Smiley Anders for Sept. 28, 2012

You seem to be having fun listing old expressions, so here are a few more:

• Glenda Lockhart, of Denham Springs: “When I was little and moving around too much while my mother was doing my hair, she’d tell me, ‘Be still, you are moving around worse than a wiggle worm in hot ashes.’

“But my favorite is, ‘He’s so lazy that if he had a chill, he wouldn’t shake.’ ”

• Phoebe Thompson, of Clinton: “When my father, from north Louisiana, lectured me about some infraction of rules or behavior, he would always end with, ‘And that’s how the cow ate the cabbage.’

“I never understood what that meant, and usually forgot the content of the lecture because I was trying to figure it out.”

(My dad, from south Mississippi, said the same thing, and I was just as mystified.)

• Lee McGee, of New Iberia, says, “Years ago, a friend from Jeanerette would say, ‘She’s so drop-dead good-looking she could make me kick sand at airplanes and bark at the moon.’ ”
• Leslie LeBlanc says, “Back in the early ’80s, while working at the phone company in downtown Baton Rouge, a fellow employee, Shirley Ray Fontenot, would always say this to us when we questioned a statement he made:

“If I tell you a rooster can pull a plow, you hitch him up and don’t ask questions.”

Our lucky night

Several readers have waxed nostalgic about good times at New Orleans’ Hotel Monteleone, so I’m adding my story:

It was the first Mardi Gras after Hurricane Katrina, and I felt it would be good to be in New Orleans to show support for the still-reeling city.

So on Monday afternoon we headed for the city, planning to attend a party that night on St. Charles Avenue, then stay at the Royal Street apartment of Lady Katherine’s sister, who was out of town.

We parked the car over by the Jackson Brewery and wheeled our suitcases up to the apartment — only to find we had brought the wrong keys and couldn’t get in.

We tried calling the real estate folks who handled the apartment rental — but at 5 p.m. on Lundi Gras, lots of luck with that.

Then I saw the Monteleone sign up the street, and figured what the heck, I’ll give it a try.

So I called, and to my amazement was told there were three vacant rooms left in the hotel.

We quickly wheeled our bags down to the hotel, checked in, and hoofed it over to St. Charles for the party.

And on Mardi Gras morning there we were, having café au lait and Eggs Benedict in our suite before heading a block or so up to Canal Street for the Zulu parade, our favorite.

It wasn’t the biggest crowd, and much of the city was still devastated, but everywhere we went we heard the same phrase: “We’re coming back.”

As indeed they were …

Worthy causes

• A jambalaya fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is Saturday outside the Wal-Mart on North Mall Drive from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• An “All Star Concert for Handicapped Children” at 6 p.m. Monday at Baton Rouge’s Marriott Hotel stars Clay Walker with Tracy Lawrence, Marty Raybon, “Dukes of Hazzard” cast members and “Cajun Pawn” stars. VIP tickets are available at Zeagler Music or go to halandal.com.
• National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is observed at Silver Sun jewelry and gift store on Coursey Boulevard on Monday through Oct. 16 with “Pink Out” discounts benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Call [phone] or visit http://www.facebook.com/thesilversun?ref=ts.

Special People Dept.

• On Saturday, Leon Miletello, of Maringouin, celebrates his 98th birthday.
• Evelyn Jones, of New Roads, celebrates her 97th birthday Saturday.
• Sis Bowers celebrates her 95th birthday Sunday.
• Jerry Alford, of Mt. Hermon, was 90 on Monday. She celebrated the previous Saturday at a party at Mt. Hermon Baptist Church.
• Louis and Anita Bonfanti, of Port Allen, celebrate their 62nd anniversary Sunday.
• On Saturday, Claude Petit Jr. and Joyce Chenier Petit celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Thought for the day

Marvin Borgmeyer passes along this advice he heard Faye Kovich giving her husband: “Anytime is a good time to start something, but next to yesterday you can’t beat today.”

Follicle follies

Thomas Murrel, of Church Point, says his thinning hair reminds him of this old saying:

“Men whose hair thins in the front, yet have hair in the back, are great thinkers.

“Men who are thinning in the back, but have hair in the front, are great lovers.

“Men who are bald front to back THINK they are great lovers.”

Thomas then asks me:

“I gaze at the picture atop your column and see a man with a shock of bushy hair, but there seems to be a puzzled look on your face.

“Can it be that you are trying to determine what category you fit into?”

(Actually, the puzzled look is because I’m wondering when management is going to catch on to me …)

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.