Page 12-Friday, April 17, 1981-The Michigan Daily

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The Michigan Daily-Friday, Apri

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Mardi Gras: A
city puts its
cares on hold

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good atoall 4 stores
TOMMY'S HOLIDAY CAMP
Packard & State
THE CROSS-EYED MOOSE
613 E. Liberty
FLIPPER McGEE'S
525 W. Cross{
1217 S. University

By STEVE HOOK
T ake 'em off ! Take 'em off !"
Outside of Fat Harry's the
patrons-primarily college-
aged and male-glare onto
a ba cony filled with playful women
gesturing to the buttons of their oxford
shirts.
"Take 'em off!" the crowd chants
wildly. Suddenly, one of the ladies
shouts, "I'll show you," whips open her
shirt, exposing large breasts. The
swarm of men cheer ecstatically.
FRESHLY PAINTED ON the wall
outside the bar is appropriate graffiti:

SINCE 1876


Go Bass
or Go Barefoot
Sandals with the perfect walking heel, new from Bass.
Leather uppers,
cushioned inner soles, in your
favorite spring colors
and fashionable brights.

"Low life is the right life and there's no
life like the wild life."
Such is the Mardi Gras for the
tourists-legitimized, institutionalized
brouhaha:
Along the parade route, costumed
characters toss necklaces, plastic
coins, and other prizes to the revelers
from their flower-covered floats.
Dozens of police officers try to keep the
people on the sidewalk, but their task is
difficult.
ONE CIVILIAN, A tall, mus-
cular man wearing a Sigma
Chi t-shirt attempts to assist the patrols
as he also ushers trinket-seekers away
from the street. Police disapprove and
converge on him.
There are gunshots, and the mob
flees in all directions. Several members
of the marching band fall to the ground,
grazed by the bullets.
In the papers the next day, both local
and national, the incident is featured
with varying interpretations. The con-
census: One officer, a volunteer for this
festivity, accidentally discharges his
drawn pistol into the parade. He is
suspended; no arrests are made.
LOCAL BLACK ORGANIZATIONS
cry foul. The officer is white; the struck
victims black-the incident is por-
trayed as racially motivated.
"Fat Tuesday is upon us once again.
That means that Ash Wednesday will
follow; we will recover, gradually;
New Orleans can become sane once
again . . . We've been through this a
couple hundred times, you know."
As the residents speak, an enigmatic,
alluring feeling prevails. The journey
from the Frigid North to the Deep
South-a journey duplicated countless
times since this town became
civilized-reveals a truckload of unan-
swered questions, glaring contradic-
tions, and twisted human nature.
THE CITY APPEARS to be
flourishing to the Yankee; Bourbon
Street is well lit and protected; the
people along the way, converging on
this strip from every direction, get
along in a giddy and delirious demon-
stration of mutual respect.
Like it or not, the toothless hobo may
be sitting on the curb, the homosexuals
may embrace on the sidewalk, the
hookers and nude dancers will beckon
through the open doors of dimly-lit
nightclubs.
At the corner of St. Peters, a crippled,
withering man sits in a wheelchair; a
plastic dish rests on his lap with two
quarters, three dimes, and a penny
scattered on top.
THE NORTHERNERS-and you can spot
them like family-continue on their
way, smoking thick cigars and drinking
20 ounce beers, munching on shrimp-
on-a-stick, and slurping oysters. The
distractions are viewed as ambient
novelty items-harmless and amusing
in their pitiful abundance.
"They don't try to impress you that
much down here, they throw them-
selves at you take-it-or-leave-it.
They're down here for the same reason
you are--for the climate, the liquor, the
river. The theme here is coexistence."
These are the thoughts at Len-
Continued on page 13

