Mardi Gras Road Trip | New Orleans History & Hidden Traditions

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<p>In 1703 Louisiana, you can almost taste the air of salt water and damp pine.</p>
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<p>You're standing on the muddy banks of the mobile river.</p>
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<p>It's quiet, not the quiet of peace, but a small, weary settlement.</p>
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<p>Trying to remember home.</p>
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<p>Suddenly a group of men emerges from the fog.</p>
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<p>There are no flashing lights or towering floats.</p>
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<p>Instead, they march behind a wooden bull's head pushed on a cart.</p>
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<p>This is the Boeuf Gras a society.</p>
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<p>They aren't throwing beads there defiant.</p>
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<p>Celebrating a fat Tuesday before the lean somber days of lent begin.</p>
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<p>It's small, it's rustic, and it's the first heartbeat of a tradition</p>
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<p>that refuses to stay small.</p>
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<p>The clock skips forward to 1890 and the silence is shattered.</p>
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<p>The smell of pine is replaced by the thick stench of horse</p>
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<p>manure, cheap gin and gunpowder.</p>
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<p>You're in the French Quarter now.</p>
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<p>It's a fever dream gas lamps flicker against the sweat slicked faces of</p>
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<p>thousands torches, flambeau are carried by men dancing through the streets,</p>
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<p>lighting up massive precarious wooden floats that look like rolling cathedrals.</p>
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<p>The crowd is a sea of velvet and silk.</p>
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<p>But look closer.</p>
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<p>It's wild and it's dangerous.</p>
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<p>Men in heavy masks use the anonymity to settle old scores.</p>
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<p>The inappropriate is the status quo.</p>
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<p>It's a riot dressed in lace, a city, letting out a year's worth of repressed</p>
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<p>screams in a single drunken night.</p>
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<p>Today.</p>
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<p>The chaos softens into a roar of joy.</p>
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<p>The smell of gin is gone.</p>
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<p>Replaced by the sugary scent of the hot king cake and charcoal smoke</p>
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<p>from a thousand sidewalk grills.</p>
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<p>You are on St. Charles Avenue.</p>
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<p>The sun is shining through the Spanish moss.</p>
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<p>You aren't ducking for cover.</p>
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<p>You're reaching up a toddler perched on a wooden ladder beside you.</p>
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<p>Shrieks with delight as a plastic strand of purple beads</p>
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<p>drapes over their shoulders.</p>
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<p>The floats are now neon lit giants, and the music is a wall of sound</p>
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<p>from high school marching bands that shakes the very pavement.</p>
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<p>This isn't a riot anymore, it's a family reunion.</p>
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<p>It's a million people sharing a collective breath of Laissez les bons temps rouler.</p>
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<p>From a lone bull's head to a global stage.</p>
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<p>This is the story of how a feast became a legacy.</p>
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<p>Welcome to Talk With History.</p>
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<p>I'm your host Scott here with my wife and historian Jen.</p>
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<p>Hello.</p>
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<p>On this podcast, we give you insights to our history inspired both travels,</p>
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<p>YouTube channel journey, and examine history through deeper conversations</p>
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<p>with the curious, the explorers and the history lovers out there.</p>
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<p>All right, Jen.</p>
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<p>So there's no secret on this one.</p>
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<p>We did Mardi Gras.</p>
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<p>We went to Mardi Gras.</p>
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<p>We went to Mardi Gras and experienced Mardi Gras to the</p>
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<p>fullest that I can handle.</p>
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<p>Anyways,</p>
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<p>yeah, so we have friends who are part of crews, like they're a part of</p>
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<p>these families that have established long-term traditions of being crews on</p>
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<p>different floats for different parades.</p>
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<p>And we'll talk about these.</p>
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<p>Parades, how they become traditional.</p>
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<p>Their names the Iris BCUs and Damion.</p>
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<p>Orpheus.</p>
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<p>There's these parades that happen, especially the last five days before</p>
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<p>Mardi Gras, which means Tuesday Fat.</p>
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<p>Fat Tuesday.</p>
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<p>So Mardi Gras means fat Tuesday.</p>
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<p>Yeah.</p>
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<p>And when you say Cruz, it's not like the crew that you would spell CREW.</p>
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<p>It's K-R-E-W-E.</p>
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<p>Yeah.</p>
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<p>So it is a very Louisiana, very New Orleans.</p>
