Beads.
Costumes.
And lots of shiny things.
Honestly, what other toys are needed to keep anyone entertained for a weekend of craziness in New Orleans.
The better half of my weekend was spent yelling "Cups! Cups!" as goliath wooden floats made their way through the jammed crowds of children strapped to the tops of ladders.
Of course the debauchery of Bourbon Street was appealing, but my attention was kept by the bright colors and child-like atmosphere of the themed parades.
For the weekend, age doesn't exist.
You can't tell a 40-year-old woman apart from a 4-year-old boy with all the excitement and need for cheap presents launched from atop the floats.
I'm not sure how many kids I raced for footballs, cups and stuffed animals.
The blinking tambourine seemed to the popular pick on our corner of St. Charles.
Of course some little squirt stomped on the one I grabbed once he realized he wasn't going to get it.
The people get vicious with their need for 25 cent bead necklaces and $1 knickknacks.
Dads were leaning over their kids on the ladders reaching for any possible object thrown in the air.
(All for their child, of course.)
Bourbon Street has lots to offer, especially when I was with a group that had never spent a Mardi Gras in the chaotic mixture of jaded locals and neurotic tourists.
The young gentlemen in my group were like children in a candy store.
The balconies provided a throne for the boys to bestow their goodies (beads) upon the crowd.
At one point on one of the nights, a mass of dollar bills were thrown from the balcony, and the streets went wild.
You would have thought they were $100 bills.
We are in a recession; every dollar counts.
With that, everyone seemed to be on a mission for the $8 green, oblonged grenades that only two places sold on the whole street.
There was a moment of complete stillness within the crowd because of the over-capacity of people in the street in front of one of these places.
It felt like Walmart on Black Friday.
The best part about getting through the immobile herd was looking to the right and seeing the silhouette of Jesus just one block over.
The weekend was a success overall.
We came back with no tickets, added jail time, tattoos or broken bones.
We did, however, bring back a few awards for the wall.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
