum of 30 decorated shoes. This is for several reasons. The krewe is largely funded by throws sales so they really can’t have people only throwing shoes. (Some other krewes that have hand decorated signature throws sell their members the undecorated versions so they profit on them. We don’t do that. Also, Muses is a non-profit that benefits local charities. Many other krewes are as well but some are not. Not mentioning names here.) Another reason for the limit is that the shoes take up a lot of space and we are seriously crowded as it is. And the shoes are meant to be special so if everyone had 100 shoes they would become too commonplace. So we’re allowed a max of 30 shoes each (on the honor system.) Some might sneak in a few more. Some may make a few less. And some don’t make any at all.
The shoes are fun to make but, as previously stated, time consuming. I know lots of people have said they would like to join me in glittering shoes. The problem is that, in order to lessen the amount of glitter in my house (I say “lessen” because as soon as you join Muses the shoe fairies come and sprinkle glitter into the crevices of your hardwood floors) I have been decorating in my backyard or, when it is raining or very windy, in a little cubby in my shed. Hot or cold I have been out there, with my glue gun plugged into an extension cord, and it doesn’t seem like a hospitable environment for guests. Also, because I am sporadically busy, I tend to decorate in spontaneous bursts. And it also doesn’t seem very considerate to message people and say, “Hey! I have 2 hours free right this minute (unless something else comes up.) Want to come cover old shoes with glitter which will then follow you around for the rest of your life? Oh! And it may be either freezing cold or boiling hot, sometimes on the same day, because this is New Orleans, and we will be working in my grubby back yard.”
I do love giving out the shoes. In future years (and I only make them when I ride) feel free to ask for one. Your best bet is to ask me before parade day, when I can be sure to get you one that is specially picked out for you. There are no guarantees on the route and any shoes received are random. You can tell a rider where you’ll be but, once we get on the float, it is extremely difficult to keep track of where we are. Everything looks different. This year, when we were lined up, I had no idea where we were until I looked at Pokemon Go and saw a Pokestop that was at Crescent City Vet. I drive by this place all the time. But I was on this huge construction, surrounded by krewe members and their throws, so I couldn’t see anything but the single house in front of me, and that at an odd perspective. And whether or not you can see me, I can’t necessarily see or hear you.
This year, as we were waiting to move, our charming tractor driver came over to the side of the float to talk to us. It was funny because we trudge onto the float without looking at anyone or anything on the way so we didn’t know who he was at first. He was yelling at us and I assumed he was just another guy asking for shoes before the parade even started. (I think everyone else thought that too.) Then he said, ‘I’m K---, your tractor driver” and we all turned to listen. He told us that if any of our friends wanted him to slow down they should come offer him a bottle of water. If they didn’t have water they should just yell “Water” at him. I assume he got a few bottles of water from this but I think it was simply his way of cutting down the people trying to talk to him. (He didn’t always accept the water.) This was seriously the most charming tractor driver I have ever been aware of. We always give money (as a float) to tip our tractor driver and I hope we tipped him well.
I did manage to see quite a number of my friends, some I was looking for and some I wasn’t. I missed a few (2 to be exact.) If you want to be sure to see me, carry a sign and come to the area of the float I post. (I am always on the neutral ground side, bottom, near the middle towards the back.) (I sincerely hope that doesn’t change.)
Some memorable moments:
Two young women (probably in their early 20’s and I was getting big sister/little sister vibes from them) came up as we were stopped for a minute (probably for a “water” break.) The younger said to me “Are you having fun?” I was sweating and itchy under my wig and headdress but I gave a grin and said, “Sure.” She smiled and said “Good” and retreated back. After a few seconds I beckoned her forward and handed her a shoe, saying, ‘No one has ever asked me whether I was having fun.” She was delighted and said, “Well, are you?” With more enthusiasm I said, “Yes!” and she said, "Good!” and went back into the crowd as the two young women were joyfully appreciating their bounty. Really nice interaction.
A man came up to the float, holding up one of his shoes, and yelled “A shoe for my baby!” pointing back to his 2 year old sitting in a ladder seat. I smiled and said (KIDDING) “You mean as a trade?” He clearly misunderstood me and thrust his shoe up further, offering it to me. I said, “No. Like as a trade for your baby.” He ran away and seconds later returned with his and his child’s shoes. I shook my head and luckily the float started to move so I didn’t have to explain that I was asking if he was offering to trade his baby for a shoe and that I was joking and not suggesting that I would indeed trade a shoe for his baby and that, no matter how cute the child was, I didn’t even want his baby. Later, as I was recounting this story, my friend told me that the rider on the other side of her was actually offered a child for a baby. (I assume they were kidding but who knows?) The child was held up, butt first, and my friend quickly warned the other rider to not touch the baby. (I’m sure she wasn’t going to.) What was more shocking was that during another year’s ride someone did this and the krewe member actually took and held the baby before handing it back. Seriously. People on the route are insane.
I have only once before traded a shoe for something (a fancily beaded bottle of wine). This year we were nearing the end of the route and I had one shoe remaining and I saw this man holding up a T shirt. It said, "Zilla chews Daddy’s shoes but not Muses” and had a picture of his dog. I will attach a picture to this post. I was very amused. I leaned over and said “I only have one shoe left but that is very funny.” I then traded him a shoe for the shirt.
The bad weather that we were worried about happened around ¾ through the ride for about 20 minutes. (These are just guesses.) The skies opened and it poured on us. I was in a section of the float under a small roof but this seemed to do very little good. I was soaked but continued to try to hand out throws for a bit. (I had already given my last shoe to the T shirt guy.) Finally I ducked into the middle of the float. I had a long sleeved T shirt in my bag, stowed in a dry area, and luckily I wear a tank top instead of a bra, so I stripped off my tunic and my soaking wet T shirt and put on this dry one and felt better. Unfortunately I then neglected to put my mask back on. When I came back out my friend noticed and I rushed back on, frantically searching. I found it rolled up in my wet shirt. Anyway, the rain had died down but was still dripping and I’d had to put my wet tunic back on so when we got to the after party I was soaked again and quite uncomfortable. That’s when I remembered that I had traded a shoe for a T shirt and it was in with the dry stuff! I was able to enjoy the after party in my new Zilla shirt.