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<p>Tradition.</p>
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<p>Yeah.</p>
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<p>They're like these social clubs basically, they call themselves and they follow</p>
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<p>the same parade schedule, and it's a very elaborate thing that they do.</p>
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<p>They plan it all year long and they plan their float theme and their throws, and</p>
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<p>we'll talk more about those throws and.</p>
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<p>It's a big tradition.</p>
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<p>They wear masks.</p>
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<p>Uh, again, it's that tradition of Mardi Gras masks, but basically it's the</p>
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<p>celebration leading up to Ash Wednesday.</p>
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<p>It's a, it's wrought and Catholicism in the Christian tradition of sacrifice,</p>
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<p>of giving up something for Lent.</p>
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<p>And so it's this great celebration of abundance before the sacrifice starts.</p>
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<p>Yeah.</p>
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<p>So most of the time people would fast for Lent, and so this is like.</p>
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<p>Eating all of your good food and partaking of all your good drink</p>
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<p>before you, you know, go dry for Lent.</p>
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<p>And so it's supposed to be this great celebration of, you know, all your</p>
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<p>blessings before Ash Wednesday starts and then lent for the 40 days before Easter.</p>
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<p>Now it, it shifts because Easter is kind of based on that big first</p>
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<p>full moon, the spring Equinox.</p>
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<p>In the year, and because that shifts.</p>
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<p>Mardi Gras shifts.</p>
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<p>Yeah.</p>
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<p>But it typically starts on 12th night, and you'll hear people say 12th</p>
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<p>Night a lot in the New Orleans area, because that's when Mardi Gras starts.</p>
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<p>It's January 6th and it'll start then and go all the way until.</p>
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<p>Fat Tuesday.</p>
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<p>Okay.</p>
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<p>And so about two months.</p>
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<p>And that's why you'll hear different parades will start and they're not</p>
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<p>quite as popular or as big or as crazy as those five days before.</p>
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<p>Yeah,</p>
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<p>Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday, but they have their own like little traditions</p>
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<p>leading up to those two months.</p>
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<p>So is that where.</p>
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<p>I mean, is that really where it started from the very beginning, right.</p>
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<p>1703 ish.</p>
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<p>Somewhere around there is like, they were just like, Hey, we wanna</p>
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<p>have a good time before lent.</p>
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<p>So Mardi Gras has always been.</p>
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<p>Something from the French culture, the Italian culture, the Spanish culture</p>
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<p>because of the Catholicism and the, again, celebrating the abundance before lent.</p>
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<p>So it was brought over.</p>
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<p>If you know anything about New Orleans, it goes under French rule, Spanish rule.</p>
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<p>Back to French World, into America.</p>
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<p>So it's brought over by the, the colonialists, right.</p>
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<p>Who are bringing over their traditions as they come to the new land.</p>
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<p>And uh, so it's first celebrated in 1699.</p>
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<p>Oh wow.</p>
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<p>And it's that early celebrated because, and it's just a, it's just</p>
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<p>like a recognition of some people from the new, from from the old</p>
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<p>world who are celebrating their.</p>
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<p>Religious tradition</p>
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<p>now.</p>
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<p>Is it true?</p>
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<p>I remember, I think 'cause we went last year.</p>
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<p>No, we didn't go for Mardi Gras last year.</p>
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<p>Like we went the week prior and we went with our friends and we got to see the</p>
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<p>floats because again they're part of the cruise, you know, and our, our friends.</p>
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<p>Uh, they're from there and, uh, have family history there and have</p>
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<p>been involved in this, in the B crew and for quite a long time.</p>
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<p>But one of the things I remember hearing was, isn't it like, isn't</p>
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<p>it mobile or something like that claims the first Mardi Gras.</p>
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<p>So is that kind of like still a contentious thing?</p>
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<p>It's a contentious thing, so yes.</p>
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<p>Mobile.</p>
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<p>So you have to realize New Orleans wasn't really a established city and mobile</p>
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<p>was a part of the Louisiana Territory.</p>
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<p>And it was more of an established city, and so they claimed the</p>
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<p>first ever Mardi Gras celebration.</p>
