Mardi Gras Night

Somehow today I forgot it was Mardi Gras night tonight. I don't know how I forgot, because I walk (or ride) up and down Oxford Street every day, and all this past week our gay and lesbian friends (and those big stunning yet kind of frightening drag queens) have been out in force, revving themselves up for their big night. What happened was, early this evening, just after 7:00, I walked up to Ariel aiming to buy a book. See, today I finished To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and it was such a great goddam book, I don't mind telling you that there was a part near the end where I found it hard to see the words on the page from the water that had started pumping out over my eyeballs. Anyway, it was a library book, and it was really beginning to fall apart, but it was such a great book, so I got the idea that I would buy them a brand new copy. So here I was outside the bookstore, but the goddam door was closed. What the fuck? That place is never closed. Every night it stays open until midnight. I looked at the closed door, trying to figure it out, and then I saw the little sign: SORRY, CLOSED FOR MARDI GRAS. Berkelouw across the street was closed, too. Ah goddam it. Well, I guess I'll go back tomorrow.
I went to Chicken With a Difference, got a chicken chilli cheese burger with extra chilli, and walked back home.