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Mardi gras isn't much of a thing up in Canada, but I did go to one of the designated busking spots in a subway station and play tunes from a big book of old jazz! Just me a cappella for a few hours, was fun!

yeah...
Most anywhere more than 50 miles north of the Gulf is really too cold for any sort of real Mardi Gras stuff, though people bundle up and give it a shot.

I ended up at a cool celebration down in SW Florida with an old school NOLA brass band. The leader is some NOLA buff, and tends to call some obscure tunes. Mostly things most people don't know the first time on a gig like this, but they're not too difficult (Caldonia, Ice Cream, Down at the Audubon Zoo, etc.), but with a good pair of ears you can figure it out.

Mark wrote: Wed Feb 18, 2026 2:21 pm My policy for Harbor Freight: Is it under $20 and do I only need it once?

A friend of mine started his brass repair shop about a decade ago, and stocked it with mostly Harbor Freight tools at the start. As they broke, he replaced them with better quality tools. Seemed like not a bad way to get started. Some things might last, some things only worked once, if at all.

I was at rehearsal for the Symphonic Winds, but the conductor was wearing a Bourbon-Street bead necklace, so we were good. The rehearsal kept me from enjoying a Shrove Tuesday pancake feast with church friends, however.

Rick "Mardi Gras not much of a thing around here" Denney