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<p>Now, the first parade didn't start until 1837.</p>
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<p>Okay?</p>
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<p>But new but mobile will will claim this first celebration in the early 17 hundreds</p>
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<p>because I, I think even before we went down and I was</p>
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<p>looking up something online.</p>
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<p>You know, you'll see online ads for Come to the Oldest.</p>
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<p>Mm-hmm.</p>
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<p>You know, Mardi Gras celebration, you know, in America.</p>
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<p>And that's, it's in mobile.</p>
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<p>Yes.</p>
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<p>Like mobile claims it.</p>
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<p>Yeah.</p>
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<p>Although New Orleans is probably the biggest.</p>
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<p>Yeah.</p>
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<cite>Speaker:</cite>
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<p>And what more people think of when they think of Mardi Gras and,</p>
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<p>uh, the first Mardi Gras parade happens in New Orleans in 1737, so.</p>
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<p>You get the first in 1730, you get the first celebration with dance</p>
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<p>and masking and the costuming.</p>
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<p>Which is really a lot like Carnival.</p>
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<p>So if you think of Carnival, that happens even today in like Venice or</p>
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<p>Brazil again, all with this Catholicism and celebrating the abundance before</p>
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<p>Lent where the masking happens and the masking still happens in New Orleans.</p>
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<p>And what, what's the significance of the masking?</p>
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<p>It's to, it basically erases that social.</p>
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<p>Hierarchy, you kind of hide your face, and so everyone's on an equal playing field.</p>
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<p>We all are celebrating together kind of how you would go to heaven.</p>
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<p>Like when we go to heaven, we're all gonna be on the same playing</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:34</time>
<p>field, so that's kind of how they.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:36</time>
<p>Look at it, you're masking yourself so you no one knows where</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:40</time>
<p>you are on the social ladder.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:42</time>
<p>And we're all the same and we can all party the same.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:44</time>
<p>And, and I think, I believe they even like eventually passed a law.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:48</time>
<p>Mm-hmm.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:48</time>
<p>That said, you're riding on the floats, you have to be masked.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:51</time>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:52</time>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:52</time>
<p>And again, that it's just part of that tradition and fun.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:56</time>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:56</time>
<p>Like we knew our.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:58</time>
<p>The people that we knew who were gonna be in the parades,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:08:59</time>
<p>So just to kind of put it out there, went down to Mardi Gras.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:03</time>
<p>We did a couple days.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:03</time>
<p>We got that on a Friday night.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:05</time>
<p>And it was luckily for us, it was over a long weekend and I took</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:07</time>
<p>an extra day vacation from work.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:09</time>
<p>Got there down on Friday night, hung out with friends Friday night, and</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:12</time>
<p>then we saw two different parades.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:14</time>
<p>We saw the first parade Saturday morning, and that was kind of a</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:16</time>
<p>little more low key, a little more fam, family friendly, but they were</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:19</time>
<p>almo, you know, 99% of the people that I saw on the floats were masked.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:23</time>
<p>Mm-hmm.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:23</time>
<p>They were wearing a mask the whole time.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:25</time>
<p>Now I did see a fair amount of people Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:27</time>
<p>That weren't wearing masks, and I was kind of wondering like,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:30</time>
<p>do they actually enforce that?</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:31</time>
<p>You know, I'm not sure.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:32</time>
<p>And then as the, the, the days went on, I saw, I saw less and less people with</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:36</time>
<p>masks, more so if it was nighttime.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:38</time>
<p>But, uh.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:39</time>
<p>So I, I did see people without masks, but it was, I mean,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:44</time>
<p>it was a, a full blown thing.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:46</time>
<p>So it's funny, they wear like these masks to cover their eyes and then</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:49</time>
<p>like a, like a baic drape over their face, I guess, to help them breathe.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:54</time>
<p>But like you said, some wear it and they're very, uniform 'cause</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:09:57</time>
<p>they're wearing all these same kind of costumes and then some don't.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:00</time>
<p>I don't know who would actually enforce these rules.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:03</time>
<p>I'm</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:03</time>
<p>sure it's not enforced</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:04</time>
<p>and how it works.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:05</time>
