Butte La Rose

Bonjour!
You who missed visiting the annual Louisiana Tourism Week at the Butte La Rose exit on I-10 recently, missed passing a good time. Tourists in cars, vans, SUVs, pickups, tour buses, cycles and big rigs passed through. They were our company.
Mais c’est tes fun mes cher! These visitors appreciate talking with us locals. I don’t remember who furnished the food but it was all delicious. Some vendors came there, not to sell, but to support our area, show off by giving out free samples of their Cajun cooking.
One of the vendors served delicious little meatballs cooked in a delicious tomato sauce. I don’t know if she saw I was enjoying those, or maybe didn’t remember she’d already brought me some but she’d bring me extras. I spoke not a word otherwise. She kept bringing me more in little white cup’s and I pigged out on every little meatball. C’est tes bon!
Another vendor served delicious home made bread pudding and telling her audience of road running traveling visitors how simple her pudding was to make. These people were in awe of her recipe. One table served fried alligator. Of course the Welcome Center always has hot coffee on hand for visitors every day. See what y’all missed!
Volunteering with me was Pat Campbell from Delcambre. She played accordion and sang Cajun songs and I played guitar singing Cajun and Country. A tourist couple passing through, about in their 60s, stood by us for a while as we played. The man was so impressed with Pat’s accordion. He said he was originally from Mexico but they live in Shenandoah, West Virginia, and there he is a preacher.
And he asked if we knew the song “Good Night Irene.” While the three of us talked, his wife stood close by. I fumbled through my list of songs I use when I play at the Garden View Assisted Living in New Iberia because that song is most requested by the senior residents there. As I strummed my guitar I began to sing his request. It hit him. He sat in a chair close by and turned it facing us bringing tears to his eyes. And he said that had been his dad’s favorite song. He was looking straight into my eyes tears streamed down his cheeks. He leaned forward sobbing put his face in his hands. Then he straightened up looked up at me and he sang the last two verses with me, word for word.
When I finished, he stood up, put his hand out to thank me. He excused himself, apologized, said he was too emotional to stay and talk. He asked our names. I thanked him and said “God Bless You.” Then they walked away.
I am so glad I was able to make that man’s trip happier with this small request. Imagine, of all the songs I have, the one he especially wanted to hear, there at my finger tips. God works in mysterious ways. It touched my heart too.
We also got to talk with Margaret Melancon from the Welcome Center out of New Iberia.
Saturday night, raining hard. Remember the all night long rains from long ago. Loved it. But our sharecropper house had holes in the ceiling. Had to put pots, buckets, foot tubs, dishpans and so on to catch the leaking rain – not just drips, rain!
No plastic containers then. Sometimes we had to put the bigger rain catchers where the rain was coming through the worst. Ce tes trieste! We couldn’t put the potchambre cause it was on reserve. Ha.
That hail storm happened recently knocked out every persimmon and almost all the figs. I’ll have to beg for some this year. Merl and Cindy, Fred and Helen, persimmons?

Cousine Hélène
337-280-1988.
helenboudreaux@juno.com.