CAJUN IS KING

Decisions, decisions. A wealth of music, now which affair to attend? Every morning we were in Eunice, the Savoy Music Company had a free jam of local Cajun, Blues or Zydeco musicians. Its nice to hear the musician before you decide what music to buy. They sell a wide variety of local C.D.s The sign on the door reads: No Soul, No Service.
That evening, our choice was free Cajun music at DI's with dinner, a dance at a local RV Park, or a two band program at the old, recently refurbished, historical Liberty Theatre. Its part of the National Park Complex along with the Acadian Center. The cajun accordionist played his electric instrument behind his back, up over his head and regular style. Beating the hell out of an accordion takes muscle. A very talented young man whose name I couldn't pronounce nor spell. The program was mostly in French. Young people aren't as interested in Zydeco and Cajun as the older generation. I sat next to this young man's wife. He is an exception at 31, with a two year old daughter, just getting into the game. None of these musicians make a living with their music, she told me. "They just love the tradition and the sound of home."

We watched the people dance. The women don't have to urge their husbands onto the dance floor. The men are first on their feet. They come to have fun and it was obvious they did. I fear this particular style of dance is passing the way of the older generation. Calvin Daigle taught me to dance Cajun style at Fred's. He instructed me thus:
"The lady must keep her legs stiff and slide backward. The man takes a step backwards once in awhile just to give her some relief. Its a glide. Then the two-step is the same but you still glide."
I got the hang of it. Luckily, Fred's wooden floor had some type of fine dust to assist the dancers, especially people like me who wore tennis shoes. The liberty theatre floor is wonderful old plank hardwood, excellent for dancing. They did vaudeville shows in this place at one time. Beautiful place. The entrance is unique with etched glass front doors.


We said goodbye to Eunice on Sunday and drove to Westwego for a two week stay at Bayou Segnette State Park. The weather is beautiful. Got the bikes down since the paths here are bike friendly with little auto traffic. Looking forward to New Orleans, great food, Mardi Gras and a host of other activities in the days to come.

SUPER BOWL 44

My husband was a "49er Faithful" and he would have loved this game. Those who remember those long dry years couldn't help but empathize with the Saints fans.
Jim and I met a lot of them as we traveled across Louisiana. One young bartender we met commented, "Well, I almost hope they don't win so we can show them we love them anyway." I'm sure she was just fearful.
In that same bar, Jim met a guy who was lamenting and celebrating at the same time. He had sold his Super Bowl tickets for $6,000. An amazing sum, and given the heated feelings, believable.
One fellow told me he didn't have to wear a paper bag anymore. I didn't understand the significance until later. Another woman described play-by-play, several Saints high points from past games. Then she said, "Well, if they lose, the Colts are my second favorite team." Hedging!
We began to get pretty excited about the Saints.
Yesterday, we parked 7 miles from New Orleans and decided, just before kick-off, to go looking for a Super Bowl party. We stopped at a local sportsbar in Westwego, and the place was practically empty. "The bartender told us, we've got ribs on the barbeque in back, good stuff cooking, the party hasn't started yet."
We decided to get something to eat and saw the end of a parade and a phalanx of cops and knew we were not in a position to be out and about in a strange town. We returned home for our television set, champagne and popcorn. Wahoo!! What a game. We felt like we were part of this historical game without being in the stands or with the crowds on Bourbon Street. I guess I'm now a bonified Saints fan.