Bus...
(Continued from Page 8)
twenty years. Figure I'll be ready to
retire at 50."
"You married?"
"Naw .. . was once. Married fifteen
years to the same woman. She an' I just
had it up to here."
THE DRIVE COUGHES and
straightens in his seat, as if he was
sorry he'd revealed such private facts.
The other man is silent a moment.
"Well, that's a long time, fifteen years.
"You know," says the driver thought-
fully, "I think all women are the same,
they're all cut out of the same mold."
I TAP CAROLYN on the knee. She's
grinning.
"But you know, I believe in equal
rights. Women bring home half, men
bring home half, and then you each go
out with your own friends."
Sometime later we get offthe high-
way and roll into a parking lot filled
with big semis. The driver announces
that this is The Landmark Cafe and we
have an hour to eat. There is only a
glimmer of day on the horizon.
I get up, as does almost everyone on
the bus, carefully creep over Carolyn
who mumbles something about staying
on, and run through the freezing cold to
the cafe.
INSIDE IS a beehive of activity. The
place is filled with bright florescent
lighting, and three waitresses, wearing
red-and-white gingham dresses, serve
up big breakfast platters to drivers.
I notice our driver sitting at a table
with three other men, engaged in con-
versation. I feel a little out of place
being only a bus passenger, and one of
two women in the place; but the scene
delights me, from the waitresses'
elaborately teased-up hairdos to the
country music going hi-volume on the
jukebox.
I order orange juice and enjoy the
trucker menu: "Ten-Four Special-five
pancakes, five eggs, sausages, and a
steak: $6.95."
BY THE TIME we cross Nebraska
it's early evening, and we reach Denver
late at night. We treat ourselves to a
taxi over to the Denver Youth Hostel,
which is a particularly comfortable,
clean place.
Denver is a fast-growing metropolis
with the majestic Rockies towering in
the distance. We see the Natural
History Museum which houses a per-
manent exhibit of Indian crafts and
culture. We also go into the mountains,
which are accessible by city bus, hike a
little, and feel renewed by the clear air
and beautiful view.
After a f, -ays in Dener we catch a
night bus to Sante Fe, New Mexico.

Doily Photo by DAVID HARRIS

Rocky Mountains, Colorado

Even as the sun sets we find ourselves B. DIN ETTE
in the desert, and in the morning we see CHAIRS...............................FROM
the sun rise over hilly, dry country,
which supports only scrub bushes. C. FOUR DRAWER
CAROLYN'S COUSIN meets us at the CHESTS................. FROM
station and we drive through narrow D. ODD NIGHT
streets bordered by adobe (mud)
buildings, both old and modern. The old STANDS.................. FROM
city is the most interesting section, with E. ASSORTED
its dirt roads, art galleries, and
"trading post" gift shops. LAMPS.................................. FROM
Even though it's a big tourist town, a F. ONE-OF-A-KIN D
feeling of the old west remains. We en- LOVE SEATS...........FROM
joyed Mexican cooking at a restaurant
on the square. G. ONE-OF-A-KIND
Within 40 miles of town are sites of SOFAS............... FROM
ancient Indian ruins that can be visited
any day of the year. We were lucky H.4 PIECE
enough to be lent Carolyn's cousin's car, BEDROOM SET..................
so one day we drove out to Bandelier LIMITED QUANTITIES ON ALL 1
National Monument.
IN THE SOFT sandstone wall of an WHEN WE SELL... Y
otherwise lush canyon, Indians made Apartment Take With You...Save Deliv
caves to live in and pueblos out of Fumiure
adobe. Playful wall drawings of people,R ANN ARB
bison, and horses symbolize the vitality 4801 Washter
of this once thriving culture. j East of US r
The ride to Flagstaff, Arizona and the [ s Phone 434-5(
Grand Canyon takes a whole day. We
tiredly haul our packs to the Hotel STORE HOURS: Mon.-
Weatherford, which is one of the nicest Sat. 10-6; Sun. 1
hostels I've ever seen.
Continued on Page 19

FODLLEITS
INH., r L.


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MAST'S

CAMPUS
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Open Friday
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