On the Sunday after Grambling homecoming, I drove down from Monroe to New Orleans for a second-line sponsored by a social aid and pleasure club known as the Men of Class. The event was supposed to start from a bar on North Broad Street in Mid-City called the Chocolate Bar, directly across from the Orleans Parish Prison. Unfortunately, the event did not start on time, for a very bizarre reason. Although there was a crowd of fans and second-liners present, and the members of Da Truth Brass Band, nobody from the club that was to parade was present. By the time some of the club members arrived (about two hours late), the band did not seem to want to parade. Somehow, however, this was all worked out, and we began our journey across the overpass into Uptown. No sooner had we reached the other end than we were assaulted by a virtual blizzard of annoying little white insects of some sort. They were everywhere, and nearly everyone around me was involved in waving their hands and arms in front of their face to drive them away. We came to our first route stop on Louisiana Avenue two doors down from Big Man’s Lounge, and when we resumed the parade from there, Da Truth Brass Band broke out with the traditional brass band anthem “Why You Worried About Me.” Ultimately, the route was cut short due to the late start, but we had fun anyway.
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