Seeing the parades while the sun was still shining was a nice change of pace, but what made it even better was the family-oriented atmosphere. St. Charles Avenue was the opposite of Canal Street, for instead of ducking recklessly thrown items and picking them up, adults and children could walk up to floats and ask for what they wanted. Rowdy behavior was nowhere to be seen as Proteus took spectators "Through the Years" and Orpheus explored "Signs and Superstitions."
While Proteus marched, I chatted with two women, Linda and Tracy. They expressed their gratitude to tourists for helping the city get back on its feet, and they praised me for coming Uptown to see how Mardi Gras is really celebrated. During our conversation, I learned that Linda works for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette but is from New Orleans. She told me she never thought she'd see the day when her hometown would be under water, forcing generations of families to relocate elsewhere.
To help take people's minds off Katrina, Orpheus had three celebrity monarchs lead their parade: Steven Seagal, Scarlett Johansson, and Josh Hartnett. Johansson got the biggest reaction from the crowd ... and since the actress' appearance was unannounced, I wanted to take her picture. Unfortunately, by the time I got a good angle, I discovered my camera was out of film ... and when I finished reloading, her float had moved on.
