I knew my long-time contributor J.B. Castagnos, of Donaldsonville, was a master mechanic and restorer of engines of all kinds.
But I never knew how much clout he has in his community.
J.B says, “Stories about speeding tickets remind me of a friend I met in our ‘old engine’ hobby.
“Jimmy Mathews was a World War II veteran and retired police officer from Boston. I would see him at shows in the northeast. His son Charlie (‘Cholly’ as Jimmy called him) took him to the World War II Museum in New Orleans.
“While driving here, Charlie got a speeding ticket. When Jimmy went on and on about it, Charlie asked if I could get it fixed.
“I gave it to a friend in the D.A.’s office, explaining the circumstances.
“The next time I saw Charlie, he said he’s had tickets fixed before, but had never gotten a letter of apology.”
Small talk revisited
Joe Guilbeau, of Plaquemine, who started our “small towns” discussion, adds a few thoughts:
“I tell people I am ‘Scott-Irish.’ Born in Scott, and raised on Irish potatoes.
“Our high school had only two graduates. One said he was honored to be the salutatorian.
“When the city bought a new fire truck, they kept the old one to go on false alarms.”
The Texas way
Tim Palmer, of Lafayette, says, “I just read Harvey Pashibin’s Tuesday story about the increased performance of his SUV after the mechanic changed the license plate from a Louisiana plate to a Texas plate.
“The only problem was that he had a hard time getting it out of the left lane on I-10.”
Horsing around
A coffee story for our collection, from Martin Hugh-Jones, of Baton Rouge:
“In 1986 I was mapping Amblyomma variegatum tick habitat in Guadeloupe, and my colleagues at the LSU Vet School regularly mailed me CC Dark Roast coffee.
“I had the coffee pot in my office, and everyone was free to help themselves. Not one did.
“They preferred the local coffee which to me, a veterinarian, looked like horse urine.”
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