Another Boy Scout camping story, from Sonny Punch, of Lafayette:
"When my sons, Ryan and Joshua, were Scouts, we were overnight camping at Camp Steen, near Abbeville.
"While playing tag at night, Ryan ran into a PVC water spigot, breaking the supply pipe below ground. Had to get the camp manager out of bed late at night to shut the water off.
"Several weeks later, we were camping at Camp Chicot and used 12-inch gutter nails for tent stakes. Around midnight, Ryan and his tentmate woke the Scout leader and me up, yelling 'Mr. Fritz, Mr. Fritz! There’s water running under our tent!'
"Ryan had centered his 12-inch tent stake through the PVC water main! Had to wake the Camp Chicot manager to shut the water off!
"Fritz told Ryan, 'Boy, if we ever go camping in the desert, you are coming with us!'"
Unguided missile
A submission to our "Dumb Things Kid Do" file, from Craig Cearnal, of Baton Rouge:
"When I was 13 or so, growing up in Houston, my friend Eugene came back from visiting relatives in Louisiana with an M-80 firecracker.
"We started looking for something to blow up and decided on a Houston phone book, back then about 3 inches thick.
"We placed the phone book on the garage floor, opened the book halfway, put the M-80 in, lit the fuse, closed the book and ran.
"After the 'boom!' we ran in to see the damage, expecting shredded paper everywhere.
"All we found was half the book, and no debris. We looked all around for the rest, then noticed the phone book-sized hole in the garage’s Sheetrock ceiling — where the rest of the book went into the attic.
"His mom was none too happy when she came out and grabbed him. I don’t remember seeing Eugene for quite a while after that."
Dangerous 'dillo
Adding to our seminar on armadillos is Nathan Gautreau, of Galvez:
"My buddies and I would go camping and touring early in the morning. One of our stops was the old Gonzales pool for a quick dip.
"To get to the fence surrounding the pool, we had to climb a hill. When we got to the top, we encountered an armadillo and accidentally cornered it.
"It leapt up on my buddy, Peabody. As Peabody rolled down the hill with the armadillo, it tore his chest up. We were too busy laughing to help. He was screaming pretty bad. I still laugh when I think about it."
(My guess, Nathan, is that Peabody didn't laugh quite as much as you did.)
Happy listeners
"Your item about New Orleans' clear channel WWL radio reminded me of my childhood in Port Gibson, Mississippi, in the 1950s," says Dick Hastings, of Abita Springs.
"Our AM radio stayed tuned to WWL. From 7:15 until 9 a.m. on weekdays, we heard 'The Dawnbusters,' hosted by Henry Dupre.
"Pinky Vidacovich led a band, with vocals by Margie O'Dair and one or two others. A Cajun comedian (Pinky) was also featured.
"During the day, my mother heard Arthur Godfrey’s daily live variety show on CBS, followed by several soap operas.
"In the early mornings, I learned a lot about New Orleans, never imagining I would spend my retirement years on the northshore."
Beats ironing
"When my kids were young, we lived in Baton Rouge's Southdowns neighborhood," says Roger Peak.
"Our washing machine was out back in a shed next to the backyard.
"One day while I was mowing the backyard, someone asked 'Where's Dad?'
"My daughter Jordan replied, 'He went out to mow the laundry.'"