Crowd of 300,000 on October 15, 2005 at Crowley Rice Festival
Yesterday - October 14, 2005 - was one of those "Perfect Days" about which I wrote earlier in this blog (Perfect Day) .
My sister Jackie and I left Lafayette area early in the morning and traveled over country roads to the Iota State School where we found and purchased several plants from horticulturalist Greg Meche of Crowley. He's created paradise at Point-aux-Loups (an old place name in Acadia Parish near his nursery).
An entire post could be written about just that visit (and will be - look for it when ISS holds it annual fall plant sale). Suffice it to say for now that the Iota State School, under Meche's direction, has a phenomenal variety of high-quality, first-rate plants for sale at phenomenal prices.
We chose, among others, a few sweet olive, gardenia, cypress, weeping willow, spago palm, hummingbird, and day lilly varieties, and made out like bandits at those prices. Meche was especially helpful in sharing tips about the planting and caring for our new plant-world friends.
Then we were off to Crowley, where we found our 80-year-old father Emile sitting on his front porch, scowling. But he managed a grin or two when the conversation turned to the Rice Festival and especially a famous RF all-day party at Kenny Keigley's home.
Keigley, who truly loves our father as a fifth son would (Dad has four biological sons but has earned the lasting love of hundreds of other "sons" in a 20+-year career as a baseball coach in Crowley), recently purchased a lovely home a block from downtown Crowley (site of the festival) and
invites friends over to relax in the shade, use a first-class bathroom, share a bite to eat and a cool drink of your choice and perhaps visit with hometown folks you may not have seen in 15 or 20 years - right alongside those you saw last week.
This was a special highlight of the day - because Dad loves going there and it was obvious he was enjoying himself talking to Robert Habetz - with whom he played Fast-pitch softball 40 years ago on the Crowley Knights of Columbus team that was perennial champions in its SW Louisiana league.
2005 Children's Parade October 14, 2005 at Rice Festival
My sister Jackie and I left Lafayette area early in the morning and traveled over country roads to the Iota State School where we found and purchased several plants from horticulturalist Greg Meche of Crowley. He's created paradise at Point-aux-Loups (an old place name in Acadia Parish near his nursery).
An entire post could be written about just that visit (and will be - look for it when ISS holds it annual fall plant sale). Suffice it to say for now that the Iota State School, under Meche's direction, has a phenomenal variety of high-quality, first-rate plants for sale at phenomenal prices.
We chose, among others, a few sweet olive, gardenia, cypress, weeping willow, spago palm, hummingbird, and day lilly varieties, and made out like bandits at those prices. Meche was especially helpful in sharing tips about the planting and caring for our new plant-world friends.
Then we were off to Crowley, where we found our 80-year-old father Emile sitting on his front porch, scowling. But he managed a grin or two when the conversation turned to the Rice Festival and especially a famous RF all-day party at Kenny Keigley's home.
Keigley, who truly loves our father as a fifth son would (Dad has four biological sons but has earned the lasting love of hundreds of other "sons" in a 20+-year career as a baseball coach in Crowley), recently purchased a lovely home a block from downtown Crowley (site of the festival) and
invites friends over to relax in the shade, use a first-class bathroom, share a bite to eat and a cool drink of your choice and perhaps visit with hometown folks you may not have seen in 15 or 20 years - right alongside those you saw last week.
This was a special highlight of the day - because Dad loves going there and it was obvious he was enjoying himself talking to Robert Habetz - with whom he played Fast-pitch softball 40 years ago on the Crowley Knights of Columbus team that was perennial champions in its SW Louisiana league.
2005 Children's Parade October 14, 2005 at Rice FestivalMy sister Jackie and I also enjoyed a walk up and down Parkerson Avenue downtown, and each ran into several friends whom we had not seen in several years (in one case for me - 20+ years), stopping to briefly catch up and exchange hugs or handshakes and contact info.
One, an evacuee from New Orleans who had never been the Rice Festival, even walked with us for an hour before she had to return to her temporary job in Lafayette. Ironically - she had performed in Crowley in early1985 at an event in the Rice Festival Building - but had never attended the festival itself until yesterday.
This was exhilarating. Some longtime friends can pick up right where you left off with them with astounding accuracy and perfect emotional pitch. I was falling in love all over again with many of the ladies and also feeling that powerful "buddy" relationship re-bonding with the guys.
Laced all through our walk were sweet remembrances of our recently-deceased Mother "Sis," and how she loved her hometown's festival. Sis attended last year (2004) with Jackie, and she shared some classic quotes and behavior mom dished out during her final Rice Festival fun time.
"Good grief, people are fatter !" Sis deadpanned to Jax as they walked up and down the seven-blocks of food booths and games and rides and exhibits (mom weighed less than 100 pounds at the time but spent most of her life with shapely curves and post-baby [she had eight!] weight).
One, an evacuee from New Orleans who had never been the Rice Festival, even walked with us for an hour before she had to return to her temporary job in Lafayette. Ironically - she had performed in Crowley in early1985 at an event in the Rice Festival Building - but had never attended the festival itself until yesterday.
This was exhilarating. Some longtime friends can pick up right where you left off with them with astounding accuracy and perfect emotional pitch. I was falling in love all over again with many of the ladies and also feeling that powerful "buddy" relationship re-bonding with the guys.
Laced all through our walk were sweet remembrances of our recently-deceased Mother "Sis," and how she loved her hometown's festival. Sis attended last year (2004) with Jackie, and she shared some classic quotes and behavior mom dished out during her final Rice Festival fun time.
"Good grief, people are fatter !" Sis deadpanned to Jax as they walked up and down the seven-blocks of food booths and games and rides and exhibits (mom weighed less than 100 pounds at the time but spent most of her life with shapely curves and post-baby [she had eight!] weight).
Jackie recounted that Sis would also motion "come here" with an index finger to children, pointing out candy left lying on the street after the Grand Parade's treat-tossing float riders had passed. After the child would capture the unclaimed sweet stuff, mom would say "you keep it," as if she were bestowing a gift on them.
Along the way - we bought a "poke chop sammich" from a famous booth that slathers two pieces of white bread with BBQ sauce and plops a pork chop down between them that hangs over the sides all around. Yum. We washed it down with lemonade chocked full of cracked ice and floating lemon slices.
We enjoyed watching the children's parade, and a school at which Jackie is assistant principal (Mermentau Elementary) won first place with a Two-Story Mardi Gras Float lookalike, complete with a New Orleans-style street lamp atop it all and plenty of youngins flinging purple, green, and gold beads. They deserved to win.
It all ended way too soon - but inspired me to do this again.
Thomas Wolfe was wrong. You can go home again - if you time it right !
We did.
