that strange feeling that something changed last night pervades the square.
last night. marching through the streets on a wild rampage. through bourbon.
along royal. picking up more and more. it is three am. the police. before.
around twelve. breaking up the crash worship show. while the opening bands.
still playing. now. crash worship. others head a procession through the city.
through french quarter.
people dancing. madly. feverishly. walking over cars. puppets through the
streets. the drumming. whistles. whines. drinking. cheering. banging on
street signs. houses. cars. gates. fences. rhythm. drums out of anything. as
people march. banging on drums. others. leading through the streets. the
golden painted man. as a woman runs through the crowd painting peoples faces
blue. other faces are red. tourists. freaks. locals. all as one. marching
through the streets.
as cop cars appear. trying to stop us. a mob. changing direction. going
around cars. too many people. just one. two cannot match us. they stay in
their cars. then. outside cafe brazil. so many cop cars. surrounding all
streets. grabbing people with drums. arresting. the beat goes on as people
clap. watch. defying the cops. as some get arrested. the defiance is there.
but it slowly dies. as people back away. as the police take out their clubs.
slowly walking back to jackson square. as people are shuffled off the
sidewalks. inside. by the cops. by cafe owners warned the cops are coming.
declaring their own little martial law. and i walk back. saddened it didnt
hit the boiling point. yet happy. proud the defiance was there. that it
built. and lasted so long. came so close to that riot. war against the
police. but someday. someday. (i wait).
[looking back i see that it was good things did not reach a boiling point.
there is a time for violence and revolution and a time for fun. mardi gras
day. early morning. this was a time for fun. though defiance was a part of
it. it going beyond. to that point where it no longer becomes fun. but a
fight for ones rights. not the time. the place. some other.]