Mardi Gras

My favorite Mardi Gras memory is from 1990. I know that's a long time ago.

A bunch of us from the Ledger-Enquirer and a friend, Linda Szabo of the local March of Dimes office, and I went to New Orleans. We spent a good week there.

We were lucky enough to get a room at the Hotel Monteleone, which is right in the middle of the French Quarter on Royal Street.

Yep. I said one room.

That meant Linda and I had to share a room with Tim Chitwood and Mike Haskey. All of us brought sleeping bags, so we took turns sleeping on the bed or floor.

The guys were very gentlemanly.

It's strange but Linda and I roamed around the city during the day but by some unspoken agreement, we all met up for dinner every night.

The king of the Bacchus parade that year was Dennis Quaid. I swear he blew me a kiss.

The thing I remember most clearly is the final night of Mardi Gras. We all had dinner and then went walking through the French Quarter, which was packed. I mean we could hardly turn around.

For a while, I was hanging on Tim while Linda was hanging on me. And then Mike and Tim stopped to watch a woman on a balcony take off her top. The crowd pushed us on.

When I saw the end of the block, I grabbed Linda and we popped out on a side street. We decided it was safer to go back to the hotel.

We spent the rest of the night watching the festivities on television.

I don't even know what time the guys came back in.

Of course, both Tim and Mike are married now. Sadly, Linda and I are still single.

I wonder what that says about us!

I doubt that I'd got back to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but I always tell people that they need to go at least once in their lives.

You'll have the time of your life.