Whirlwind February! Groundhog Day, Super Bowl, King Arthur's Carnival Ball, Lincoln's Birthday, Mardi Gras,
Valentine's Day, Ash Wednesday, Start of Lent, Washington's Birthday, Chinese New Year, Eid
al-Adha, and Purim — All in one skinny 28-day month! To my Chinese Good Readers: "going
xi fa cai" [English: "I wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year" ] To those of you who
survived Mardi Gras by living in a part of the country that doesn't celebrate it, you got off easy!
We got off easy, too, but we live in the Big Easy, where easy does it even when the Superdome
is vibrating in red, white, and blue as it did inside and outside on Super Bowl night. Third time
was the charm for New England Patriots — they came here twice before and lost ignominiously
both times, but not on this red hot, white, and blue night. Congratulations to all those in my
former hometown of Foxboro where the Patriots play for keeps. They played for keeps in New
Orleans on February 3, 2002. Red beans and rice and the Vince Lombardy trophy, too! "It don't
get no bettah dan dat!" as Boudreaux was heard so to say from cheap seats (only $400 each) in
the nosebleed section of the Superdome as he left at the end of the game to head out for the John
Deere Tractor convention in Lafayette. (see story below) Where did we watch the Super Bowl
from? From the comfort of our Screening Room, that's where.
Del started off the month heading for a weekend retreat across the Lake and I drowned my
sorrows of her leaving with a tall glass of apple juice, a bowl of hot popcorn, and my favorite
movie, "Dr. Zhivago", on a DVD. Only two sided DVD I'd seen. A long movie. I've been
appreciating the wonders of letter boxed movies that allow one to see both edges of the original
film that the usual tv films clip off. Now they also modify the actual words the actors speak for
tv screenings and sometimes the replaced words just don't make any sense. What hard-nosed
detective would ever say, "Give me that freaking gun!" anyway? Who are they kidding? Watch
the movie the director designed for you to watch - watch it in letter boxed form and pretend you
have a high-definition tv that's just a bit smaller than the one you actually have - that's my
advice. To see what you've been missing, watch TCM channel where all the movies are letter boxed.
The next day I went to Becnel's and bought us five Honeybell orange trees to provide juice
oranges for us while they grow up to shade our view from the new homes that are being built
over the fence from us. At last, somebody to cut the weeds that have been coming under fence
from that vacant lot. I hope the Red Shouldered Hawk couple have found a new tree to hang out
looking for lunch in. In the afternoon I drove over to Brian and Judy's house for some gumbo,
oysters, shrimp, potato salad and good friendship. That night I watched Chitty-Chitty Bang
Bang, a wonderful movie made from a story by Ian Fleming, who also wrote about some 007
guy during his writing career. I'd forgotten what a wonderful musical and choreographed treat it
was! In letter boxing — obligatoire, mais ouis!
For the second time in less than six months Del's four children were in town for a funeral. This
time it was their Uncle Pinkie's funeral. He died at fifty of a sudden heart attack. Someone said
of him at his funeral that, "He lived a full life. If he had died at thirty, I could have said the same
thing." A wonderful tribute.
On Thursdays Del and I go to Mass at Holy Family Church and stay over to fold and label the
bulletins that are mailed out to all the parishioners each week. During bulletin folding we have a
fun time getting caught up on everybody's news. One Thursday it was the pastor who had a story
to tell. Father Finn said that Father Francis from Holy Rosary Church was audited by the IRS. The
IRS auditor was almost an hour late — when she finally showed up, Fr. Francis asked her, "Did
you have to go to mass this morning?" He got no answer — just a dumb look. Later in the audit
she asked about a $400 item, "What was that for?" "Vestments" he answered. "Is that like
robes?" she wanted to know. "No," he said, "I have robes, too, but they button down the front.
These were vestments." So she wrote down $400 for investments. Then she asked about another
item and he said it was for statues. She wrote down "statutes." Of course, she had help with all
this from her supervisor.
My daughter Maureen has been wanting to learn to play Mah Jong and finally bought herself a
Mah Jong set on eBay similar to the 1927 set that we own. Real Bakelite tiles and hand
decorated Flower and Season tiles. She wanted to know why she didn't have any "swords" - I
explained that was the Chinese symbol on the Red Dragon tiles and she did have tiles with the
Red Dragon drawn out on them. We played a couple of rounds and Gabe and his cousin Sam
from Baltimore took one of the four spots at the table. It was a hoot watching the two nine-year-olds fighting to see who would pick the tiles first, etc.
Our good friends Jim and Gail joined us to go to the Arthurians Ball. We enjoyed another
voyage as the New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra carried us away on waves of music to
another place and time where no songs written after 1933 are played and white tie and tails and
dancing cheek to cheek are not desuetude but rather, de rigeur.
