Kirk blAug

I had not gone on an early morning run in far too long. However, today I actually got out of bed when my alarm went off at 5 AM. Therefore, today I exchanged my usual habit of going back to sleep for a nice run . One of my favorite parts about the early run is that I get to hear the world wake up around me. The birds start doing their morning songs. The mammals begin to make their mammalian noises. Rabbits and squirrels are running around searching for breakfast. It is a beautiful thing. Once upon a time, I ran with technology affixed to my body. I would attach my iPhone to my arm and listen to music or podcasts on my run. I understand that some people prefer to hear their "pump up" jams for motivation, but this is no longer for me. Now I prefer the sweet music of the world around me.

I am sure that most of my readers have at least heard something of Mardi Gras. Perhaps you might know of the celebration that takes place every year in the United States most popularly in New Orleans. But it is not exclusively celebrated in New Orleans. In fact, it was not even celebrated originally in New Orleans. In 1702, when French Catholic settlers founded the original capital of Louisiana which is now Mobile, Alabama , they began the first tradition of Mardi Gras in the United States a tradition that they brought over from Europe where it had been celebrated long before. Once the capital of Louisiana was moved to New Orleans in 1723, the major celebration was moved there and was then celebrated by most citizens of the city beyond the French Catholics. The celebration has been spread to many communities in the neighboring states of Alabama and Mississippi, as well as along the Mississippi river going as far as here in St. Louis. Soulard is historically a French neighborhood in St