There are obvious advantages to living on a parade route. There is no searching for parking. There are no chairs, ice chests or grills to lug around. And there is no fighting for a place to stand. But according to Colin Ledet, there is one advantage that trumps them all.”If you don’t have a place on the parade route, you get stuck when you have to use the bathroom,” Ledet says. “I watch it from my porch; if I have to use the bathroom, I just walk inside.”

Ledet is an English sophomore from Thibodaux and is slowly learning the advantages of living on the parade route. This is his second Mardi Gras on East Fifth Street since moving in with his father after transferring to Nicholls from LSU in 2004.

Ledet says parade-watching has become a little different since being able to watch them through his front door for the past two seasons.

“It is kind of personal when you live on the parade route because when you are watching it from your house; it is like everyone is doing that for you,” Ledet says.

Parade days are usually quite a production at the Ledet residence. Friends are abundant, and food is plentiful. Attire is casual, and throws are everywhere. But Ledet says he spends most parades just sitting down and hanging out. He admits that he has to give his father most of the credit for getting things exciting. The younger Ledet says his main problem is keeping up with the 51-year-old who “likes to have a good time.”

“The thing is my dad actually parties more than I do,” Ledet says. “He is all about having everybody over for Mardi Gras. It is like I am trying to keep up with him.”

Ledet says his father’s friends usually outnumber his own at parade time. Living on the route has gotten him excited about Mardi Gras again, while most of his friends are growing out of it. Friends do stop to talk as they pass, but Ledet says they seem to be “phasing out.” But Ledet does not mind. He believes passers-by are some of best parts of Mardi Gras.

“Thibodaux is so small, you can see pretty much everyone you know,” Ledet says.

Last year, while a parade was stopped in front of his house, Ledet recognized some hungry co-workers on a float. After passing them a few freshly-grilled hot dogs, they continued down the route-a little fuller, thanks to Ledet and company.

Parade-route living is not all good friends and hot dogs though, according to Ledet. There are a few drawbacks: traffic and noise are at the top of his list.

“It annoys me how before and after the parade people are constantly passing by,” Ledet says. “You hear about 30 seconds of each song as they roll by with the windows rolled down.”

“Another bad thing is getting to my house when they block off the roads,” Ledet says. “You have to do everything you need to get done before that. Like Sunday, I was running around trying to get last-minute things. Before I knew it, it was 12 o’clock and they were at the corner diverting traffic.”

Unlike many residents along the parade route, Ledet refuses to rope off his front yard from parade goers. Even though a few people will inevitably walk on his grass, he says it creates a sense of community among his neighbors.

“In a way it brings everyone in the area together,” Ledet says. “When Mardi Gras comes around, nobody is like, ‘Hey, this is my yard; that is your yard.’ Everybody is just kind of in the area.