Last week I had a guy in the shop who had been watching a programme the evening before on TV about Mardi Gras in New Orleans . He said that it looked mad and that he was going to go over to it sometime . Then he asked if I had ever been to anything like that . I was there once , but my story is a little different from most ;
A number of years back when I was doing a bit of globe trotting I found myself in New York city with a greyhound bus ticket that would get me as far as New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras and 210 dollars in my pocket . The wise move would have been to stay in New York where I could stay with friends and go back working as a plumber for a company that I had worked for previously . The not so wise move would be to get on the bus and to make it to New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras and try to get some work and a place to stay when I arrived . When you are in you’re mid-twenties with only a rucksack on your back you rarely choose the wise move .
The bus route took me via Pennsylvania , Washington , Virginia , The Carolina’s , Alabama , Mississippi and through parts of Louisiana into New Orleans itself . The bus station is in the shadow of the super-dome and at that time of year in early February it was already getting warm . First stop was a youth hostel on St. Charles avenue in the garden district . Here I deposited my rucksack less the valuables ( passport , 2 wallets – real one and a spare with 10 single dollars , an out of date racing license and banklink card to produce in the event of an attempted mugging ) on the top bunk in a 20 man dormitory .
The guy on the bunk underneath was called Sam and he was heading into the city so we decided to head in together . As it turned out Sam was from New Orleans ( or Nawlins as the locals say ) and was staying in the hostel as he could not go home due to the fact that his next door neighbour had a barring order on him which meant that he could not go within 100 yards of the neighbour , or his home . His girlfriend was an exotic dancer and was coming back to town soon for Mardi Gras and would set them up in an apartment when she arrived . When travelling you tend to take everyone at face value , so I listened away and if what he was telling me was true , it was true , if not so what . As it turned out it was all true !
Sam also told me that he had met a girl from Ireland on Bourbon street the previous evening and that he would introduce us later . He too was looking for work so we forged a job seeking alliance whilst he also acted as my own personal guide as we rode in towards the city centre on a streetcar .
We arrived at Bourbon street in the French quarter at just after mid-day and it was a sight to behold . People everywhere were festooned with plastic beads and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves no-end . Live music was pouring out from the bars and many were drinking on the street . I thought that this was a full on party until Sam informed me that it was very quiet and we headed to Cafe du Monde for coffee and beignets .
That evening , after very little job hunting , we watched a huge parade on Canal street with massive , colour full floats of every description staffed with revellers who were throwing these plastic bead necklaces at the crowd . The crowd were going mad for them and later that evening I found out what the big attraction was .
We returned to Bourbon street around 8 pm to find it thronged with thousands and thousands of people . We did actually meet the ‘Irish girl ‘ that Sam met the previous evening . Turned out she was from Iceland . Sam didn’t see what the big difference was .
I also discovered the significance of the beads . Many women who looked as though they would normally be calm and reserved were very willing to expose their bare chests in exchange for the beads . This form of bartering seemed to be going on all around and began to feel normal after a while . Just shows you can get used to anything I guess .
After a few days without any job seeking success and as my funds were diminishing rapidly , paying 20 dollars per night for the hostel bed became a luxury I could no longer afford . Sam’s girlfriend had arrived and she was subsidising his existence so he was less inclined to look for work . So I moved on from the hostel and headed back to the bus station to assess my situation .
I was now down to 22 dollars . The locker in the station where I could leave my rucksack cost a dollar a day . Ramen noodles were 10 packs for a dollar in the supermarket and could be eaten raw . I knew only Sam and was now residing in the Greyhound bus station . I could wash each morning in the public restroom before it got busy and could sleep stretched out on the seats at night . I placed my rucksack in the lockers and spent 4 days non-stop going around every building site , shop and restaurant in New Orleans looking for work . Then I got lucky . I met the foreman on a big site , an old mill which took up a full city block and was being converted into apartments . The plumbers were falling behind and their boss Randle Waddle , was using the excuse that they couldn’t get enough staff . Introductions were made and I promised that there was nothing I could not or would not do . I began work the following morning with the ten dollars from my back up wallet in my real one and two dollars in my back up wallet .
