It's carnival time in many parts of the world, and revelers in Rio de Janiero, Trinidad and elsewhere are having one last big fling before the 40 relatively more quiet days of Lent. The festivities come to a peak, of course, on the Tuesday before Lent, known in some places as "fat Tuesday," or, in French, "Mardi Gras."
Now, the place most associated with Mardi Gras, in this country, is New Orleans. But these days, alcohol, plastic bead necklaces and bare-chested men and women make that Mardi Gras look like the first stop on MTV's Spring Break Tour. There is another place we can look. Just west of the city, in Louisiana's Cajun country, residents have their own special way of celebrating. It's called the "Courir de Mardi Gras" or the Mardi Gras Run. Last year, Jim Metzner joined the celebration, and sent us this sound portrait of Mardi Gras, Cajun style...
"When you're part of this Mardi Gras stuff, you're forgettin' about your job, your worries, your bills. You're just having one good time with all of your friends. There. And everybody's doing this together."
