It’s no surprise that folks in other parts of the country have a very different idea about eating crawfish.
Peter Dassey, of Kenner, found this out in 2004, when, after a motorcycle trip with three friends to Pinole, California, he did a boil for 25 of the hostess’s friends:Â Â
“At a Sacramento bait shop we bought 100 pounds of crawfish at $4 a pound. Then the hostess gave me a 20-quart pot and a low-pressure burner, so I could only boil 8-10 pounds at a time.Â
“As guests arrived, I was prepared to be overrun by a hungry mob!
“But this was California, so I was keeping up with the finicky connoisseurs.
“‘I’ll have three…Give me six…’
“Bold ones would say, ‘I’ll take a dozen.’
“Needless to say, I spent the evening picking the remaining crawfish for the following day’s huge étouffée.”
Name games
My tale of my embarrassment when, as a kid in north Baton Rouge, my mom called me into dinner with “Smiley Junior” reminded other readers of embarrassing or just unusual titles:
— Earl Newman, of Baton Rouge, says, “Our little neighborhood near the intersection of Plank Road and Airline Highway had quite a few boys of similar age, and we all thought we were tough.
“My younger cousins lived in Morgan City, my parents’ hometown. The youngest, maybe 2, had trouble repeating my family identity of ‘Earl Junior,’ so he repeated it to his liking as ‘Juney.’
“Unfortunately, my cousins visited me in Baton Rouge, and referred to me as ‘Juney’ in front of my friends!”
(Yeah, “Mad Dog Juney” doesn’t sound all that tough…)
— Susan Hunt, of New Orleans, says, “Around 1960, when I began college, one of my best friends’ first name was ‘Welcome.’
“Her mother was named Welcome, and there was an aunt named ‘Sunshine’ in the family.
“One thing was for sure — you’d never forget her name.”
One-way drivers
“When my mother was a beginning school teacher,” says Michael J. DeFelice, “she lived in a boarding house with several other teachers in the small community of Cut Off on Bayou Lafourche.
“Someone donated a Model T car to the group, and it greatly enhanced their ability to go grocery shopping.
“According to her story, they only knew how to drive in first gear. They would drive down La. 1, the only street in town, to the store.
“After they purchased their groceries, the grocer would come out and turn the car around for them. Then, very slowly, in first gear, they would drive home.”
Heavenly Ford
“Early car stories remind me of my favorite,” says Ray Schell, of Prairieville:
“In 1953 my dad did a repair job on a friend’s car and was going to charge him $25.
“The friend suggested that Dad just take his 1936 Ford for the $25 and give it to one of his boys. Dad did, and passed me the keys, saying, ‘OK, Ray; it’s yours as long as you can keep it running.’
“Seventh heaven for a 16-year-old kid.”
Special People Dept.
— Susan Munson Allen, of Williamsburg Senior Living Community in Baton Rouge, celebrates her 100th birthday Saturday, May 20. She is a native of Albany, New York.
— Robert and Patricia Clouatre, of French Settlement, celebrate their 50th anniversary Friday, May 19. They are both retired educators.
Double groan!
“I miss your ‘groaners,’ says Danny Church.
“Hope this is bad enough to qualify and make your column:
“‘What is the loneliest bayou in Louisiana?’
“‘Bayou Self.'”
(Not only is it bad, Danny, it’s also old. I’m not saying how old it is, but the first time I ran it in the column Jimmy Carter was president…)
Thought For the Day
From Francis Celino, the Metairie Miscreant: “The problem with being retired is you never get a day off.”
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