Fat Tuesday and The Little Prince*

 It is time for carnival, for Mardi Gras, for the wearing of masks. It is Fat Tuesday - which is the definition for the French Mardi Gras - a time to feast and over-indulge before Lent and fasting begin.
Sunday on Yahoo news, I read a post titled: "We kissed at Carnival: Brazil blog aids lost loves." Someone who had a brief encounter during Carnival in Rio started a blog to help star-crossed lovers find one another. As many identifying details as possible about the sought-after, would-be lover are posted ending with the seekers e-mail address and the yearning question, "Where are you?"

 One of the 'typical' postings went like this: "He was gorgeous with curly hair, dressed as The Little Prince...He was alone but his dancing was so joyful. In a second he disappeared. Little Prince where are you?"
Naturally that made me think of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's classic The Little Prince. I did not become aware of this lovely tale until I was in my thirties even though the book came out the same year I was born.
For my 50Th Birthday, Kari gave me the special Fiftieth Anniversary Edition pictured above.

 I was lucky enough to be in New Orleans during the week leading up to Mardi Gras in 1975. There was a parade and some revelry, but not as wild as it would be a few days later. I did not dress up or wear a mask, though if I had chosen one to wear, it would be something like this one. I did, however, feast. I remember my hosts choosing calamari as an appetizer. They wouldn't tell me what calamari was until after I had tried it and declared I liked it.

I fell in love with the Little Prince when I read Saint-Exupery's book the first time. If I saw someone dressed as the Little Prince, I would want to find him, too.

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."




(*This is the post I intended for yesterday before I had problems with my blog site.)