<p>But what's really significant about Mardi Gras is the throws.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:10</time>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:10</time>
<p>So what do we got to experience this for the first time.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:14</time>
<p>I have a throw here just so you can kind of see like it's beads, but these can</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:18</time>
<p>be pretty significant and pretty heavy.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:21</time>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:21</time>
<p>So for our listeners, Jen's holding up what looks like a Mr. T chain.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:25</time>
<p>You know, like, like full on thick plastic chains with, you know, the classic Mardi</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:29</time>
<p>Gras colors of gold, green, and purple.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:31</time>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:31</time>
<p>And those colors are significant as well.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:33</time>
<p>The.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:34</time>
<p>Purple stands for justice.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:36</time>
<p>The green stands for faith and the goals for power.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:40</time>
<p>So you can think of the purple has like that royal color, right?</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:44</time>
<p>And so it's the justice with the royalty and, and finding justice in the world.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:49</time>
<p>The green for your faith, right?</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:50</time>
<p>This is like basically based on a Catholic holiday.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:53</time>
<p>And then the gold is for power that we all.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:57</time>
<p>Hold the same power.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:10:58</time>
<p>And so those are the three colors of Mardi Gras.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:00</time>
<p>So you'll see those three colors everywhere and people</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:04</time>
<p>will throw these chains, people will throw socks, people will</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:08</time>
<p>throw, yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:08</time>
<p>All, all sorts of stuff.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:09</time>
<p>Cups.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:10</time>
<p>And they become very significant.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:12</time>
<p>People want these throws and.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:16</time>
<p>We went with nothing.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:18</time>
<p>We left with bags of things.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:20</time>
<p>It was crazy.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:21</time>
<p>So many beads.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:22</time>
<p>So many cups.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:23</time>
<p>I, we get off with 30 pairs of socks and we were handed different cool things,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:28</time>
<p>sunglasses they do all these little, yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:31</time>
<p>Nichey kind of things.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:32</time>
<p>Now.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:32</time>
<p>I looked it up.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:33</time>
<p>So some of the original throws the whole.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:35</time>
<p>Thing didn't really start till the sixties.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:37</time>
<p>Oh, wow.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:38</time>
<p>And so it didn't really start till the sixties.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:39</time>
<p>So Cruz used to throw sugarcoated almonds, as as, I guess part of the thing that</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:45</time>
<p>they're kind of throwing out, right.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:46</time>
<p>Because again, you're out there.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:47</time>
<p>You celebrating abundance.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:49</time>
<p>Mm-hmm.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:49</time>
<p>And then glass beads.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:50</time>
<p>So glass beads have actually been around for quite a while and we had</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:52</time>
<p>I think we were able to get one or two little things of glass beads and</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:55</time>
<p>they, they throw 'em in little packets.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:56</time>
<p>Right.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:57</time>
<p>'cause you don't, not throwing 'em glass at people, but</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:11:59</time>
<p>that's what they used to throw.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:00</time>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:01</time>
<p>And.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:02</time>
<p>You gotta be aware because they can hit you.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:04</time>
<p>I got drilled right, in the left side of my face one night.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:07</time>
<p>I wasn't looking.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:08</time>
<p>And I think they, they, they were throwing these like bouncy ball</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:11</time>
<p>things that would light up at night.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:12</time>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:13</time>
<p>And I got, I got just drilled right in the left eye and, and everybody saw it</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:17</time>
<p>'cause I just wasn't looking at all.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:19</time>
<p>So after that, my head was on a swivel.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:21</time>
<p>Anytime a, anytime a uh, a float was going by.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:25</time>
<p>So what's significant too is if it's a night parade,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:27</time>
<p>they throw a lot of light up.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:28</time>
<p>Beads.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:29</time>
<p>Yeah,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:29</time>
<p>those are fun and or, or light up things that you can hold.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:31</time>
<p>And so you have some people wear them and it's really, it's a</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:34</time>
<p>lot of fun, but there's so much, there's so much left behind.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:39</time>
<p>And I read that they collect these beads afterwards 'cause</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:42</time>