This was Thursday and I would not get paid until the following Friday but at least I knew I was getting back on track . There were 350 employees and 348 of them were from within a 40 mile radius of the job site . One other was a carpenter from Jamaica who was called Rastaman and I was very soon allocated the name ‘Leprechaun’ as I was from Ireland . Being 6′3” didn’t seem to have any bearing upon the title .
By Wednesday I was getting to know my work colleagues and at tea-break time they were taking an interest in me . They were amazed that people from Ireland all ate raw Ramen noodles for their tea-break and lunch . Then one asked me where I was staying . I replied ‘ down the road ‘ . This was quickly followed by ‘ where abouts down the road ‘ . I decided to come clean and informed them that I was currently residing in the Greyhound bus station but was open to suggestions of new accommodation after I got paid on Friday .
That was when ‘Hacksaw’ spoke .
‘ Ma Mawmaw an Pawpaw got a trailer out back , ya’ll can come take a look at on Fraday if ya’ll like ‘
Hacksaw was another recently released parolee and was working on the site as eighteen extended family members were also there and were trying to get him back on the straight and narrow . He spoke with a deep husky southern voice and was missing one of his front teeth from a bar room brawl . He had a Dragon tattoo down his right arm with it’s mouth between thumb and forefinger . He had another protruding above his neckline and had the muscular build of a man who had spent up to 6 hours per day in the gym as there wasn’t much else to do ‘inside’ .
My choices were few so I graciously accepted his offer and arranged to travel out to Slidell with him on Friday after we finished work , by which time I would have gone anywhere other than the bus station again .
As we left New Orleans city centre and travelled along the freeway I noticed that whilst all other vehicles seemed to be following the 55 mph speed limit guidelines we were weaving in and out between all lanes at speeds nearing 70 to 80 mph . I subtly mentioned my observation to Hacksaw but was informed that
‘ It don’t matter , I aint got no licence anyways , I got so many DUI’s under ma belt they probably ain’t never gonna give me another one ‘
And on we went . Crossing the 18 mile causeway bridge over lake Pontchartrain I briefly wondered if I’d gone one chance too far and if I would be returning . We pulled off shortly after exiting the bridge and the sights of the bayou’s and the swamps did little to calm my mood .
Then we arrived into a built up area and I calmed a little before we parked outside a hospital and Hacksaw informed me that ‘We’ had to go inside .
In we went and I was feeling very nervous as we rode up in the elevator and walked down a corridor before entering a large room . There were at least 20 people gathered around a bed where an old lady lay looking very frail . Everyone went silent as we entered and looked our way . Then Hacksaw said ;
‘ Granmaw , this here’s Leprechaun ! ‘
The elderly lady stared at me as did everyone else and I said the first thing that popped in to my head ;
‘ Aaah , how are you doing ? ‘
Grandmaw replied : ‘ I feel like I’m dyin’ son ‘
And I felt much the same too .
Someone cracked a joke about why my hair wasn’t red and the mood lightened considerably . As it turned out all of these people could not have been nicer . As ‘Grandmaw’ had taken ill many of the family had come for the weekend and Mawmaw and Pawpaw were having a Crawfish boil at their house , to which I was invited . I helped out as much as I could and assisted in loading the sack of live crawfish into the huge out door boiling pot .
At the end of the evening Mawmaw called me aside and said that I was welcome to come stay with them in the caravan out back for just 60 dollars per week . My wages were 200 , so I felt as if I had won the lotto .
Living there Hacksaw would often introduce me to his friends . I was always called Leprechaun and was occasionally informed that ‘ ya’ll ’s the first real live leprechaun I ever did do meet ! ‘
Hacksaw had one claim to fame which I was often reminded of , when he was sixteen he briefly dated Sheryl Crowe .
Sheryl Crowe is a former fiance of Lance Armstrong who was no angel growing up . I guess she likes the bad boys !
Barry
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