We’ve had many stories about good deeds by individuals during Hurricane Isaac.
Larry Humphreys has one about a business going that extra mile.
He thanks Mike Pitts, manager of the Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse at Cortana Place, “for doing good things at his store during the ‘Isaac attack.’
“In the last hours before Isaac hit, Ms. Kathemarie decided she didn’t want to be without power in the event she was without power.
“So it was my job to go stand in line and buy a generator, if possible.
“When I arrived at Lowe’s, the line was about 40 people deep and growing.
“Mike had his employees give regular update reports on the ‘truck on its way.’
“Everyone was able to keep a calm and upbeat attitude while waiting for the truck to arrive.”
Larry says Mike also provided chairs for the waiting customers and had carts ready to haul out the generators when they arrived.
But this is what got my attention:
“When it got to be lunchtime, he had pizza delivered, and fed us and gave us drinks. As he was helping pass the pizza, I said, ‘Mike, this is great, thanks!’
“He responded, ‘No thanks necessary; we’re all in this together.’ ”
I just heard from Terry Sweatfield, new owner of the venerable Patio Lounge (after the retirement of affable Charlie Gant, longtime proprietor).
Terry addresses the contention by a reader that the patrons of the Patio are somewhat veracity challenged:
“I agree with Kinzey Reeves that if lying becomes an Olympic event, the Patio Lounge would have lots of medal contenders — as lying is a daily, if not hourly, occurrence.
“One of our patrons, the late great and self-proclaimed champion liar, was Phil Muscarello.
“He had a unique knack of making the most outrageous untruths seem absolutely believable.
“But he admitted that when Mickey and S.J. Montalbano were in the building, his only shot was for the bronze medal.”
“It rained so hard the concrete is getting boggy.”
She also tells of one describing stupid people who talk a lot:
“Only empty wagons make a lot of noise.”
Mike Lukacin has another item to mystify younger folks:
“Remember when you were trying to guess what an item was, you would ask if it was bigger than a bread box?”
In answer to a reader’s inquiry, Rita Lynn Jackson, of Plaquemine, nominates for Best Baton Rouge German Restaurant A Taste of Bavaria.
Of course, it’s in Ponchatoula — but hey, close enough.
Rita says the restaurant/bakery serves up “the best German fare I’ve eaten.”
Dr. William Pelletier, of Lafayette, says, “Thank you to the first aid staff at Tiger Stadium.
“This past Saturday, my wife spent two to three hours ‘politicking’ in the parking lot. (She’s president of the Acadiana Republican Women.)
“Too much heat and not enough liquids led to her being close to a pass-out.
“The staff did a superb job in fixing the problem.”
(I gotta tell you, Doc, that’s the first time I’ve heard of anyone not having enough liquids outside Tiger Stadium on an LSU game day. …)
Yes, it’s time to break out those Dean Martin records:
Dr. Joseph V. Ricapito says the annual Columbus Day Festa of the Greater Baton Rouge Italian Association is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 7 in the Belle of Baton Rouge Atrium.
It’s free, and features include Italian food, a bocce ball demonstration, shopping village, Italian artifacts display, presentation of Festa maids and their families, a St. Joseph’s altar, and music by the Bobby Lonero Band.
And, of course, there’s the ever-popular Vino Stroll, with proceeds going to the McMains Foundation for Children.
Call Dr. Joe at (225) 769-2762 or Bill Bryan at (225) 445-2781.
Fred and Margie Frey celebrate their 60th anniversary Thursday.
Al Bethard, of Lafayette, comments on a reader’s quote of Brother Dave Gardner, who said “Man cannot live by bread alone. He must have peanut butter.”
Says Al, “Before Brother Dave, Groucho Marx had a variation of Matthew 4:4, which was: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone. He needs a cookie sometimes.’ ”
Dan Burkhalter, the Carencro Curmudgeon, came across this interesting definition:
D é j à moo: The feeling you’ve heard this bull before.
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.
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