<p>they don't want them getting into, you know, the drainage system and</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:45</time>
<p>they recycle them for next year.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:48</time>
<p>Uh, but it is a lot of fun.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:49</time>
<p>It was a lot of beads and, but to be in New Orleans and celebrate this, it to</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:54</time>
<p>be in the place where this originated.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:12:57</time>
<p>There's a lot of tradition there.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:00</time>
<p>And so it's not just the parades and different parades</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:04</time>
<p>have different traditions.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:05</time>
<p>There's the iris parades with, with just women on the floats.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:09</time>
<p>The, the, the BCUs parade, which just men on the floats, and then sometimes</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:14</time>
<p>they're associated with these, these balls, like these fancy uh, events.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:18</time>
<p>So you dressed up and so we went to the BCUs Ball and Scott Ward's uniform.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:22</time>
<p>I wore gown.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:24</time>
<p>And you still stand there and collect your throws.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:26</time>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:26</time>
<p>In your dress outfits.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:28</time>
<p>And, and it, it was wild.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:30</time>
<p>I was telling a couple people about the, the BCUs Ball.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:34</time>
<p>I, I didn't, it, it, it exceeded any of, all of my expectations because I just</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:39</time>
<p>kind of didn't, I kind of figured a big party, I figured a few hundred people, you</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:42</time>
<p>know, maybe a thousand on the big side.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:44</time>
<p>Someone told me there was 18,000 people at this ball.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:49</time>
<p>And it was so interesting because if you, if for our listeners and for our</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:52</time>
<p>watchers picture, just the largest convention center that you can think</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:56</time>
<p>of with all dividers cleared out.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:13:59</time>
<p>So it's just this massive, massive space.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:01</time>
<p>Like we could barely see to the other end of it because they had it set up, I think</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:05</time>
<p>there was like maybe a thousand tables.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:07</time>
<p>There was a center section and outside sections and they could actually drive.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:11</time>
<p>They could tow the actual floats into this convention center and do</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:15</time>
<p>a loop around the center section of the tables where we were.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:19</time>
<p>So we were like in between of the loop of floats as they were</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:24</time>
<p>coming through with all the bands.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:27</time>
<p>It was, it was so, so overwhelming.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:31</time>
<p>It was, it was fun.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:32</time>
<p>And then they had these bands, and I'll talk about the bands because</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:35</time>
<p>our listeners will appreciate some of the bands that they got and</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:38</time>
<p>some of the singers that they got.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:40</time>
<p>But it was wild,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:41</time>
<p>so.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:42</time>
<p>The bigger balls.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:44</time>
<p>I use that word.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:45</time>
<p>So BCUs, Orpheus, they get these celebrities Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:49</time>
<p>To be like their kings of the ball and so, or kings of the, of the parade.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:54</time>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:54</time>
<p>So you get your Bist king, you get your Orpheus King.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:14:57</time>
<p>And uh, this year we had a putty from Seinfeld, and I know Orpheus had, uh, Noah</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:06</time>
<p>Wiley from, uh, er in the new pitch show.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:10</time>
<p>And</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:10</time>
<p>I mean, and they had like.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:11</time>
<p>Like a second celebrity?</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:12</time>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:13</time>
<p>Is Anthony.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:14</time>
<p>Whatever the, the Falcon who took over the Captain America role.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:18</time>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:18</time>
<p>I don't know his name.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:19</time>
<p>Anthony.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:19</time>
<p>Anthony something.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:20</time>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:20</time>
<p>Another actor.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:21</time>
<p>So, but, and then they get fa very famous performers to perform music for the night.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:27</time>
<p>And there's been like ZZ Top.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:30</time>
<p>And this year we had a Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:33</time>
<p>Jefferson, Starship</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:34</time>
<p>Starship,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:34</time>
<p>which was I, I was sitting there and I was like, man.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:37</time>
<p>These guys are really, really good.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:39</time>
<p>They sound just like, just like the music and our friend turns</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:43</time>
<p>to us like, that's the band.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:45</time>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:46</time>
<p>I was like, no freaking way.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:48</time>
