A tale of an adventure in philately, from Collin B. Hamer Jr., a retired librarian at the New Orleans Public Library.
He says, "The Wednesday note about rats from Nancy Van Den Akker reminded me of my own encounter.
"In between college semesters, I had a job at my dad's company painting scaffolds. Although it was one of the most boring jobs I ever had, it had the advantage of letting me off an hour before my dad.
"I would spend at least part of it dumpster diving for postage stamps to add to my collection.
"This went on for a few weeks before I realized I had some competition, and I was practically nose to nose with the biggest rat I ever saw. I immediately returned to the more traditional and safer ways of collecting stamps."
Ralphie at war
"Years ago, during the Vietnam War, I read an article about the U.S. Army using BB guns to train soldiers for armed combat," says Edwin Fleischmann, of Metairie.
"It sounded like a good idea at the time, so when I received orders to report to the Vietnam Theater for military service, I bought a BB gun…Daisy Red Ryder?…and I practiced shooting with it.
"As it turned out, the training must have paid off, because in training for deployment, I made the highest score in the camp for marksmanship, and earned the 'marksman' medal with the AR15/M16."
No use trying
Pauline Couvillion Banquer, of Baton Rouge, says our recent mention of the pronunciation of "Gremillion" outside south Louisiana brought to mind this story:
"My mother’s maiden name was Gremillion. My father’s sister, a Couvillion, married a Gremillion.
"My Aunt Teresa lived in Pensacola, Florida. I was visiting when she listened to a voicemail that pronounced her name as 'Gre-million.'
"I asked her why she didn’t correct the caller about her name.
"She said, 'Baby, I can’t get my longtime hairdresser to pronounce it right, much less all of Florida.'”
Wives' views
On Saturday, Peter Dassey told of a king snake that escaped in his house. He said he had to go to work overseas, and left his wife to deal with the hidden reptile.
This story got some reaction from ladies:
Elaine Babin says, "That woman and family are brave. I would have gone overseas with him till the snake was found!"
And Pauline, of Baton Rouge, says, "It’s a good thing I’m not married to Peter Dassey. He’d be dead and I’d be in jail for murder."
Speaking Southern
Robert, of Baton Rouge, comments on our Saturday story about adults still being called "Baby" by their parents:
"There was a 'Baby' in my mother’s family, too. She was the youngest of three children.
"Her sister was 'Sister' and her brother was 'Brother.' Her father, a doctor, was 'Big Daddy,' and her mother was 'Big Mama.' It’s a Southern thing."
(It's also a thing Tennessee Williams used in naming characters in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.")
Special People Dept.
Lessleen Owen, of Lafayette, celebrated her 96th birthday Saturday, April 13. She had a successful real estate career in Lafayette.
Nutty name
After a contributor commented on "peecans" as an alternative pronunciation of "pecans," I heard from a number of readers who found the former word amusing.
One even quoted Mark Twain, who weighed in on the subject of "peecans."
I've decided not to pursue the matter further. You could say I've decided not to go with the flow.