Dave Myers, of Central, says our mention of the World Book Encyclopedia “reminded me of my freshman year at Catholic High in 1971. “Without computers and the Internet, some families like ours were lucky to have a set of encyclopedias. “Then as now, the big thing teachers hated was when you copied straight out … Continue reading →

This story from Maw Maw Betty, of French Settlement, reminds me of the “You might be a Cajun if …” series we ran years ago: “When Taylor was in the third grade, she went on a field trip to the ‘Pumkin Patch.’ “She told me she needed to bring … Continue reading →

I was driving back to Baton Rouge on Interstate 10 after a memorable late lunch at Drago’s in Metairie (char-broiled oysters and stuffed lobster tail), feeling at peace with the world. Then I got on the bridge between Kenner and LaPlace, and found myself caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I was trapped there for 45 minutes or … Continue reading →

Dear Smiley: I got one of my first paying jobs from a German grocer in northern Indiana when I was about 10 or 11 years old. He hired me to mow his lawn (with a push mower) for, as I recall, 50 cents. I showed up with my buddy Joe, and he immediately … Continue reading →

Some of the stories I enjoy most involve random acts of kindness. Since I started doing this column in 1979, there hasn’t been a day when I haven’t had several of them in the hopper. Here’s one from Sarah Stravinska, our correspondent in the Natchitoches Parish community of Chestnut: “Summers and weekends during … Continue reading →

Roy Pitchford, of Monroe, tells this “Gotcha!” story: “A few years ago, a service station owner, who shall remain nameless, in a small village that I won’t name, pumped gas the old-fashioned way instead of having self-service pumps. “One day he filled a man’s gas tank and said the bill was $30. “ ‘If I … Continue reading →

A reader says he’s been volunteering one day a week at a local pre-K. He received an email from his sister about a group of 4- to 8-year-olds in another state being asked: “What does love mean?” And he thought: Why not ask the teacher at the school where he volunteers to ask the same question … Continue reading →

Kathy “Mamee” Mier (aka “The Cajun Lady”), of Zachary, offers this insight into what makes a Cajun: “During ‘Louisiana Day’ at Zachary Elementary School, by community volunteers, third-graders enjoyed old games (marbles, jacks, etc.), a trapper demonstration, Cajun and New Orleans Mardi Gras masks, story reading, Cajun music and dancing (with the Chere Mom band) and … Continue reading →

Doug Johnson, of Watson, our senior legislative observer, issues this report: “In a debate over a law about the use of cellphones while driving, one legislator listed several problems they caused. “One problem he mentioned was that when talking on the phone, drivers tended to drive UNDER the speed limit. “I was going to … Continue reading →

Dear Smiley: In keeping with the government’s twin objectives of humiliating the public and making them feel safe rather than actually making them safer, the folks at the State Capitol complex once made everyone sign in before entering an office building. Since they could never explain why that made the building more secure, nor did … Continue reading →

Marlene Penick responds to a recent story from Jim Carruth, of Lafayette, about a Cajun coping with loss: “Jim asked if anybody knew someone more Cajun than his friend, who came home, popped a bottle of wine, sat and enjoyed his life after burying his two dearest friends. “On a dreary overcast September day in … Continue reading →

Jess Walker got a lesson in inflation last month when he was going through some papers belonging to his father and came across a German 100,000 mark Reichsbanknote: “My father, who was in World War I, was never overseas, but won the note in a high-stakes poker game. “I … Continue reading →

Bill Noonan often asks my advice about maintaining a successful relationship (I’ve used the trial and error method over the years and gained much valuable experience): “My wife, Adele, after awakening one morning, said she was ‘happy as a lark’ because she ‘slept like a log.’ “I had to be happy for her, but I told … Continue reading →

Frances and Darrell Boudreaux say a highlight of a vacation in Sicily was dinner at Cin Cin Ristorante in Palermo. It’s owned by Vincenzo Clemente, a 1987 LSU graduate and the Tiger basketball mascot in 1986 when LSU went to the Final Four. (He has an LSU Tigers plaque on the wall.) Continue reading →

With Mother’s Day approaching, Paula Trapani Bourg, of Ethel, finds this a good time to tell of her mom: “Although I had the best mother in the world, there were times when I wanted to wring her neck. “Once when I took the bus from Baton Rouge to visit her in New Orleans, I didn’t … Continue reading →

