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 1957, a few months after Hurricane Audrey, my husband and I drove down La. 27 to Holly Beach.
“The view was more than depressing. For miles the swamp, still hiding bodies, was peppered with debris as far as you could see: appliances, cars and dead cattle, including a cow hanging on a fence with no head.
“As we approached the Gulf, Cajun music filled the air.
“At the end of the highway in the midst of destruction stood the only building on the beach, a rebuilt general store.
“There was a group of Cajuns outside, drinking, dancing and singing, celebrating a birthday.”
Mickey Dispenza joins our search for a new name for the New Orleans Hornets:
“My suggestion is ‘The Nawleans Yats,’ and the mascot should be a Lucky Dog vendor.”
Faye Talbot has discovered a clothing manufacturer with a sense of humor:
“My new raincoat had a label attached: ‘Warning: Repels water, attracts attention.’
Says Faye, “It has.”
Hal W. Gould, our senior NBA analyst, comments on that vicious elbow blow delivered to an opposing player by the former Ron Artest, who now answers to Metta World Peace:
“A possible headline for that elbowing incident is ‘World Peace Wasn’t.’
“Speaking of which, it’s interesting to note a similarity with another famous move.
“In ‘Tebowing,’ the elbow goes on the knee.
“In ‘Elbowing,’ it goes firmly on another player’s forehead.
“Vast difference — but maybe Metta meant to do his own version of Tebowing … ?”
When Joe Macaluso told me he had just finished making 1,000 meatballs, I thought, “That is one hungry guy!”
But it turns out he and wife, Cheryl, are running the Italian booth at the St. Thomas More Catholic Church Fair on Friday through Sunday.
Joe says it’s the food that makes this fair one of the city’s most successful:
“We’ll have muffulettas, pizza, meatball po-boys and meatball and spaghetti dinners at various times through the weekend.”
Other booths feature Cajun and American food, and there are silent and live auctions and rides for the kids.
And don’t forget the Macaluso meatballs…
… which is why I’m always happy to serve as a judge for “Dancing for Big Buddy.”
Saturday’s show, set for 7 p.m. in LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center, raises funds for the Big Buddy Program.
I’ll be judging along with Sheriff Sid Gautreaux and the lovely and talented Allison Young.
It’s a professionally done show, and I’m always amazed at the talent of the volunteer dancers, including prominent citizens as well as media types.
For information, go to http://www.bigbuddyprogram.org.
Dan Burkhalter, the Carencro Curmudgeon, reminds us that the Sunset Herb Fest is Saturday in the St. Landry Parish community of Sunset, between Lafayette and Opelousas.
It’s not hard to find: just drive to Sunset and ask the first person you see where you can find some herbs.
Rhonda Godwin, of Athens, Ala., says, “I was in Baton Rouge visiting some friends and on the way home could not resist stopping on Washington Street where a man was selling dresses.
“I asked, ‘These are one size fits all?’
“He said, ‘Yeah, baby, they fit all but the thick girls.’”
“This story I just found on the Internet demonstrates wonderfully the difference between the way men’s and women’s brains work,” says Harriet St.Amant.
Here’s the husband’s lament:
“My poor wife was sick in bed with the flu.
“Being a dutiful husband, I offered to fix her some of her favorite herbal tea.
“I couldn’t find the tea, though, and went back upstairs to ask where it was.
“She said, ‘I don’t know how it could be any easier to see. It’s in the pantry, third shelf down, in a cocoa tin marked “matches.”’”
Write Smiley at Smiley@theadvocate.com. He can also be reached by fax at (225) 388-0351 or mail at P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821.
Copyright © 2011, Capital City Press LLC • 7290 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70810 • All Rights Reserved
Print article