After the Ball on Friday night we worked at home and waited till Mardi Gras Day to get out and
celebrate. We took the Canal Street ferry across the river and walked down St. Charles Avenue,
meeting our friends Mike and Wendy. After a wonderful brunch at Midi in Le Meridien Hotel
downtown, we walked into the Quarter down Royal and then Bourbon. We were greeted by
Annette and Judy. Annette said her husband George was on a balcony on Royal Street, but Del
was too tired for us to go that far. We walked over to Jackson Square, then back to Canal Street,
aiming for the Monteleone Hotel's Aft Deck Bar for a pit stop and some coffee. Our usual right-hand side bay window seat was filled by somebody so Del walked to the left side. I walked over
to see who it was who dared to take our seat, and it was our good friend, Ruth, all dressed up as
the Queen of England. Three of her grandparents came from England, she said, and that explains
why she looks like Queen Elizabeth II.
Her husband Ted was dressed as a caveman - the queen
and the caveman - pure Mardi Gras logic. Speaking of which we saw Queen Colleen and her
Krewe of Colleen for the first time in many years. Their sign said "25 Years" so I suppose she has been
parading every year. She fills up the grocery cart a little more than she did the first time we saw
her some twenty years ago, but her krewe of followers has grown over the years. Throwing
beads and kisses and waves to cheering onlookers, this distinguished professor from the
University of New Orleans is world renown, but nowhere is she more honored than by us
natives of New Orleans as we catch a glimpse of this now retired professor being pushed in her
decorated grocery shopping cart through the crowd on Canal Street on Mardi Gras day. The tee
shirts of her krewe said it all: Veni, Vedi, Fini. [English translation below the Latin said: "I came, I saw, I
ain't gonna do this stuff no more." Okay — I cleaned up one of the words.] Is this for real? Of
course it's true! Could I make this up, folks? Here's the picture I promised you:
The next night or so, Del and I watched "An Ideal Husband" on DVD. What a marvelous movie!
It was like a symphony of social graces and delicate chords that blended together in harmony, and
at times in discord, but all coming together so nicely at the end. This was a first class, par
excellence, chick-flick. Set in 1890, a kinder, gentler time in so many ways. Pre-Oriental foxtrot
days.
Then my friend Stephen from Vermont came to New Orleans to attempt to survive one more
Shriner's Convention. Last I heard, he did. Stephen told me of Sister Catherine Emmerick, the
poor nun in Westphalia who could neither read nor write, but who dictated over the course of 6.5
years this 4,000 page book of the 3.5 years of Christ's life, covering each day with details of what
he ate, who he talked to, and where he went, as if it were his own journal she were writing for
him. It was her work that led Roman Catholics to discover Mary's home on an isle in Greece,
looking exactly as she said it did in her book. The Orthodox Greek Catholic priest they asked for
help in locating the house said, "Sure, I'll take you to it. We've known about it for 2,000 years.
Think we'd tell you?"
Del and I have been listening to Harry Potter books on tape narrated by Jim Dale who does a
wonderful job. The first three books were wonderful listening, but this latest one, "The Goblet of
Fire", is spectacular. I highly recommend it to all my good readers.
Near the end of this busy month I was invited by my grandson, Gabriel, to his Grandparents Day
celebration at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic School where he attends Third Grade. 
The
youngsters performed a loving musical tribute to their grandparents set to the tune of "Take Me
Out to the Ball Game." I wish I had those lyrics to share with you. Krispy Kremes and King Cake
flavored coffee for the Grandparents and a trip to Gabe's classroom rounded out the event.
When I got to his classroom, I saw third graders gathered around a warm PC. My, how things
have changed since my day when the height of our technology was a wall-mounted pencil
sharpener and brand new ballpoint pens that didn't require ink bottles at each desk anymore. The
holes in the wooden desks for the inkwells were still there back in 1948 when I was in Third
Grade. What will schools look like when Gabe is a grandpa, I wonder.
Next week we take off and our house sitter tends our home while we travel to the Los Lagos Lake
Resort in Hot Springs Village overlooking Lake DeSoto. It will be a week of fires in the hearth,
hot tubs, and relaxation. Someone asked me if I will have email access and I replied, "That
wouldn't be much of a vacation, if I did, would it?" Hope you all have a wonderful March and
Easter time and I'll talk to you again, April 1st, no fooling.
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The best source at the best price is to order your copies on-line is from the publisher Random House/Xlibris's website above.
This month we feature Boudreaux and his first trip to the sauna. Cajuns may
not be up to date on the latest wireless technology, but dat don' stop dem from catchin' on
quick, Ah guarantee!
