I was raised on moon pies.

I know the sound a deplume sounds like as it whistles through the air.

I have an appreciation for all types of beads; small, large, every color and those with deplumes adorning them.

When it comes to Mardi Gras, there is something deep in my bones that gives me an appreciation of an event most cannot feel, most do not appreciate.

Having been raised in south Alabama, I was given the amazing opportunity to cut my festive teeth in the home of Mardi Gras, Mobile, Alabama. It was also an appreciation grown from a family tradition, deeply connected to Mardi Gras.

My great-grandfather was one of the charter members of a few of the Mobile mystic organizations that roared Mardi Gras back to life in the 1920s. And it was some of those Mardi Gras pioneers who shared Mardi Gras details with mystic society organizers in New Orleans.

My grandfather was a masker. My father was a masker for one year.

I have an uncle who is still a masker. Two of my cousins are maskers and there are others in the family who have jumped aboard floats as maskers.

I remember in my teens getting observation tickets to some of the Mardi Gras’ balls, watching the call outs and some of the festivities, before being ushered out before the “fun” really began.

And, once I was over the age of 21, going to the balls with dates was a highlight.

I have not had the chance yet to take my two smallest to a Mardi Gras parade in Mobile, to see their great-uncles and family members hurl moon pies, deplumes, cups and random stuffed animals into the crowd, but that day is coming.

There’s an art to being a spectator, an art to avoiding an elbow and it takes discernment to fully understand which throw is worthy of throwing an elbow yourself.

Mardi Gras is a fantastic event, whether it is in the French Quarter in New Orleans, in downtown Mobile, or in downtown Vicksburg.

With the events locally that surround the annual parade in Vicksburg, scheduled for this weekend, including the epic gumbo cook off, Vicksburg is an amazing Mardi Gras experience, that might just the best proving grounds for my little ones to begin developing their love for Mardi Gras.

Laissez les bon temps roulez.

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Tim Reeves is publisher of The Vicksburg Post. Email comments to tim.reeves@vicksburgpost.com.