<p>And if it's neat, it's, you know, in 2020 they estimated 1.4.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:52</time>
<p>Million visitors come in for this.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:55</time>
<p>Really?</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:15:55</time>
<p>So this is like when people say I did Mardi Gras, they think New Orleans, right?</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:00</time>
<p>They think 'cause it Mardi Gras celebrations happen all over the south.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:03</time>
<p>Really?</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:04</time>
<p>But when you say, I went to Mardi Gras, people will think you went</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:07</time>
<p>to New Orleans and it is a big.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:09</time>
<p>Tourist thing for New Orleans.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:11</time>
<p>And one of the things that I, I mentioned in kind of my, my introduction story</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:15</time>
<p>was some of the, the torch bearers.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:17</time>
<p>Mm-hmm.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:18</time>
<p>And that's actually like a very historically accurate thing.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:20</time>
<p>'cause they would carry it.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:21</time>
<p>'cause they have to see, right.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:22</time>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:22</time>
<p>They're doing this at night and we had actually seen in one of the.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:25</time>
<p>Parades that we watch.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:26</time>
<p>I can't remember which one.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:28</time>
<p>We saw these, these guys walking around kind.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:30</time>
<p>Kind of in like an homage.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:32</time>
<p>Yeah, it was</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:32</time>
<p>in Deion.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:33</time>
<p>It</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:33</time>
<p>was the night one.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:33</time>
<p>Yeah, it was the night one.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:35</time>
<p>But they had these like propane tanks strapped to their back and</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:37</time>
<p>they had these like big old torches and so it was, it was kind of it.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:41</time>
<p>And you were telling me like, oh no, that's what they used to</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:43</time>
<p>do way back in the day because they'd have to see at night.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:46</time>
<p>And so that was actually.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:48</time>
<p>Like a thing that they actually continue to do for these night parades.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:51</time>
<p>So they still try to keep some of that history there as we saw</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:56</time>
<p>when we went down here in 2026.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:16:58</time>
<p>Yeah, it was super neat to be a part of it all and to to be a</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:03</time>
<p>part of all of the mass crowds.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:05</time>
<p>So you gotta be ready.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:05</time>
<p>There's a lot of people, like I said, 1.4 million people, but everyone.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:11</time>
<p>Seemed to get along.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:12</time>
<p>But I, we, we saw everyone really getting along.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:14</time>
<p>They had a lot of law enforcement out there making sure that</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:17</time>
<p>things were getting along.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:18</time>
<p>But, uh, it was really a lot of fun and to be a part of.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:22</time>
<p>But it's a lot.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:23</time>
<p>You gotta kind of pace yourself.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:24</time>
<p>We walked about 10,000 steps every day.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:26</time>
<p>It's a lot of walking.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:28</time>
<p>Uh, and so very loud.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:29</time>
<p>So Scott was talking about the bands.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:31</time>
<p>They have these marching bands that are basically scattered, uh, within</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:36</time>
<p>the floats and marching bands from.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:39</time>
<p>Local New Orleans high schools.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:41</time>
<p>We saw some from Memphis High schools and they always seem to stop right</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:45</time>
<p>beside us with the drums and the horns.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:47</time>
<p>It's so loud and it's very loud.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:49</time>
<p>So you have to be, I had, if you see any of the videos or</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:52</time>
<p>uh, that we have on Instagram, I have earplugs in the whole time.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:56</time>
<p>Uh, but another tradition we partook of is the king cake.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:58</time>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:17:59</time>
<p>So they have this cake that is very.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:03</time>
<p>Traditional New Orleans, and it has the frosting with the three</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:06</time>
<p>colors on it, and it's like a pastry taste, A lot like a cinnamon roll.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:10</time>
<p>And they put a little glass, baby Jesus in the king cake.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:15</time>
<p>And if you, I think it's</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:17</time>
<p>plastic nowadays, but</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:18</time>
<p>yeah, I think it used to be glass.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:19</time>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:19</time>
<p>And if you got the baby Jesus in your.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:23</time>
<p>It's supposed to bring you good luck, and then you're supposed to throw the</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:26</time>
<p>next party, you're supposed to bake the next king cake and throw the next party.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:30</time>
<p>So, uh, we did not get the baby Jesus, but, uh, but it's kind of fun if you ever</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:35</time>
