Ash Wednesday

It is Ash Wednesday.
On the way to the little Algiers Point Market, to get one pack of cigarettes, the Catholic church had its bells ringing and a modest number of people were getting out of their cars in the light drizzle, which began in the middle of the morning, as it has been doing for the past 3 days, and making their way into the building.
I wondered if I should say "Happy Ash Wednesday," to them, or not.
Something tells me that this day after Fat Tuesday is when people mark their foreheads with ashes to remind themselves that from ashes they came and that there they will return.
Myslelf, I came from dust; but I can still relate.
E-Bay Order Goes Through
I think that I have succeeded in ordering both the USB cable for my Obama phone, so that I will be able to use the pictures that I have been taking, and the A/C adapter for the Samsung laptop, so that I can use it remotely, powered off the battery; and basically blog or record music as inspiration strikes.
The orders should be shipped "on or before" February 20th.
Mardi Gras Recap

The scene at Mardi Gras was very loud almost everywhere.
No stronger has the point ever been made to me that if I had an amplifier, I would have stood to have made pretty decent money.
I already knew that, of course, but needed to be reminded; again.
Walking down Royal Street and not even thinking of setting up  to play my acoustic guitar because of the need to shout back and forth from whomever is standing next to you, I saw some familiar musicians playing through their amplifiers and they all at least seemed to have the same 20 bucks or so, after just a couple hours with the exception of Kaleq, the clarinetist, whose 5 gallon bucket was filled to the brim, and Tanya and Dorise, whose baskets were straining.
I found that even my pet spot on Bourbon Street, across from Barnabys condo was being encroached upon by loud music coming from Laffits Blacksmith Shop (brewery) down the street; and Villiage People music coming from the gay club in the other direction.
I could have kept moving farther from the hub of activity, like a Yorkshire Terrier in the corner of the dining room, hoping some little crumb will topple off the edge as the big slabs are being sheared and passed around the table above.
I also could have played a waiting game; staying on my spot until even Bourbon Street starts to "slow down" at about 3 a.m. and a lot of the noise subsides, and then just played for the people straggling back to their hotels, but, by that hour I had usually eaten and gone off to sleep.

There was plenty of food and drink to be had; enough so that I was bringing Howard back Styrofoam containers full of the finest that New Orleans has to offer.
I guess that if I could go back in time and do things differently, I would have done whatever I could to have gotten an amplifier; and then let the amplifier pay for itself and then some...live and learn...

It is raining lightly; it is Wednesday; I need to wait another week around here in order to get the cables delivered.
Then, I think it would be a good idea to go to Houston, just to get moving in some direction...
I ran into the same kid that I had jammed with a couple of times; sitting by Sydneys beer and wine store.
He had a 20 and a 5 dollar bill in his case and noticably less enthusiasm for playing music; or a high amount of intoxication. His playing was sloppy, as we jammed.
One guy put a couple of bucks in my case and said "You're awesome," or something to that effect; and the implication was that he was singling me out apart from the kid, who was trying to play rhythm.
The kid soon realized his situation and took his leave; I played a little longer and then caught the last ferry across the river; choosing not to hang out all night and try to wring the last penny out of the tourists and bringing a miserable Mardi Gras 2013 to a merciful close...now what?