I was driving from Franklin to Berwick a while back, and the fog was very thick between Franklin and Patterson. They were also burning the cane fields and that smoke and fog together was absolutely unbearable. You couldn’t see three feet in the front of you.
Another place that I saw fog that was thicker was in London. If you happened to be on the streets of London and yelled, the sound would echo back into your face.
I’ll never forget one day the fog at home was so thick that you could actually touch it. In those days, there were outhouses about 50 feet from your house. I’ll never forget the time I had to go – I took off for the outhouse, but it was so foggy that I landed in the chicken house. In the chicken house, there was a large rooster squatting on a raft. The rooster looked at me and said, “I say, I say – are you looking for a rafter to squat on? I’ll share you half of mine – hop on!”
Another time, I remember, when the fog was so thick and my wife had left the kitchen door open and the kitchen go full of fog. There was a large picture of Grandpa on the wall next to the window. My wife had a pan of dish water to throw out the window. But she threw it at Grandpa’s picture, thinking it was the window. If Grandpa didn’t ever get a bath, he sure got one that time.
And then there was the time that I remembered that the fog was so thick that my cat “Sheba” jumped over the fence and landed on a cactus bush. Did he ever get his rear full of splinters.
Also, the fog was so heavy on another occasion that I had to spray my two dogs, “Badonni” and “Gileeda” with fluorescent paint so that they wouldn’t run into each other.
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I went to Sam Spitale’s drug store the other day to get a prescription filled. Sam brought back a lot of old memories to me by giving me a “lagniappe.” A “lagniappe” is something that you get for nothing when you purchase something at a store.
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Did you know that Robert Vincent, a friend of mine from Erath, is the state’s youngest elected official? Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at an early age, Vincent did not allow his disability to stand in his way. In the Oct. 3, 1998, general election, he became mayor pro-tem on the city council in Erath at the age of 19. He said that he is looking at the governor’s post at an early age. His grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert LaBauve, live in Morgan City. Little Robert loves to go to church at St. Stephen in Berwick.
He was the founder of the Acadian Museum of Erath at the age of 10. He has a collection of all of Dudley LeBlanc’s artifacts. I gave him some old pictures of old politicians and things I had on Dudley LeBlanc for his museum.
Good luck, Vincent – I’m looking forward in the year 2012 o vote and campaign for you.
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