saint valentine’s day was a rosy blur of sequins and feathers and flowers, accompanied by twinkling strains of the calliope on the river, and the shriek of steel on steel from the trainyard- the boom-boom! of the big drums and the blasting horns the ships blow as they let fall their anchors..
have you ever seen a big ship come in on the mississippi?
it’s surreal to watch these behemoths move slowly between the crumbling buildings..
-new orleans does indeed excel at the surreal..after the blueberry belgian waffles and strawberries romanov, it was impossible not to collapse into a stupor- i watched the afternoon sun drip through the jewel-coloured bottles on the windowsill- an indescribable luxury to laze in bed during the day..we met the parade at z’otz, warming up to gypsy music and the stilt-walkers dancing with the big-head puppets..a clown from st. petersburg doused me liberally with glitter, so now my scalp sports holographic dandruff..the marching band was tighter than i could have ever imagined- small, but powerful- tuba, trombone, megaphone, snare, quads, two clarinets and several accordions- there’s nothing like a rag-tag marching band stomping and snaking through the streets- especially when they’re playing warm leatherette..the krewe du poux valentine’s ball was utterly delightful- a bevy of very talented circus performers, wonderful crackly romantic phonograph music, hula hoops (on fire), pianos and sad ballads, trick-italian jugglers, george and his death-defying impromptu striptease on the highwire, absurdist shadow-puppets, and dangerous dancing with gorgeous girls- what more could anyone ask for?
we managed to catch the last strains of spy, my most favorite hazard county girls song- and stayed for a while longer, losing myself in the wall of sound before skittering off to my bed..
last night i dreamt of being put to death, execution-style, by someone i loved and trusted. bizarrely, i was accepting of this fate- as some things seem inescapable with a gun pressed to the back of your head. i took a deep breath and waited for the loud shock and the falling blackness. trying to remind myself to pay attention to what death was like- take notes! this is a new experience! here goes nothing!
my subconscious never ceases to confuse me.