<p>have a king cake that that's inside there.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:37</time>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:38</time>
<p>And, and that's a big thing.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:39</time>
<p>Like I, I've worked with people in the Navy who are from New Orleans, and</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:42</time>
<p>they're always you, you end up in some navy building and around Mardi Gras,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:46</time>
<p>somebody's from New Orleans, and there's always, there always ends up being</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:49</time>
<p>a king cake somewhere in the spaces.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:51</time>
<p>Yeah, exactly.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:52</time>
<p>And so we had to have it, we had to try it.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:54</time>
<p>Of course, all the other Southern fair, we had some great, uh,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:18:57</time>
<p>crawfish bread and gumbo and eating all the seafood that was there.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:02</time>
<p>But we also, you know, there's a lot of history in New Orleans.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:04</time>
<p>We have a whole video of the history and we were gonna do some</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:08</time>
<p>of the cemeteries there, but.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:11</time>
<p>Because of all the tourism, they have shut down the ones that are</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:15</time>
<p>closer to the city for public access.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:18</time>
<p>And you have to, you can only visit them, especially St. Louis, number one,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:21</time>
<p>which is the most famous one that is the closest to the downtown of New Orleans.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:26</time>
<p>You can only access it by a tour.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:30</time>
<p>And you can imagine the tours were pretty sold out at</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:32</time>
<p>expensive for this time of year.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:34</time>
<p>But we wanted to talk about that history of bearing people above ground because</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:39</time>
<p>a lot of this Lent and Mardi Gras, you're kind of dancing around this</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:44</time>
<p>idea of heaven and the afterlife, and that's a very big New Orleans thing.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:49</time>
<p>And, um.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:51</time>
<p>New Orleans started bury people or started the cemeteries in 1780s, uh,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:19:55</time>
<p>the late 1780s, but they didn't start bearing people above ground till 1805.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:00</time>
<p>And they started doing that because of the water table there, because</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:03</time>
<p>how close they are to sea level, actually kind of below sea level.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:07</time>
<p>And they would bury people in the ground, but the first flood or hurricane grandma</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:12</time>
<p>would go floating down the street, right?</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:14</time>
<p>So they would be like, oh my gosh, we have to get her and put her back in the ground.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:17</time>
<p>And so what was the.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:19</time>
<p>Better way to do this is they brought over this idea from</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:23</time>
<p>France, as you can imagine, right?</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:25</time>
<p>It's very French, Spanish influence there and started to bury people</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:29</time>
<p>above ground in these tombs.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:32</time>
<p>And if you know anything about New Orleans and humidity and heat, these tombs</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:38</time>
<p>really act like ovens, like brick ovens.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:42</time>
<p>And after a year and a day.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:45</time>
<p>They will open the tune back up and bring the bones out, and it's another</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:48</time>
<p>kind of party because that's all that's left of you after a year and a day.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:52</time>
<p>It doesn't matter when they put you in a year and a day later.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:20:55</time>
<p>If you make, if your body goes through an entire Louisiana summer, after a year and</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:01</time>
<p>a day, all that's left of you is bones.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:03</time>
<p>After that time, everything has.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:07</time>
<p>Basically disintegrated off of you.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:09</time>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:09</time>
<p>And so they bring the bones back out, celebrate that, and put</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:12</time>
<p>the bones back into the chute.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:14</time>
<p>And then they reuse the tomb for families.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:16</time>
<p>So you'll see these tombs in New Orleans family tombs that have 20, 30 names.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:22</time>
<p>All those bones are in there.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:24</time>
<p>And at one time the body was in there and that is their family tomb.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:29</time>
<p>And so they really treat these cemeteries.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:31</time>
<p>Much like if we saw our video of pier cliche, like little neighborhoods with</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:36</time>
<p>little streets and little houses of your family and you can walk through</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:40</time>
<p>them and celebrate them and long-term tombs, long-term family tombs that</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:46</time>
<p>have been there, that are part of the original families of New Orleans, uh,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:49</time>
<p>we were not able to do that, but it's very much a part of their culture</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:52</time>
<p>there and a part of that whole, I would say, the mystery of the city.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:57</time>
<p>So, uh.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:21:58</time>
<p>Just know that we were out there celebrating and we got to be a part of it.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:02</time>
