Smiley Anders for July 30, 2012

Being an Aggie’s not all bad

Now that Texas A&M has been welcomed into the Southeastern Conference, we can expect to see more Aggie stories coming our way.

(Not Aggie JOKES — I determined some time ago that all the so-called Aggie “jokes” were actually true stories.)

Here’s a true Aggie story from Gerald Hubenak:

“During a recent home improvement project, I had a rupture in a 50-foot air hose.

“I decided to have it repaired rather than buying a new one.

“The morning I took it to a local business to be repaired, I happened to put on an Aggie vet school T-shirt my son had sent to me when he got his Ph.D. in veterinary medicine.

“After the hose was repaired, I asked how much I owed them.

“The reply was, ‘We feel so sorry for you Aggies that we are letting this one be on the house!’

“I thanked them and went on my way without letting them know the T-shirt was my son’s gift and that I was an LSU graduate.

“Sometimes being an Aggie pays off.”

Breakfast of Champions

Phil Hannaman, of Tyler, Texas, has found breakfast items reminding him of his Louisiana roots:

“We know that sopaipillas are only Mexican beignets.

“And my wife Jeanie and I have been eating something more intriguing, and we had to move to East Texas to find it.

“Boudin kolaches — that’s right, a ‘pig in a blanket’ made with boudin.”

Put the two pastries together and you have your basic Mexican-Czech-Cajun breakfast.

Just don’t tell your cardiologist. …

Thank-you notes

Totsie Roberts thanks State Police Col. Mike Edmondson “for bringing his nasal cell surgery to my attention one Sunday morning on TV.

“I made an appointment that Tuesday to have a bump checked on my nose.

“Just recently I had surgery on not only my nose, but also on a large area on my neck.

“I am very grateful to him!”

Local heroines

• Alaina Landry, a 12-year-old Brusly gymnast, is one of three finalists in the Afterschool Awards competition in the Sports category.

The awards, sponsored by JCP, Izod and NOW Music, reward achievements of elementary and middle school students.

You can help her win the $2,500 prize by voting for her at http://www.after
schoolawards.com.

• Payton Johnson, 13, an LSU Lab School student, won the New York City Dance Alliance National Junior Outstanding Dancer title July 4 and the Junior Dancer of the Year title at the Dance Awards, also in New York, a week later.

Payton trains at Jean Leigh Academy of Dance in Denham Springs and The Dancers Workshop in Baton Rouge.

Not our Goat

Mike “Goat” Gauthier says a recent article and photograph in The Advocate about a 57-year-old hunter spotted dressed in a goat suit in the Utah mountains “prompted several calls from friends.”

Mike assures us he was not the Utah goat man, and adds:

“To all of my concerned friends, especially the ones who called to ridicule me, let me assure you that I fully understand the risks of hanging out with a group of goats while dressed in a goat costume.

“I promise never to wear mine during hunting — or mating — season.”

Worthy causes

A “One Man Shoot Sporting Clays Fundraiser for Prostate Cancer Research & Awareness” will be held Aug. 18 at Riverside Sporting Clays, 52400 La. 16 in Denham Springs.

The event, with the theme “One Man Can Make a Difference,” is hosted by the Boykin family and friends in honor of Connie Mack Boykin.

Proceeds go to Dr. Oliver Sartor’s Prostate Cancer Research Fund at Tulane Cancer Center.

Visit the website http://www.onemanshoot.com or contact Stephanie Guedry at [phone] or [e-mail].

The turning point

Who says this column doesn’t deal with serious issues?

A reader recently complained that no matter how you position your cup in the microwave, it always ends up with the handle facing away from you.

Robert Begnaud has the answer:

“Microwave ovens with turntables are programmed to rotate clockwise and counter-clockwise in alternating cycles.

“Place the cup to the left side of the oven with the handle near the left wall at a 9 o’clock position, and in a one-minute cycle the handle will always end up at the door in the 6 o’clock position, ready for your removal.

“My wife Barbara asks if this is a sheer sign of genius, or do I have entirely too much times on my hands?”

Danny Sansone, of Zachary, has another answer to the rotating cup problem:

“When I put my coffee cup in my microwave and turn it on, it does not move.

“My microwave was made in February of 1984.

“I don’t think they made them with turntables then.

“They don’t make them like they used to. Good old Kenmore!”

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.