Smiley Anders for June 18, 2012

For kids, summer is to dye for

Della Neely-Stout says, “I can tell summer is here just by going to the grocery or the hair salon.

“The grocery is filled with moms prowling the stock like a mother cheetah who already killed a gazelle, but her offspring are home and they ate it already.

“She has a kind of frustrated and panicked look about her as she tries to restock the larder with her cubs in tow.

“The hair salons have boys getting Mohawks and Technicolor hair dyes, too, while the girls are getting hair colors not seen in the natural world.

“School’s out, and they can be wild at least until July, when it will fade enough to be ‘legal’ for the next school year.”

New career?

Ed Cullen says when Ned Clark, a senior vice president in Regions Bank’s Private Banking Division, attended his retirement party, he was greeted by people he’d arranged home loans for 50 years ago.

One longtime banking customer said Ned had seen him through three houses and two marriages.

Some friends, concerned about his future, gave him a lemonade stand to make pocket change selling refreshments to golfers at Webb Golf Course at the end of Ned’s street.

Rough translation

Our recent foray into Latin reminded “A Bearded Friend” of his high school days when he translated “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi” as “We’ve Gotta Get Gloria Outta Here By Monday.”

He says after the classroom howling abated, he found himself staying after school. ...

Tech support, anyone?

Shirley Fleniken says, “We recently had a guest speaker at our church from India.

“Before he started his sermon, he asked if anyone had called any customer support numbers recently.

“When several people in the congregation raised their hands, he said, ‘That’s good. That means you won’t have too much trouble understanding my accent.’ ”

Good Samaritans

Carolyn Miller thanks Nate Evans, of Zachary, “who went to great lengths to help and accommodate this ‘senior lady’ one morning.

She says she was on her way to work in Zachary when her truck ran out of gas in front of Nate’s home.

She called a friend in Baker, and while she was waiting in the heat, Nate provided her with ice water and a cold cloth for her forehead.

He also talked to her friend on the phone and gave her exact directions to his home.

When her friend, Cheryl Marie Hale, arrived with the gasoline, he helped them put it in Miller’s truck.

Carolyn also thanks a young man who drove by, saw she was in trouble and went back to see if he could help.

Special quilt

Gary W. Cross, of Prairieville, says his wife, Karen, and daughter, Jenn, are going to Washington, D.C., in July to honor son and brother Brad, who died of AIDS in 1993 at 17 after being infected from his hemophilia medicine.

Karen, Jenn and her aunt Brenda Stewart made a quilt for the AIDS Quilt Project after Brad’s death, and it will be displayed at the Capitol Mall on July 20-25.

Gary says, “Over 100 Louisiana residents with hemophilia died of AIDS during that time.

“Karen would like to know if anyone else is making the trip. Call her at [phone].”

Worthy causes

A “Golf Fore LARC’s Acadian Village” is at 1 p.m. Friday at Hebert Municipal Golf Course in Lafayette. LARC “supports persons with intellectual and developmental challenges.”

Contact Megan Morris at [phone] or [e-mail].

Looking for stuff

Ron Browning says, “A friend’s 88-year-old dad wants to listen to his old records.

“Anybody know where I can find a record player or stereo that plays such records?”

Call [phone].

Special People Dept.

• Gertie Landry celebrated her 102nd birthday Saturday.
• Ella “Granny” Thibodeaux celebrates her 97th birthday Monday.
• On Monday, Betty and John Torbert, formerly of Baton Rouge, now of “suburban Tioga,” celebrate their 68th anniversary.

Fan to the end

Tini Thibaut, of Napoleonville, says, “A dear friend and her three children were living with and taking care of her elderly father, a devout Catholic.

“As his health declined at age 93, the end was inevitable, and one of his grandsons, of college age, wanted to give him a saint medal to wear.

“He asked his mother about it, and she went to her father and asked, ‘Who is your favorite saint?’

“He replied, ‘Drew Brees.’

“Not long afterward, he passed away, but left all with a last laugh and happy memory.”

Appropriate verse

Richard M. Gibson, of Lafayette, tells of the gent hired by a church and given the challenging task of painting Bible verses on the doors of all the Sunday School rooms.

When he got to the nursery, he painted a verse from Corinthians 15:51:

“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”

Write Smiley at [e-mail]. He can also be reached by fax at [phone] or mail at P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821.