Papa Noel will find us this Christmas!

South Louisiana has a tradition of burning bonfires along the levees to light the way for Papa Noel. I'm not sure if Papa Noel drives a sleigh pulled by reindeer or a pirogue pulled by alligators, but either way, his path was well-lit in 2011.



My dear friend Kristy invited Shannon and me to join her family's annual Christmas Eve celebration at the bonfire. She knew that we were both interested in experiencing this important part of our Louisiana culture, and her family opened their home, shared their food and drinks, and warmly welcomed us to Paulina, Louisiana.



This has got to be the biggest gumbo pot I've ever seen!



The family bonfire, pre-lighting; you can see that it's covered with cane reeds, which make crackling sound, kind of like firecrackers, when they burn.



Before the fires were lit at 7:00 p.m., people were milling about, enjoying each other's company and - most likely - quietly comparing their bonfire to those surrounding it. Which is bigger? Did you put cane reeds on yours or not? Do you have driftwood or logs inside the bonfire?



Most were in the traditonal shape ...



... but some were in other shapes, like the Nativity or the airboat below. Kristy told us that those who opt to build other shapes have to get special permission and ensure that they are structurally sound for bonfire purposes.





But once they burn, they are all beautiful! This is the same airboat from above, about 30 minutes into the fire:



Some use serious accelerants to get their fires going. Check out these colors!





It is such an amazing sight that even the ocean-going vessels traveling the Mississippi River took a break for the view.



Some of the fires make beautiful art without any help.





However they are built, however they burn, the annual lighting of the bonfires is a magical experience. Papa Noel will surely find us this Christmas!

NYC part 5: Macy's Parade!

At dinner Wednesday evening, Drew, Kathryn, Robert, and I were discussing the Macy's parade plans:

Kathryn: I'll leave my place at 4:45 a.m. Meet me at Columbus Circle. We'll bring posters!
Karla: Text me when you get on the subway - we'll meet you there! With blankets!!
Drew: Seriously? 4:45 ??
Robert: That's too cold and too early. I'm not going.
Drew: {now thinks Robert is the smartest person in the room}



So at about 5:10 a.m., Kathryn texted me that she was on the subway and heading my way. I pried myself from the comfy bed and made Drew do likewise; I was suddenly agreeing with Drew that maybe Robert was the smartest guy in NYC!

But we'd come to New York to see the parade with Kathryn, so off we went: to Columbus Circle!

Our side of Columbus Circle was blocked off for police, and we eventually found Kathryn and her friend, Anthony, on the other side, near Trump Tower. We decided on a good, front-row spot and made our claim: blankets and Boggle all around!

Except for Drew, who protested the early morning cold by huddling under blankets:



After an hour - an hour! - the police, the same guys who'd been putting up barricades and monitoring the area, told us that this was a "frozen block" and that we'd have to move. Despite polite requests for an explanation, none was forthcoming, other than that we had to be somewhere, anywhere, else.

So we traipsed down a couple of blocks and found a second-row spot near a family sitting in chairs. There were a couple of kids in the mix, so we figured we'd be able to see over them just fine. Perfect spot!

I pulled out the satsumas I'd brought from home, and everyone got a little Vitamin C to start the morning. Drew and I decided to get something warm to drink, so we headed to the nearby Starbucks. The line was out the door! After waiting for about 25 minutes, I sent Drew through the drink line while I braved the potty line. Both lines were so long that we were ready to go at the same time!

When we got back to the parade route, nearly an hour had passed, and the crowd was quite thick. Needless to say, some weren't very happy with our "excuse me"s and "our people are up front"s, but we made our way back to Kathryn and Anthony with our drinks and dignity in tact.



Finally, the parade began. First up: CLOWNS!

If you suffer from coulrophobia, this is not the parade for you. There are clowns everywhere, and they do things like throw confetti at the crowd! Some even get angry at snide remarks from the crowd and stare them down.



Everybody thinks of the giant balloons when they think of the Macy's parade, but truly, they should be thinking of clowns.



And bands! There were so many marching bands in the parade, and many clearly had outfits designed for the occasion:





Some were (likely) displaying their cultural pride, like these bands from Hawaii and Alabama:





(Though I admit that I was most pleased to see the flutist on the corner participating in the parade!)

And some of the bands looked like normal marching bands you'd see on any given Friday night or in parades around the country, hardly worthy of their own picture:



But the best band by far was the New York City Police Band ... it stopped right in front of us and played "When the Saints Go Marching In." Clearly, they knew exactly who we were!



There were lots of other strange things to see, too. Johnny Weir, the ice skater-turned-horsey-rider ...



... a beautiful flower-lady riding a giraffe ...



... big-headed presidents ...



... a giant "Flat Stanley" of the Southern Adventist University president ...



... and last but certainly not least, the 610 Stompers, who showed off some moves only before seen in New Orleans. I'm not sure that New York knew what to think!



There was even a crawfish! And no, it was not a lobster ....



Me: Hey look, there's a crawfish!
Nearby kid: That is not a crawfish.
Me: Uh yeah, it's a crawfish.
Nearby kid: No, that's a mer*maid.
Me: Um, no. That is a crawfish.

There were lots of floats, too! Nobody ever talks about the Macy's Day Parade floats, only balloons, but it went pretty much like this:

Float with x character:



Followed by: "Look at our poster!"



... which featured x character.



With x character balloon showing up last:



Or maybe there was a related float, like the Muppets or Sesame Street ...



(Can you believe I forgot both my Cookie Monster AND Telly hats at home?)



... followed by "Hey, look at our poster" ...



... which was followed by the Kermit balloon ...



... which was frequently accompanied by the people in the parade taking our pictures!



And so it went. But not for all ... the Energizer bunny was a balloon ON a float!





And I don't recall Pikachu having a float (though I'm sure there was something between it and the previous balloon, maybe a band or another group of some sort).



Nor did my favorite, the new Tim Burton balloon!



Sometimes we had posters for which there was no balloon, like this crowd favorite:



And of course, there were famous people (though I admit that I didn't know who most of them were!). But of course, we'd yell "WE LOVE YOU, {INSERT NAME ON BANNER HERE}" and they'd look our way.

These are all the famous people I will admit to recognizing:

Cee Lo Green



Mary J. Blige



Spiderman



Betty Boop



And Linus ...



... who incidentally was followed by an adventurous Snoopy:



Of course, Kathryn and Drew may be famous by now, too. They were both interviewed by CBS!





And last but certainly not least, there was Santa. His balloon did not immediately precede his float, but we knew who he was anyway. Even the "Flat Stanley" Southern Adventist U. guy was waving to Santa!





Coming from Louisiana, I know about good parades, and this was certainly a good one! It was a little different than a Louisiana parade, though: nobody was drinking! I commented on that to someone standing nearby, and he looked at his watch.

Him: It's only 8 o'clock in the morning.
Me: And?

If you ever get the chance, this is one parade you should not miss. But be sure to bring posters! After all, that's how you become part of the parade instead of a mere bystander.