"Articles about snakes reminded me of a joint effort for a science project in seventh grade," says Sonny Punch, of Lafayette.
"My buddy Barry and I were at our favorite fishing hole one Friday afternoon in Westwego. There were numerous water snakes there, so we got the bright idea to capture some for our science class project.
"We got about 12 medium-size specimens. At my friend’s house, across from Belle Terre Park, we excitedly told his mom about our terrific project. She was horrified and deathly afraid of snakes, and ordered us to dispose of them immediately!
"I said I would take care of the reptiles. About midmorning on Saturday, Barry excitedly called and said, 'Listen!'
"I could hear gunshots over the phone! On Friday evening I had released the snakes into three different portable toilets. There was a baseball game that morning, and a sheriff’s deputy was permanently disposing of the snakes!
"My parents never learned about this, so no Punch buns were harmed."
Save the snake!
Jamie Owen Parkerson, of Lafayette, says, "In 1994 my nephew was living with our mama when the room he was using as a sitting room had an electrical fire.
"He had a boa constrictor in there. When the fire was extinguished, a fireman came downstairs with the snake over his shoulders.
"It was so big it touched the ground on both sides. A picture of the snake made the front page of the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. Needless to say, the neighbors weren’t happy!"
Rough riders
Matt Lynch, of Baton Rouge, says, "Your Tuesday discussion about college mascots in Arkansas (Boll Weevils, etc.) reminded me of our time living in Magnolia, Arkansas, in the 1990s.
"Magnolia has a small university called Southern Arkansas University, and they are known as the 'Muleriders.' The nickname was reportedly from the days of the early 20th century when the football team traveled to away games on mules.
"As a side note, the Henderson State Reddies of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, had a football fight song set to the tune of 'Give Me That Old Time Religion.'
"Imagine hearing that tune every time they scored a touchdown!"
Okra forever!
I was saddened to see that an online listing of items available that celebrate Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, has relatively few "Fighting Okra" mugs, caps, etc.
Seems "Statesmen" is now the favored nickname.
As the proud owner of a "Fear the Okra" coffee mug, I'm disappointed but not surprised. "Fighting Okra," I'm guessing, is a favorite of the students, while the more dignified "Statesmen" sounds like something the administration would prefer.
Which is odd, because while there's plenty of okra in Mississippi, I'm not familiar with any statesmen from my home state.
Say, can you see?
Tuesday morning's dense fog brought comments from readers:
• Jane Honeycutt says, "Please remind drivers to turn on car lights on foggy mornings if they don't come on automatically. I couldn't believe the number of gray and silver cars with no lights Tuesday morning!"
• Faye Guidry says, "The morning I saw the fog, I was reminded of our niece Kristin Bryan Casemore’s description when she was around 3: 'It’s froggy this morning.'"
Team effort
"My young granddaughter wanted to play T-ball with her friends," says Martin Goldstein.
"At bat, she hit a slow ground ball that dribbled between first and second base.
"As the players watched it go by, the coach on the sideline yelled, 'Get the ball' — and all 10 players on the field, including the batter, all ran after the ball.
"We all had a good laugh."