Smiley Anders for Aug. 1, 2012

(Warning to readers who may be perusing this over breakfast: the following item contains mentions of icky, slimy creatures.)

Dawn Mccants, of Denham Springs, says 6-year-old grandson Miller Mccants is inclined to take things literally:

“Miller got some money for his graduation from kindergarten.

“He took it to Wal-Mart and bought fishing worms — not to fish with, but as pets.

“When his daddy got home from work, he ran and got their container from the refrigerator, which was their temporary home. (His mommy is such a good sport to allow this — but they had to stay in the box while inside.)

“He wanted to go outside to show them off to his daddy.

“When his daddy told him it was too late, and also dark outside, Miller responded with, ‘But Daddy, they’re NIGHT CRAWLERS!’ ”

A simpler time

Robby Zeringue says, “Phone services are so confusing to me these days with ‘this package’ and ‘that bundle’ muddying up the water.

“Back in 1940, Ma Bell made things a lot easier to understand. Using long distance was a snap.

“There was a rate chart for cities and towns with the following description:

“ ‘The rates below do not include Federal tax and are for the initial period which is 5 minutes on Station-to-Station calls where the rate is $.25 or less. Where the rate is more than $.25 the initial period is 3 minutes on all classes of calls. The Federal tax is $.10 on each call for which the charge is from $.50 to $.99; the tax is $.15 where the charge is from $1.00 to $1.99 and the tax is $.20 where the charge is $2.00 or more.’

“I do love simplicity.”

Waterborne angels

Julaine Schexnayder, of New Iberia, says, “Last weekend when my husband Isby and I were crossing Weeks Bay in our boat, the motor decided to quit running without any warning.

“It couldn’t be restarted despite my husband’s taking out nearly every tool on board and tinkering with each moving part or connection.

“Finally, in desperation, he directed me to wave down the next passing boat for help.

“Luckily for us, the Rocky Landry family, returning to their home port of Delcambre, answered our signal.

“They towed us to a safe location where we knew friends we had phoned would be able to find us.

“All of this took a considerable amount of time and gas and delayed the Landrys getting back home by lunchtime.

“Yes, angels sometimes appear in the form of four nice fishermen.

“Our friends Don and Val Naquin later towed us the rest of the way to safety. They are angels, too.”

For sale

The Louisiana Film Center has a garage sale at the old Clinton High School campus from noon to 6 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, with proceeds going to the renovation of the building.

Items include clothing, housewares and memorabilia from movie sets of films shot in the Clinton area.

You’re invited to contribute items to the sale.

Contact Glenn Brady at [e-mail].

Special People Dept.

• Rosalie Agosta Collins, of Plaquemine Caring, formerly of Baton Rouge, celebrated her 98th birthday Tuesday.
• On July 7, Marie E. Lyons, of Zachary, a Hurricane Katrina survivor, celebrated her 98th birthday at Sammy’s Grill in Zachary, and was honored by Mayor Kip Holden and wife Lois.
• Guy K. Domin, of Hammond, celebrates her 96th birthday Wednesday.
• J.T. Halley celebrated his 96th birthday Monday.
• Cecile Brown, of Plaquemine, celebrates her 94th birthday Wednesday.
• Annie B. Hawkins, of Maringouin, celebrates her 94th birthday Wednesday.
• Aubrey and Joyce Quebedeaux celebrate 53 years of marriage Wednesday.
• Jim and Rosemary Cox, of Plaquemine, celebrated their 50th anniversary Saturday.

Sign language

Marvin Borgmeyer reports seeing a couple of signs recently:

One said, “Are you illiterate? Write for free help.”

The other said, “Phone out of service? Give us a call.”

Count your chickens

Shirley Fleniken came across this “happy ending” story:

“The farmer’s son was returning from the market with the crate of chickens his father had entrusted to him, when all of a sudden the box fell and broke open.

“Chickens scurried off in different directions, but the determined boy walked all over the neighborhood scooping up the wayward birds and returning them to the repaired crate.

“Hoping he had found them all, the boy reluctantly returned home, expecting the worst.

“ ‘Pa, the chickens got loose,’ the boy confessed sadly, ‘but I managed to find all 12 of them.’

“ ‘Well, you did real good, son,’ the farmer beamed. ‘You left with seven.’ ”

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