<p>Uh, it would probably be our last time doing that because it, it's a lot and we</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:09</time>
<p>had to be away from the kids for four days and it's, uh, it's a, it's an expense so</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:13</time>
<p>you can think of the crews that do this.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:15</time>
<p>It's an expense to do this as well.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:17</time>
<p>But they were celebrating America two 50 and so that's really</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:20</time>
<p>what brought us out there.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:21</time>
<p>And I actually made a walk with History Bead specifically for it.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:26</time>
<p>And I walked around with this, and so they had a lot of America, two</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:31</time>
<p>50 beads and a themed floats, and that's really why we were there to</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:36</time>
<p>celebrate America two 50 at Mardi Gras.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:39</time>
<p>It was also coincided with our wedding anniversary.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:42</time>
<p>It was really great for walk with history to be there.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:44</time>
<p>Uh, we were recognized, so that was super fun as well.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:47</time>
<p>But if you wanna know like a little history of it, if you're</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:50</time>
<p>interested in going, uh, hopefully we have some ideas for you.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:54</time>
<p>My recommendation if you go to Mardi Gras is go with someone who has done</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:22:58</time>
<p>it and go with someone who has some access to something and has plans.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:02</time>
<p>It is nicer to be on the grandstand.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:05</time>
<p>It's nicer to be kind of higher up.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:07</time>
<p>It's kind of nice to know.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:08</time>
<p>Where's good places to eat?</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:10</time>
<p>Where's good places to stay?</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:12</time>
<p>It's if you went just for free for all, you probably would be just fine.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:16</time>
<p>It's the city seems ready, but it's kind of nice to have all</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:20</time>
<p>of that planned out for you.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:21</time>
<p>So again, follow us on Instagram, you'll see more of that of</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:25</time>
<p>how we experienced Mardi Gras.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:26</time>
<p>But, uh, happy Fat Tuesday to everybody.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:29</time>
<p>Happy lent to everybody.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:31</time>
<p>And leading up to Easter.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:37</time>
<p>as the last float of our journey rounds, the corner and the flashing</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:40</time>
<p>lights fade into the distance.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:42</time>
<p>We're left with more than just a sidewalk covered in plastic beads and glitter.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:47</time>
<p>We've seen Mardi Gras evolve from a desperate act of remembrance in a</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:51</time>
<p>swampy outpost to a gilded, dangerous masquerade, and finally into the massive</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:56</time>
<p>inclusive heartbeat of the Gulf Coast.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:23:59</time>
<p>It's a holiday that has survived fires, yellow fever, outbreaks,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:02</time>
<p>world wars and hurricanes.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:04</time>
<p>And why does it persist?</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:05</time>
<p>Because at its core, Mardi Gras isn't about the inappropriate</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:08</time>
<p>chaos of the past or the commercial spectacle of the present.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:12</time>
<p>It's about defiance.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:14</time>
<p>It's the collective decision of a people to stop time put on a</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:17</time>
<p>mask, and celebrate the sheer joy of being alive before the lent of</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:21</time>
<p>everyday life begins again tomorrow.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:25</time>
<p>Whether you're catching beads in New Orleans or catching celebrations</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:28</time>
<p>in the Cajun countryside, you aren't just watching a parade.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:32</time>
<p>You're stepping into a 300 year old dance.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:35</time>
<p>So next time you see a stray purple bead caught in the cracks of a sidewalk,</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:39</time>
<p>remember, the party never truly ends.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:42</time>
<p>It just waits for next year.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:44</time>
<p>We'll talk to you next time.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:45</time>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:47</time>
<p>This has been a Walk with History, production Talk with History is</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:50</time>
<p>created and hosted by me, Scott Benny episode Researched by Jennifer Benny.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:55</time>
<p>Check out the show notes for links and references mentioned in this episode.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:24:59</time>
<p>Talk With History is supported by our community at the history road trip.com.</p>
<p></p>
<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:25:05</time>
<p>Our eternal thanks go out to our lifetime members to help keep us going.</p>
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<cite>Speaker:</cite>
<time>00:25:08</time>
<p>Thank you to Doug Liberty, Larry Meyers.</p>
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<time>00:25:11</time>
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<time>00:25:15</time>
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<time>00:25:20</time>
<p>Lynch, Dino Garner, Mark Barrett, Don Kennedy and John Simpson.</p>
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<time>00:25:27</time>
<p>Make sure you hit that follow button in that podcast player</p>
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<time>00:25:29</time>
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