Dear Smiley: John Buck Paxton was a veteran of the West Texas Rebellion, and also fought in the Battle of Port Hudson in the Civil War. He was familiar with the area around the Port Hudson battlefield, and would slip through the Union lines to being whiskey back to the Confederate soldiers. Continue reading →

Bo Stepp says, “My wife Patty is nuts about decorating the house for all of the different holidays. “I enlist my three granddaughters’ help in our attic when it comes time to change out the decorations. “While putting the Easter decorations back in the attic, I made the comment to … Continue reading →

I hate to run sad news for my senior readers, but I’m obligated to report this discouraging item from Harry Clark, of Lafayette. He says technology changes so fast he can’t keep up: “One night I was watching the 10 o’clock news, and the weather guy said we could get in touch with him on … Continue reading →

Readers continue to ponder new names for the New Orleans Hornets NBA team to help new owner Tom Benson rename the lads in baggy shorts: R.O. suggests the New Orleans Po-Boys (although NBA players can’t be called “po”). Mike Robert has this unique suggestion for Tom: Continue reading →

Wade J. “Papa Bear” Labat has been working in Chiba, Japan, for the past four months. Wade, whose wife, Jackie, says can “eat in any language,” tells of discussing food with some of his Japanese friends: “They asked me how I liked the food they had catered everyday for lunch. “I told … Continue reading →

I don’t normally make light of the troubles of others, but since this involves the University of Alabama baseball and football teams, I suppose I can make an exception. Frank Fronczek, our senior sports poetry correspondent, takes advantage of this column’s recent lifting of the ban on limericks to comment on Bama’s disastrous … Continue reading →

Dear Smiley: With each “traffic ticket” episode you’ve printed I’ve wanted to submit mine but, for what may become obvious, I’ve been reluctant to do so. But what the heck … Returning to Baton Rouge on a wet, rainy Interstate 10, the traffic came to a halt just east of Lake Charles. Continue reading →

The news that new New Orleans Hornets owner Tom Benson wants to change the name of the NBA team has inspired my more creative readers. For instance, Pam Rice says: “Ever since Tom announced on TV that he was seeking a new name for the Hornets, different ideas keep running through my mind. “I thought … Continue reading →

The news that new New Orleans Hornets owner Tom Benson wants to change the name of the NBA team has inspired my more creative readers. For instance, Pam Rice says: “Ever since Tom announced on TV that he was seeking a new name for the Hornets, different ideas keep running through my mind. “I thought … Continue reading →

Marsha R. takes us back to 1959, “when Baton Rouge was an ethnic restaurant backwater. “I had moved here from a place that routinely featured exceptional Chinese cuisine. I was homesick. “A date invited me to our city’s only Chinese restaurant. Remember Two Jacks? Italian, American, and bad Cantonese chop suey were its specialties. Back-room … Continue reading →

Doug Treadway says, “I’ve been reading a lot of detective fiction lately, and I think it has rubbed off on me. “For example, just the other day in traffic, I deduced that the fellow in front of me was not the owner of the truck he was driving. “He … Continue reading →

Mike Baker, of St. Gabriel, wonders why The Advocate doesn’t run the “really odd, eye-catching headlines” he finds in other newspapers. Mike, we like it like that … But even at a well-edited newspaper, strange headlines can crop up. I should know; I’ve written a few myself. (A couple I wrote for … Continue reading →

Dale Boyett says recent stories about travelers encountering law enforcement officers remind him of an experience back in 1964: “I was traveling from Pensacola to Monroe and had to pass through Mississippi. “As I passed through New Augusta, a typical one-stoplight town, the highway was deserted so I increased my speed — a little too much, … Continue reading →

Dear Smiley: In 1938, when I was 17 and living in California, I decided to visit my relatives in Michigan. In those days hitchhiking was the cheapest way to travel cross-country. Because it took 13 rides, I decided to try something else on the way back. I had heard you could drive a car … Continue reading →

Scam phone calls are being largely replaced by email scams (such as the current one using the name of a person you know, who is supposedly overseas and has lost a purse or wallet and needs money wired over there). But Claude Culross says if you do get a scam phone call, here’s how to … Continue reading →

Perry Snyder has a suggestion for LSU officials pondering a new basketball coach: “Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned up in the Frozen Nawth. “At the University of Connecticut, Geno Auriemma has enjoyed incredible success as the coach of the women’s basketball team. “If a lad can win national championships coaching the women’s quintet, … Continue reading →

