Ooooh the suspense! I hope I didn't lose anyone! Like the saying, "the suspense is killing me." Assuming everyone lived, or didn't just lose interest since I drug it out exaggeratedly long. Sorry. But here we go, I'm back. Now, where were we? Ah yes...
"You know you're in Metairie right? And they're gonna beat the f#@%iNg S*&t out of you." I don't know what I said, if anything. I think I just laughed. To recap, here I am, cascading blonde hair, Danielle's tiny Saints jersey, and my new black and gold skirt I turned out in 2 days. I had posted pictures on here from when I dressed up for the Superbowl, same costume. But this time, with the addition of my oversize aviators. So off on my merry way, sashaying across the street to the parade route. I couldn't see Danielle at first, but she turned around and got my attention. She was standing up on the back of the ladder. As soon as I got there, this guy started going on about my costume and wanted to get a picture with me. He had on a purple dress and this hideous mask. Not a drag queen, just a costume, this old guy and his wife, she wasn't dressed up or anything though. They loved my outfit. Jacob wanted to go back soon after I got there, and Danielle took him to the house for a nap. Gen was there with her kids, and so it was Olivia and us. Olivia started having a fit after Danielle left, and finally went bizerk. I climbed the ladder (while trying to make sure to hold my skirt against my thighs with my hand under my bum, so nobody would be looking up) and handed her down to Gen, then I was holding her trying to get her to calm down. The old woman of the purple dress couple came up to me, and she was like, "Oh my husband thought you were gay!" I said, "I am, this isn't my daughter!" and she was like "Ohhh, that's okay, we love 'em all!" Haha. Olivia was having none of it, so I asked Gen to watch the stuff, and headed back with her in search of Mommy. She was on her way out of the house with a sandwich for Olivia, and we met like halfway down the block. Olivia was happy again, and she and Danielle headed back, I ran back to the house to grab a can of soda first.
I was sort of hanging back toward the curb, by the ladder, but Danielle said that I had to get out further into the street up at the front and get noticed. So I did, but I was still kind of reserved. This girl was standing next to me, and she asked, "How are you not getting more beads?" And then she gave me a strand of hers from around her neck.
I started catching more then, and at some point I gave that girl a string I caught. More people came up to me and asked for photos. Gen said I was "the popular cheerleader." The more attention I was getting the more I started to come out of my shell and let my hair down. It wasn't pulled up to begin with, just an expression. Haha. I liked playing with it, I kept pulling it back and to the side, over my shoulder.
At one point I started doing my booty-popping drop down into a squat dance, which sounds terrible, but I don't know how to describe it haha. There was a DJ behind us, and the floats had music too. I hadn't practiced dancing in my skirt, and I wasn't sure what I could get away with without putting on more of a show than I intended... Haha. I would have been alright in any case, I had on undies, then pantyhose, and then another pair of unders outside the stockings like spanky pants haha. But still this woman that was standing by us told me, "Better be careful someone is gonna see ya draws."
There was this rowdy bunch to the left of us, young girls probably around my age. At some point Ms. Bonnie came and she brought a stool. Originally for her to sit on, but she offered it to me to stand on. So I did. A couple of the girls were standing on this bench, and I was next to them. This blonde started talking to me, and she was like, "Are you a cheerleader?" Yeah, "What's your name?" I said, "Oh, whatever you want it to be!" Haha, during the Superbowl I was sitting next to Dave from nextdoor at one point, and he asked me that, but I was so caught off guard that I didn't think of that reply. She asked me to do a cheer for her, and I was like, "Well I left my pom-poms at home," and she said "That's okay, I don't care," and was insisting on a cheer, but I couldn't think of anything on the spot.
I was piling on the beads and getting so much stuff. I got a pair of red plush dice that are now on my rearview mirror, haha. I was given a white boa! Haha. Early on, someone had given me this bag full of these hot pink feathers, and I thought it looked like a bag of loose feathers that you get at a craft store, so I was like, okay... and just put it in the bag. Danielle opened it later, and here it's this boa type thing, or like a collar. Its all connected not loose ends like a boa. My rescuer from the night before, after I headed the wrong way from the taxi, gave me a green, purple and gold Mardi Gras boa too, and someone tossed me a lacey white garter haha. When I was slipping it up my leg Ms. Bonnie said to be careful not to flash haha.
There were people across the street from me, two guys and a girl, they could see me in the gaps between floats. I think that she came over first, and maybe one of them, to get her picture with me, and then I went to their side to take one with the boys.
A guy in the crowd from the opposite side of the street threw me beads, haha. Gen commented again about my social coup, and asked, "I bet you never thought you'd be the popular cheerleader," and I brought it up another time, "Yeah, but what's a popular cheerleader without her handsome quarterback boyfriend?" Haha. Maybe next year I'll be the Homecoming Queen.
I got mixed reviews but all of them were good, even the negative ones. Haha. Because that makes sense. I was hamming it up to the max, waving and posing and blowing kisses. I was a big hit. The ladies thought it was pretty fantastic, but it was the guys that surprised me somewhat. More good sports than you might expect. Some of the older men returned air kisses which was a scream, and its hard to say what reaction I enjoyed more from the young guys. Appreciating and laughing or ranging from uncomfortable to disgusted haha. All in good fun. Gen said that a lot of guys probably wish they had the balls to wear a skirt, and Danielle said that a lot probably liked it more than they may care to admit. I got an incredible amount of beads and other stuff, this bumpy pink football, its like "nubbins" all over it hahahaha. The crown jewel (I did get beads that has a big gold, metal crown pendant, but not what I mean) is this necklace of huge beads, the size of my fist. I got this one that has skulls on the necklace, and this skeleton pendant at the bottom with a top hat and a sign that says New Orleans. I just threw all my loot into my duffel bag for the trip home, and this skelton necklace didn't survive. His neck snapped, so its just the top hatted skull on the beads, but I can easily glue it. On one float that was getting a kick out of my ensemble, a man and woman were fawning over me, and they got the attention of the other woman next to them, the float was passing by that point, and the second woman shouted, "IS THAT A GUY!?!??!" and I was laughing and nodding. She produced this enormous mass of beads, I would say handful, but she had to use both hands, and tried to throw it sideways my way. But there was this girl standing between us with her back turned, and the pile hit her!
There were people across the street catty corner, and they were taking pictures of me, so in a gap between floats I bopped over to them I took pictures with them, and they had me take pictures with other people in their crew. Back in my spot, I was standing up on the stool and this guy came up next to me from behind. He wanted to give me beads but I wasn't sure what was going on, I couldn't hear him and I was precariously up on the stool trying to turn to him but not move my legs. He dropped his beer and it sprayed up my leg when it fell, and he was like, "Aw I spilled my beer now, you gotta take my beads."
The whole thing was so much fun. People were taking pictures with me all the way back to the house. This guy crossing Vets in front of us was talking to me, and he told me to say, "My name is Ivana, Ivana Humpalot," in this quasi-Russian accent, he was so funny, but I didn't say it. She's a character from one of the Austin Powers movies haha. Oh I don't know how to wrap it up, I think I shared the most notable exchanges and happenings, hopefully the conclusion was worth the wait. Olivia is wanting to come out, I didn't take notice of what time it was when I put them down, but I'm thinking she wasn't in there for an hour. Ugh, back later maybe with more adventures. If not tomorrow. I don't want to continue posting so randomly with days and days in between.
xoxo, Travvy
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