Marching Group from Krewe of Boo

       New Orleans and it's above-ground cemeteries hosts a lot of ghouls everyday of the year.

Saturday night encouraged all of the local and out-of-town ghouls to parade through the French Quarters.  This event invites young and old to participate in a rather new tradition. We celebrate the Feast of All Saints and All Hallows Eve with the same passion. A little fright causes squeals of delight when candy, and locally made goodies are thrown out by characters that make us a little creepy. Dancers moving to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and the New Orleans' classic, "Morgus" delivered smiles to this local. Thank you Brian Kern for another great idea.

"  The Kern family has been creating Mardi Gras magic since 1947, and Brian is used to carnival innovations. Since taking the reigns of the exciting New Orleans Halloween parade, the Krewe of BOO, Brian Kern has come up with an innovative solution to the same-old-beads waste problem: Locally-made throws that won’t just be tons of trash to have to clean up after the parade passes by! New Orleans-made food items and local collectible objects parade goers will want to consume or keep as mementos of the exciting new celebration.

• ​Each rider in the Krewe of BOO will throw – instead of beads:
• 250 Eco Friendly cups from Giacona Container Company (Louisiana made)
• 750 pieces of candy made in the USA
• 100 Pralinettes from Aunt Sally’s (Made in New Orleans)
• 36 PJs Coffee Frac Packs (Made in New Orleans)0 Carmel Corn bags and 50 Chee Wees bags from Elmer’s Fine Foods (Made in New Orleans)
• 50 Zydeco Sweet Potato Nutrition Bars (Louisiana made)
• 25 Candy Corn Necklaces (hand made in New Orleans)
• 25 Voodoo Doll pins (hand made in New Orleans)
• 25 Voodoo Doll magnets (hand made in New Orleans)
• 25 Mixed Children’s Toys Grab Bag from Arc of Greater New Orleans includes stuffed animals, frisbees, cozies, toys and games "

http://www.kreweofboo.com/

New Orleans Museum of Art has an extraordinary exhibit, "The Making of an Argument." This moving photojournalism description of Red Jackson from 1948 could be about New Orleans today. The two sides of Red Jackson that was captured by Mr. Parks is slanted by the Life Magazine editors.
http://noma.org/exhibitions/detail/71/


The following work was written by me in 2012. I felt anger rising up in me as I progressed from room to room and saw how I am capable of skewing an argument too, and how little we have learned in 65 years.. I pray that my words do not sound shallow.

439 years of slavery

How does one undo what has been done over centuries?

The Old Testament talks about the sins of the fathers on the next three generations.

Race, sexual orientation, religion: Issues which tear at the fabric of our humanity.

We fight one another pouring toxic energy into our genetic pool perpetuating this insanity;

Polluting the next 150 years;

The cycle keeps going on and on moving like a cancer;

Dormant and ready to invade the surrounding cells with the next inspiration.

Bigotry, idolatry, homophobia, superiority; all words that cause toxicity.

Duplicity, psychosis, phobia; we wait for the next breath between clinched teeth.

We can’t think because our inspiration and our oxygen are seeking entrance through a narrow opening.

A tight tiny space

through which we sip

little puffs of ai.r

Like a mother delivering a breeched baby.

We want to push and birth the baby;

But pushing too quickly would be dangerous.

So we labor intensely and wait

For the one last push;

Accompanied by a cleansing scream.

Only to find out that the baby is infected with the cancer from the previous generation.

We’ve given birth to sickness not health.

Modern technology and science are unable to cure the disease. So our newly born child

Waits, listens, and learns to imitate the sounds of hatred and suffering of its ancestors.

Even though we preach freedom, love, and peace; we silently pray for revenge.

Our prayers are heard and lived out through our children.

They hear what we are not saying and act where we have grown tired.

Our voices are strained with the shallow breath of anger and tension.

Rather then a full bodied exhalation;

We take in too little oxygen to feed our brains.

Oxygen deprived cerebral cortexes revert us to our primate brains, which

Reaches for the nearest stick or demands that we flee the situation.

Taking deep breaths would give the cerebral matter time to create a solution.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Breathe; wait for the cerebellum to propose options.

Breathe and let our children view the fully inspired human being that we can be.

Breathe and exhale the carbon dioxide that feeds the trees and reminds us

How connected we all are.

Written after viewing “Higher Learning” by Rosalynn Rizzo-Moore; August 12, 2002

http://noma.org/exhibitions/detail/71/