"Your recent 'loading dock dummy' story reminded me of a similar prank I pulled on my college-age daughter," says T.W., of Baton Rouge.
"During the COVID lockdowns, I set up a martial arts workout room in our spare bedroom.
"One of the training items was 'Punching Bob,' a full-size, lifelike upper body target mounted on a stand.
"I dressed him in a trench coat and baseball hat and placed him in my daughter's bathroom after she went to bed.
"Needless to say, I didn’t need to set my alarm that night because the screams, then laughter (mostly screams), I heard the next morning woke me up.
"And thanks to modern technology, I have the video, if anyone wants to see it.
"She swore revenge, so I’m still looking over my shoulder quite often …"
What's a 'county'?
Marie Lee, of Marrero, has an "only in Louisiana" story:
"My husband was answering questions on the phone for an insurance policy when he was asked his address and his county.
"Being from Louisiana, his answer was, 'No county.'
"The person on the line said he had to have a county, but my husband disagreed.
"Hearing him talking, I told him to say 'Jefferson.' But he said, 'That’s a parish. They’re not asking me what parish.'
'He went back and forth with them, until I finally convinced him to answer 'Jefferson.'"
Eat your yak
Russ Wise, of LaPlace, says about our Thursday story on camel meat: "I've dined on camel in North Africa. It's good, but a bit stringy.
"I've also enjoyed yak in Tibet (before I visited an open-air yak-meat shop), and several dishes made with yak butter.
"Many villagers in Nepal and Tibet keep themselves warm in winter by burning dried yak patties. We were there in the summer and saw them stacked outside, but never had the 'pleasure' of being around when they were used."
Dishing it out
"In the mid-1970s, we bought a large antique armoire," says Wayne Smith, of Covington.
"We cleaned it up, put glass shelves in it, and kept our dinnerware, glasses, linens, and a few other things in it.
"A colleague of mine came to dinner and brought her mother 'of a certain age' with her.
"We were in and out of the armoire that evening.
"The next day, my colleague told me that after she and her mother left our house, her mother stated emphatically, 'We were poor comin' up, but we were never so poor we had to put our dishes in the arm-er.'"
Holy cleaner!
Ernie Gremillion, of Baton Rouge, says, "Sitting in my recliner this morning working with my laptop computer, I noticed the screen was pretty dirty.
"I had a bottle of lens cleaner in the basket next to my chair. I reached in and came up with a small bottle.
"After spraying it on the PC screen and wiping it off with a cloth, the screen was totally clean.
"When I put the bottle away, I noticed the label identified it as holy water from Lourdes someone had given me.
"I guess the properties of holy water can cure things other than personal health problems."
Say what?
Carolyn Edwards, of Baton Rouge, says, "I could go on forever about my dear friend who uttered the 'Magic Marker' malapropism you recently published. (Confusing Magic Marker and Magic Johnson.)
"Asked how her vegetable garden was doing, she responded, 'Oh, kind of medium okra.'
"Passing the book depository in Dallas, she said, 'That's the book suppository, isn't it?'
"Asking if she remembered a certain person, she said, 'That name lights a bell.' And on and on …"