Smiley Anders for Feb. 22, 2012
Max LaBranche is one of the movers and shakers in the Society for the Preservation of Lagniappe in Louisiana, which puts on the Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade and ball.
He’s also a lawyer, so you can believe what he says.
Max says, “Did you think SPLL’s bad luck had changed when the second line of severe thundershowers passed over Baton Rouge, the rain stopped, and the skies cleared enough to have a parade?
“Wrong! Besides the weather reports, we should have checked our horoscope.
“The plan was for King Edwin W. Edwards to ride aboard the Zapp’s Potato Chips purple firetruck.
“Both firetruck and king were to rendezvous at the corner of North Fifth Street and Spanish Town Road in time for the 4 p.m. start of the parade.
“The boxes of beads for the king and his entourage were loaded aboard the firetruck in advance down at the Zapp’s warehouse in Gramercy. “Zapp’s CEO, Rod Olson, was going to drive the firetruck to Baton Rouge and be in place as the king’s float by 3 p.m.
“On Saturday the Zapp’s firetruck had some mechanical problem and refused to start at all.
“Like the trouper that he is, King EWE showed up on time at the rendezvous, ready to ride. However, the firetruck did not.
“EWE had neither float, driver, nor beads (they were all aboard the fire truck).
“He watched as a spectator as his parade rolled by.”
(You reckon somebody’s putting a voodoo curse on the Spanish Town Mardi Gras folks?)
Wet and wild
George Lane says, “With the theme ‘Conival’ and inclement weather, this year’s Spanish Town Mardi Gras Parade was best described by former Louisiana Sen. John Breaux when he described Louisiana: ‘Half under water and the other half under indictment.’
“The ‘wet look’ of the parade, and especially its participants, seemed appropriate.”
Fish story
Buck Bertrand has a variation of our recent story about the state trooper who was asked by a motorist why he picked him out to stop when others were also speeding.
The trooper, you may recall, responded that you can’t catch all the fish in a pond every time you go fishing.
Says Buck, “A few years ago I was a frequent traveler to Houston via I-10, and apparently was pulled over by the same trooper.
“I was traveling in a group of 12 to 15 vehicles and the trooper pulled me (red Jeep and out-of-state tags) out of the group.
“As I gave the trooper my driver’s license, proof of insurance and registration, I asked him why, out of all these vehicles going the same speed, did he pull me over.”
When the trooper told him the fishing story, Buck asked him if he ever practiced “catch and release.’’
Buck says, “He looked at me for a few seconds, then began laughing very loud and gave me a verbal warning and sent me on my way.
“He was still laughing when he returned to his unit.”
Eating religiously
- On Friday, and on every Friday in March, St. James Episcopal Church will be serving its famed Lenten gumbo at North Fourth Street and Florida Street.
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. you can dine in on a shrimp gumbo or chicken and sausage gumbo lunch with salad, bread and dessert for $10.
Or you can have a take-out lunch or gumbo by the pint or quart delivered to your car.
Call (225) 387-5141 Fridays between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.
- On March 18, 19 and 20 Beth Shalom Synagogue will sell its famed corned beef sandwich lunches.
The $9 lunch consists of a quarter-pound of corned beef on rye, chips, pickle and homemade brownie.
Sack lunches can be picked up at the synagogue Sunday, March 18 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. On March 19 and 20 they can also be picked up, or five or more will be delivered to businesses.
For tickets, or to place orders, call (225) 924-6773 or e-mail bethshalom-admin@earthlink.net.
Souper comeback
Gerald Hubenak says, “My grandson in college uses a unique way to nicely end a disagreement.
“He simply tells the other person, ‘You are so wrong, you are dipping your soup into your crackers.’ ”
Relatively speaking
Chuck Falcon, of Donaldsonville, says, “When someone says to you, ‘You look good for your age,’ what they are really saying, if you think about it, is, ‘You don’t look so good, unless you consider how old you are.’”
Free falling
John L. Logerot Jr. says, “Reading about Tom Adams’ encounter with a wise-cracking hairdresser reminded me of my reunion with a high school classmate I had not seen in a very long time.
“Like Tom, I am quite follicularly challenged.
“During our conversation, I made mention of how my acquaintance’s hair had turned gray.
“His reply: ‘Well, yours turned loose.’”
Write Smiley at Smiley@the
advocate.com. He can also be reached by fax at (225) 388-0351 or mail at P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821.