Neighbors drinking beer:
What are these sweet old people with their fluffy dog looking at?
Possibly, these guys:
The Southern Decadence parade started at the gay bar across the street. It was hard to choose my favorite pictures - there were transvestite Trekkies, flappers, belles in period dress, dragons of indeterminate gender, and, in the barely-costumed category, bare-chested tribal warriors, sailors (in Speedos and caps), and the leather-strap people.
Most spirit? Most flesh? Not sure what award they should get:
The coolest thing about the parades is pretty much anyone can join up and walk along (see guy in cut-offs, above). They strike a fine balance between the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and a bunch of people walking around drinking beer outside for hours. And they happen all the time ... I think the origins are African-American 'jazz funerals' and Mardi Gras and probably several other cultural traditions.
This lady is bending down to give candy to a little boy. A few minutes later, a (costumed) friend of the boy and his mother came up. "What's he think of it?" he said. "Oh, he says it's like church." "What kind of church do you go to?"
My very favorites have to be the bathing beauties:
Next time: photos of the really pretty stuff!