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View Full Version : Mardi Gras in N.O.??? Exactly how insane is it to go?



Sitarro
02-20-2007, 06:19 AM
Knowing what we know about New Orleans, it's geography, the fact that on Mardi Gras day they pack a million people downtown(a high percentage drunk), the proximity of the Mississippi River to downtown....would any of you even consider going.

I was speaking to a friend last night and discussing just how vulnerable it is to an attack that could easily be the biggest disaster imaginable, a disaster that would make Katrina a meaningless joke.

30 years ago, standing in Jackson Square, looking towards the Mississippi and seeing three quarters of a very large ship going by I realized just how bad of a position I was in. I was looking up at a ship that was way above my head, at the very least twenty - thirty feet, I decided then I would never go back. Now, when very evil people look for targets that would be seen by the world and do as much damage as possible with one act, Mardi Gras in New Orleans seems too perfect.

I hope that this isn't something that happens but it is definitely a chance I would never think of taking.

Nienna
02-20-2007, 10:47 AM
Just the million drunk people is enough to keep me away. :)

darin
02-20-2007, 11:02 AM
I'd go. And if Mary went, I'd expect her to get a LOT of beads.

:D

Mr. P
02-20-2007, 11:03 AM
Just the million drunk people is enough to keep me away. :)

Same here, I've never had a desire to go, in fact I've had overnight trips to NO and never left the hotel. Mr. P is boring.

darin
02-20-2007, 11:04 AM
Same here, I've never had a desire to go, in fact I've had overnight trips to NO and never left the hotel. Mr. P is boring.

Naw...just OLD...not boring.

:D

Birdzeye
02-20-2007, 11:39 AM
I'd love to go back to NO someday and dine in some of their renowned restaurants such as K Paul's.

The one time I went there, I remember during the cab ride from the airport we drove past a levee (one of the ones that got breached during Katrina, I believe) where the water level inside the levees was higher than the rooftops of nearby houses. That gave me the creeps.

darin
02-20-2007, 11:43 AM
I'd love to go back to NO someday and dine in some of their renowned restaurants such as K Paul's.

The one time I went there, I remember during the cab ride from the airport we drove past a levee (one of the ones that got breached during Katrina, I believe) where the water level inside the levees was higher than the rooftops of nearby houses. That gave me the creeps.


Did you flash anybody?

Nienna
02-20-2007, 11:44 AM
I would have liked to have gone to NO (NOT during Mardi Gras), before Katrina. Some of the architecture there was beautiful. I wonder how much of it is gone forever and how much will be restored.

Hagbard Celine
02-20-2007, 11:46 AM
Knowing what we know about New Orleans, it's geography, the fact that on Mardi Gras day they pack a million people downtown(a high percentage drunk), the proximity of the Mississippi River to downtown....would any of you even consider going.

I was speaking to a friend last night and discussing just how vulnerable it is to an attack that could easily be the biggest disaster imaginable, a disaster that would make Katrina a meaningless joke.

30 years ago, standing in Jackson Square, looking towards the Mississippi and seeing three quarters of a very large ship going by I realized just how bad of a position I was in. I was looking up at a ship that was way above my head, at the very least twenty - thirty feet, I decided then I would never go back. Now, when very evil people look for targets that would be seen by the world and do as much damage as possible with one act, Mardi Gras in New Orleans seems too perfect.

I hope that this isn't something that happens but it is definitely a chance I would never think of taking.

I'll go if I'm allowed to bring a knife and a pistol to protect myself from all the criminals festering down there.

darin
02-20-2007, 12:09 PM
I would have liked to have gone to NO (NOT during Mardi Gras), before Katrina. Some of the architecture there was beautiful. I wonder how much of it is gone forever and how much will be restored.

If you went, would you flash anybody? :)

Nienna
02-20-2007, 12:19 PM
If you went, would you flash anybody? :)

Not a chance. Not willingly.

darin
02-20-2007, 12:21 PM
Not a chance. Not willingly.

I dunno - peer-pressure...a little alcohol... :D

:boobies:

Birdzeye
02-20-2007, 12:31 PM
Did you flash anybody?


Ah, nope. Though I thought clothing should have been optional, since it was the middle of summer and hotter than hell. And humid to boot.

avatar4321
02-20-2007, 01:13 PM
It's amazing. We essentially saw a city destroyed in one day and people havent learned a thing from it.

Abbey Marie
02-20-2007, 02:39 PM
Just the million drunk people is enough to keep me away. :)

Exactly!

Nienna
02-20-2007, 03:23 PM
I dunno - peer-pressure...a little alcohol... :D

:boobies:

I'm a nerd, and I don't drink. :)

Mr. P
02-20-2007, 03:49 PM
I'm a nerd, and I don't drink. :)

The cutest nerd I ever saw. Toooo bad I’m old enough to be yer dad.