M. Alexander Bass III, noting our series on guest-server interactions in restaurants, offers a server’s point of view based on more than a decade as a server and manager in the restaurant/hospitality industry: “I can tell you the most pleasing thing a server can hear from their guest would go something like this: “ ‘Thank … Continue reading →

Jess Walker contributes to our seminar on memorable encounters with the traffic police: “There has been a rash of traffic ticket stories in your recent columns, most of which emphasized attempts at talking a way out of them. “Some 60 years ago, I was driving back to Atlanta from Athens, Ga., in my car with … Continue reading →

You can leave Louisiana without leaving your Louisiana attitude behind. For example, take Tom Terrific, who’s now our senior Kentucky correspondent. Writing from Danville, Ky., he says: “Word may have reached Red Stick that the UK Wildcats won the NCAA men’s basketball championship. Folks are all atwitter up here in the bluegrass. “After the … Continue reading →

Dear Smiley: When we think about how hard times might be now, looking back you might have a different perspective. When I was a child, I remember my mother telling me that when she was a child, during the Depression, my grandfather Jules went to the WPA (Works Progress Administration) camp to work for a … Continue reading →

Fred Frey Jr. tells of having a Morning Advocate paper route in 1944: “I was 14, and my route covered Capital Heights subdivision. “I had 130 papers and a Columbia bike. I was in the big time. “I picked up my papers at Keller’s Esso on Government across from Calandro’s at 5:30 a.m., and occasionally … Continue reading →

Without really meaning to, I seem to have launched a discussion of exchanges between restaurant servers and their customers. L.P. Miller says, “When the server says, ‘I’m Kevin (or Betsy), I’ll be your server,’ I say, ‘I’m Leon. I’ll be your diner.’ ” Debbie Poirrier says, “I love it when servers introduce themselves. And after … Continue reading →

Jess Walker presents evidence that while the New Orleans Saints are currently the NFL’s bad boys, they still occupy a special place in the lives of Louisiana folks, young and old: “At a recent Saturday coffee bunch session, the discussion, as it frequently does, got around to restaurants. “Jim Payton relayed the story that a … Continue reading →

We recently ran a note from a lady who was confronted by a bird going “pretty, pretty, pretty …” when she went out to get her morning paper. (Since she had just gotten out of bed, she rather doubted the bird’s assessment.) Here’s a different experience with our feathered friends, from Catherine White, of Lafayette: “One … Continue reading →

Dear Smiley: We’ve all seen that the U.S. Postal Service is in pretty bad financial condition. I have an idea which will certainly go a long way to restoring its financial health and esteem. The Postal Service should merge with a paper recycler. The recycler should then build a plant right on … Continue reading →

Annette Simoneaux, of Belle Rose, says, “When my grandson, Skyler Talbot, was about 5 or 6, his mother, Crystal, brought him to a French Mass in Pierre Part. His friend Gregory, who was in the French immersion class at Pierre Part School, was to participate in the Mass. “There would also be a fais-do-do following the … Continue reading →

When my grandmother, Camille Druetta DeMarco, complained about some ailment, she always ended with, “It’s hell to get old.” Well, not necessarily, says Joe Guilbeau, of Plaquemine, our senior citizen adviser. He offers “some perks of being over 65:” Everyone opens doors for you. You sing along with elevator … Continue reading →

Claude Culross, after considerable research on motorists’ use of turn signals, adds to our seminar on the subject with these descriptions: 1. “The ‘better late than never’ signaler. This type remembers to use the signal during the turn, or perhaps suffers from buried resentment at traffic laws, and only begrudgingly activates the signal just before the … Continue reading →

Rhetta Sellers says, “I’ve noticed that several contributors have recently commented on various signs of spring. “I just went out to get my mail and was greeted by wasps that had built a nest in my mailbox. “Not so much a sign of spring, but definitely a sign — because all my income tax due … Continue reading →

Noting my recent diatribe about Baton Rouge drivers’ reluctance to use turn indicators, Fritz McCameron, this column’s senior traffic correspondent, formulated the following questionnaire, “so we can all perhaps understand our native reluctance to touch the things:” WHY I DON’T USE TURN INDICATORS (Check all which apply): 1. You’re asking me to do WHAT? (or, … Continue reading →