Joe Cain's Favorites Parade Sunday
(MOBILE, Ala.) - The widows will grieve at the Church Street Graveyard Sunday, then ride in the Joe Cain Procession Sunday, Feb. 14.
They will not been see the rest of the year, but for Joe Cain's Merry Widows, it's time to come out of the shadows and grieve for their long lost love.
I caught up with the mysterious black veiled women at the French Market Cafe in midtown Mobile.
"So there was always happiness when you and Joe were together?" I ask one.
"Yes, dear," she replies, sweetly.
"No! No!" shout the others!
Each widow claims she is Joe's favorite.
Joe Cain and his Merry Widows are proof once again that Mobile loves its Mardi Gras, even in days that are not so great. Joe Cain revived the celebration in the days after the Civil War.
"Them old Yankees was in our town!" shouts a widow over her cocktail. Apparently, back then, Mobile was not a happy place.
"The flowers wouldn't bloom!"
"Gloomy, dark, there was Yankee on every corner!"
It was during those days of northern occupation that Joseph Stillwell Cain decided to thumb his nose at the Yankee soldiers and dress up as Chickasaw Indian warrior Slacabamorinico. He lead a parade through town on Mardi Gras, and Mobilians continued to parade every year, reviving carnival. B
Even more than that, "He revived Mobile, don't you know???" a widow testifies over a plate of fried appetizers.
That's why during these tight economic times, all of Joe's "favorites" suggest we follow his example: "I think we should do in imitation of what Joe did. Let's not be so down in the dumps. Let's celebrate mardi Gras and just forget it for a few days."
So mourn on, you Merry Widows! Grief has never been so sweet.