Wait! That didn't bother what's her name. :laugh:

darin
02-20-2007, 03:59 PM
I don't drink. :)

:bsflag:

Nienna
02-20-2007, 04:01 PM
:bsflag:

I do not often drink, and when I do, I don't drink much. Okay? More accurate?


:)

Nienna
02-20-2007, 04:02 PM
The cutest nerd I ever saw. Toooo bad I’m old enough to be yer dad.

Wait! That didn't bother what's her name. :laugh:

Mr P... you are a SWEETIE! :D

darin
02-20-2007, 04:03 PM
I do not often drink, and when I do, I don't drink much. Okay? More accurate?


:)

You complete me.

:D

avatar4321
02-20-2007, 04:47 PM
I'm a nerd, and I don't drink. :)

Neither do I. But I bet im alot more nerdy than you are;)

Nienna
02-20-2007, 06:56 PM
Neither do I. But I bet im alot more nerdy than you are;)

When it comes to nerds, NO ONE beats my daddy. Thick black glasses, slicked-back hair, pocket protectors, slide rule in the belt loop, plaid pants & loafers, and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

:D

http://www.rent-a-nerd.com/images/nerd.gif

(Only my daddy was chubby.)

Sitarro
02-20-2007, 07:00 PM
When it comes to nerds, NO ONE beats my daddy. Thick black glasses, slicked-back hair, pocket protectors, slide rule in the belt loop, plaid pants & loafers, and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

:D

http://www.rent-a-nerd.com/images/nerd.gif

(Only my daddy was chubby.)

Slide rule!!!!!! That is nerdy and so incredibly old school( I actually remember using a round slide rule...it was very advanced:laugh: ).

Mr. P
02-20-2007, 07:33 PM
Slide rule!!!!!! That is nerdy and so incredibly old school( I actually remember using a round slide rule...it was very advanced:laugh: ).

Used one of these for a few years....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E6B

Gunny
02-20-2007, 09:34 PM
Knowing what we know about New Orleans, it's geography, the fact that on Mardi Gras day they pack a million people downtown(a high percentage drunk), the proximity of the Mississippi River to downtown....would any of you even consider going.

I was speaking to a friend last night and discussing just how vulnerable it is to an attack that could easily be the biggest disaster imaginable, a disaster that would make Katrina a meaningless joke.

30 years ago, standing in Jackson Square, looking towards the Mississippi and seeing three quarters of a very large ship going by I realized just how bad of a position I was in. I was looking up at a ship that was way above my head, at the very least twenty - thirty feet, I decided then I would never go back. Now, when very evil people look for targets that would be seen by the world and do as much damage as possible with one act, Mardi Gras in New Orleans seems too perfect.

I hope that this isn't something that happens but it is definitely a chance I would never think of taking.

Haven't been since 1977, and have no intention of going. Hell, you can't even depend on locals to let you know a Cat 5 hurricane is bearing down on the place.:poke:

Merlin
02-20-2007, 10:08 PM
I'll go if I'm allowed to bring a knife and a pistol to protect myself from all the criminals festering down there.

When you go into a bar in New Orleans, they search you. If you don't have a gun or knife, they give you one.
I haven't been to Mardi Gras since 1956 and have no intention of ever going again. It's been about 40 years since I've been there and I don't live but 25 miles north as the crow flies. 40 miles around the road.

Mr. P
02-20-2007, 10:39 PM
When you go into a bar in New Orleans, they search you. If you don't have a gun or knife, they give you one.
I haven't been to Mardi Gras since 1956 and have no intention of ever going again. It's been about 40 years since I've been there and I don't live but 25 miles north as the crow flies. 40 miles around the road.

Hey I've been to places like that! :cheers2:

Sitarro
02-20-2007, 10:43 PM
When you go into a bar in New Orleans, they search you. If you don't have a gun or knife, they give you one.
I haven't been to Mardi Gras since 1956 and have no intention of ever going again. It's been about 40 years since I've been there and I don't live but 25 miles north as the crow flies. 40 miles around the road.

I've always loved Pontchatoula's Strawberry Festival, you can't help but pass a good time der........aw mais yea!

5stringJeff
02-20-2007, 11:39 PM
I did the French Quarter once in October. I wasn't even drinking - just there to have some dinner after a football game. It was pretty wild - although the one thing I remember was the street preacher.

Merlin
02-21-2007, 05:46 AM
I've always loved Pontchatoula's Strawberry Festival, you can't help but pass a good time der........aw mais yea!

What was the earliest and what is the latest one you have been to? I went every year from 1972-1979 and haven't been back since except to drive an antique car in the parade, but haven't done that in so many years I can't even remember the last time. Too many people for me. I don't even like strawberries. When I was a kid I said if I ever get of this %*&*#@% strawberry farm I wasn't going to touch another strawberry. I didn't until about 8 years ago and I planted my wife one row, but the birds ate them as fast as they would ripen so I told the birds, "if I don't get them, you don't either", and plowed them up. That was the end of that.