Mardi Gras

I have a pile and a half of algebra papers to grade (Abstract Algebra, that is, not Intermediate or College Algebra) and I'm trying hard not to avoid them. If I don't finish grading them before Thursday, I'll receive a third pile. The university is hosting a math contest tomorrow, and I have responsibilities involved, so I'd better get cracking. But first, I've want to write this for a few days.

Yesterday and today are a Mardi Gras holiday at the university. If you thought that Mardi Gras was unique to New Orleans, you were mistaken! Hattiesburg has some krewes in Hattiesburg, too. Well, perhaps not "some", but at least one. A few articles in Sunday's paper reported that "the krewe of Zeus" had chosen their king and queen and held bashes for their courts. These are not teenagers or debutantes, ladies and gentlemen; these are middle-aged men and women dressing up in king and queen outfits. I saw the photos, and if you dig around enough at the Hattiesburg American's website, you probably can too.

I'm not aware of any actual parades, but apparently Mardi Gras is a big deal around all of southern Mississippi and Louisiana. I gave a talk at Louisiana State University last week, so I learned that they get three days off. Here we are in the Bible belt, and I find people celebrating one of the most pagan festivals of Catholic culture. Trust me: there aren't that many Catholics in this area. The love of a good party transcends denominational boundaries. Ecumenists should take a hint from this.

While driving to and from Baton Rouge, where Louisiana State is located, I listened to New Orleans talk radio. The talk show host asked listeners to call in and state their opinion on which of the super krewes is most consistently the best: Endemian, Orpheus, or Gracchus. I had never heard of any of these groups before that day, but loads of people called in to express their opinion. (In case you're wondering, Endemian had the most fans.)

You may have heard of the crime wave in New Orleans, and the host was concerned about that, too; he also asked listeners to comment on the local DA's office declining to press any charges at all against a local man who has been arrested twenty four times in the last two years, all for violent crimes.

Hattiesburg has also suffered a crime wave, although it's mild in comparison to New Orleans. Part of the problem appears to be that an alarming number of policemen have left in the last few years.

In New Orleans, they don't talk only about Mardi Gras, either. One radio announcement asked listeners to tune in on Lundi Gras, Monday.