LOVE: The Bead Tree
Yet another of Tulane’s wonderful traditions, the Bead Tree sits directly on the path back to the residential side of campus when coming back from a parade.
It has long been the case that as students are walking (if a half-drunken stumble can be considered such) back to their dorms after a long day of catching beads, they throw one or two up to the Gods of the Bead Tree for good luck.
I just love the way the tree sparkles and glistens in the sunlight as it shows off its new decorations during Carnival. The long months take their toll on the poor thing, but every Mardi Gras season it comes back to life with a newfound light. It says, “Look at me and offer up in sacrifice your most prized possessions of the day”. I have known a few brazen students (they will remain nameless for the sake of privacy) who decided they didn’t have to offer tribute for their mighty day’s haul. Needless to say, the remainder of their Mardi Gras was filled with disappointment. Not only did they not catch a single other bead that year, but one’s cell phone was KIA, and the other was left to wander Bourbon aimlessly for hours in search of a bathroom to pee in.
The infamous Bead Tree is not to be messed with. Consider yourselves warned.
Photo Credit to Megan Lehr