Mardi Gras 2014 filled the streets of New Orleans with parades, costumed revelers and roaming musical troupes, but from the seat of a helicopter hovering at 500 feet, the city's annual celebration presented a peaceful and orderly impression of the revelry and certain chaos below. From above, sea of revelers of Mardi Gras melted into patches of color. The parades seemed more like a slow moving river.
Mardi Gras is always a treat for the senses, and chief among them is music. But from a chopper's perch, the rotors washed the trumpets, clarinets and drums into oblivion. Not once did I hear the Mardi Gras Mambo. The ever-present wail of "Throw me something, Mister" and the constant din of "Hey" were strangely muted.
As I looked down over St. Charles Avenue, the floats and marchers lumbered beneath the oak tree canopy, creating a flicker of color through the green foliage. The band members seemed almost robotic as they marched along in crisp rows. As the floats entered the Central Business District, they all but disappeared into the concrete canyons. Big Shot suddenly didn't seem so big. The majestic Jester and the snorting Beauf appeared less mythic than I remembered.
Carnival from 500 feet is truly unique. At times I could
catch the waft of chicken cooking on a grill. Even without the sun, the gold leaf of the floats still shone. The purple, green and gold created a florescent
thread through a landscape of gray. Even the heavy cloud cover couldn't
diminish the royalty that lay below. Even without the sounds and the jostling
of the streets, I could tell that the city was joyful.
The view from above is enchanting to be sure, but to truly experience Mardi Gras, you must have boots on the ground and be among the throng. There's a certain connection of the human spirit in a city centrally fixated in abandoned celebration, even if no one remembers why they celebrate.
Old man winter was in a grumpy mood Tuesday and the cold and rain kept crowds smaller than usual. But even inclement couldn't stop diehard revelers from taking to the streets. When it rains on a parade in New Orleans, people make the best of it. Resiliency is the credo. After all, once the mayor hands Rex the key to the city for a party, the city is loath to give it back.