As I’ve mentioned before, I live in the deep South, so we celebrate Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is also the last big party before Ash Wednesday (Lent) begins the following day.

Having lived in the South throughout my high school years, I haven’t cared to go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans in years. The crowds are horrendous, and I guess you could say I’ve grown out of the heavy partying and the “Bourbon Street” atmosphere.

However, since Hurricane Katrina, most of us in the South look at Mardi Gras in a different fashion, maybe a nostalgic way. We lost so much through that storm as it chewed up our heritage. Our breathtaking antebellum homes are gone, with only bits and pieces of fabrics hanging in trees mimicking ghosts of families swept away by hurricane force winds and water.

Now, we proudly celebrate Mardi Gras in cities across the South: New Orleans, Gulfport, Biloxi, Bay Springs, Hattiesburg, and all of the many cities eaten alive by Katrina. We picked up the pieces of our lives and refused to lie down and be destroyed by the great destroyer. As has always been the case, the South lives on.

Mark Twain said, “I think that I may say that an American has not seen the United States until he has seen Mardi Gras in New Orleans.”

Today, I agree with Mark Twain. There’s no city in the world like New Orleans.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Robin