{"id":2362,"date":"2023-10-27T01:13:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T01:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/?p=2362"},"modified":"2023-09-16T15:36:46","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T15:36:46","slug":"chap-33-meanwhile-in-mamou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/?p=2362","title":{"rendered":"Chap. 33 – Meanwhile in Mamou . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chapter 33<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile in Mamou . . .<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Rocky and Skip finished the ride to Fred\u2019s about four in the afternoon, having driven through rain most the day.  The last stretch was a 20-mile two-lane straight road through a flat land with no scenery.  Tante Sue was bartending when they arrived; the place near empty.  \u201cTante Sue\u201d is how she introduced herself.  (\u201cTante\u201d is Cajun for \u201cAuntie.\u201d)  She and Fred owned the place.  But now it\u2019s just her after Fred died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cWhat can I get ya\u2019ll?  Heard you wuz comin\u2019.  Where\u2019s the rest of the gang?  Whaddaya call yourselves, The Rompers?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Tante Sue didn\u2019t stop.  \u201cMet three of ya\u2019s already.  Great guy, that big fella Sam, but they all skadaddled quick.  Well, you see, your lady friend, Sunshine I think she calls \u2018erself \u2013 well, Cajun wimmen don\u2019t take kindly to makin\u2019 out with their husbands.  That she was a-doin\u2019.  We got a wife on the warpath.  Came in just as theys took off. We go for dancin\u2019 here, not breakin\u2019 up marriages.  Poor fella was half in his cups, gettin\u2019 takin\u2019 advantage of.  Least that\u2019s what I tol\u2019 his wife.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cAw geez, Tante Sue,\u201d Rocky said, \u201cshe\u2019s not really with us.  Actually we\u2019re here to try to rescue Big Sam from her.  Can you get us a couple of those Double Shotgun IPAs I\u2019ve been hearing about?\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cNo more dancing until next Saturday?\u201d Skip asked, admiring all the framed stories on the walls, including one from the NY Times Travel Section about \u2018Tante Sue from Mamou.\u2019  \u201cWe heard Saturday morning you\u2019re the best dance hall anywhere – and what a great sign you got hanging by the bathrooms ‘If You’re Not Having Fun at Fred’s, You’re Doing It Wrong!’.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cDunno \u2018bout nowhere but here, but yessir, it\u2019s a local tradition to party Saturday mornings, then long afternoon naps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cFolks around here mostly for Trump running again?\u201d Skip asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Rocky tried cutting off the conversation, \u201cThanks Tante, we\u2019ve got to be pushing off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cNot Trump so much, maybe that Florida guy, mostly we only vote for Mayor around here.  Tell that Sam fella he\u2019s welcome back \u2013 might be better if he leaves the dame home,\u201d Tante Sue bid us adieu.  \u201cLeissez les bons temps roullez.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     First call was to Huck: \u201cWe heard about the fast exit – Patty told us Sunshine and Peaches would be nothing but trouble. Maybe you should just cut away and we\u2019ll pick you up somewhere.  Everything OK?  Where are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cOh man, they liked<\/em> us at that bar,\u201d Huck explained.  \u201cAll the guys were dancing with Sunshine.  Big Sam was helping tend bar by the time we left.  He and Tante Sue were getting along great.  Peaches was holding court about how great RV\u2019g is, and then one of the guys he\u2019s talking with says, \u2018You guys better scamper.  Heard there\u2019s a wife comin\u2019 lookin\u2019 for her hubby, but first to whack your gal.\u2019  We were quick outta there.  We\u2019re almost to Lafayette \u2013 another music town.  Peaches says there\u2019s a Walmart.  Come in on 182 and you\u2019ll find us.  I\u2019m going to crash for awhile.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Second call was returning a missed call from the Land Yacht.  Sally answered, \u201cWhat did I tell you, Skip!  It was a mistake not to recruit a mechanic for this trip \u2013 the Yacht\u2019s broken down.  We\u2019re stuck on U.S. 167 just south of some small town called Ruston and it\u2019s friggin\u2019 raining outside.  How much did you budget for keeping this old boat afloat?  We\u2019ve got a tow coming, we think.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cHey, we\u2019re only an hour away \u2013 we\u2019ll start heading back towards you,\u201d Skip said.  \u201cKeep us posted.\u201d  Then, turning to Rocky, \u201cCall Huck and tell him we\u2019re not coming Lafayette way.  From what I could hear in the background, nobody on the Yacht is going to want to party in Lafayette, or anywhere else.  We need to get back up to I-20 and see what\u2019s next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      An hour later we spy the Land Yacht up ahead and a tow truck with its lights flashing – one of those big ones made to tow a semi-trailer.  Turns out the tow driver was a mechanic with a good sense of humor.  After making fun of our bumper stickers, he says, \u201cWhad you expect with a battery-operated RV?\u201d  Checking things over, he discovered water in the spark plugs.  \u201cWhad ya try to do \u2013 make it a pontoon boat?\u201d he says laughing, drying off the spark plugs.  \u201cNext time, slow down for dem deep puddles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     A half hour later, we\u2019re all having coffee at some truck stop on I-20 figuring out what to do next.  Patty suggested, \u201cTell Huck to meet us in Daphne, with or without Big Sam.  But maybe use this as an excuse to ditch Peaches and Sunshine.\u201d Sally agreed, saying she was also in to ditching Big Sam as soon as possible, adding \u201cWhat\u2019s next.  Daphne, Alabama?  Who is it we want to visit there anyhow?  Let\u2019s get to where it\u2019s sunnier as fast as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Leaving the truck stop, Jack took back his Land Rover, this time with Max, not Sally, as his navigator.  Skip was back driving the Land Yacht.  We spent all night driving on I-20 trying to get some sleep.  Patty convinced us that visiting Bonnie in Daphne was important to her (privately telling Sally, \u201ceven essential.\u201d)  Sally and Patty kept up a private conversation, Patty asking Sally, \u201cWhat\u2019s the big hurry?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       Patty was intrigued by Sally\u2019s answer: \u201cI don\u2019t know what to do.  We\u2019re almost to the east coast.  We\u2019re close to finishing the list of visits.  What am I going to do?  Bring Jack home with me?  Right!  I just can\u2019t be sure if I\u2019m in love with Jack, or in love with<\/em> just<\/em> being<\/em> loved<\/em> again<\/em>.  You know what he calls me, doncha?  \u2018Sally B\u2019 \u2013 B for beautiful.\u201d  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter 33 Meanwhile in Mamou . . .      Rocky and Skip finished the ride to Fred\u2019s about four in the afternoon, having driven through rain most the day.  The last stretch was a 20-mile two-lane straight road through a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2362"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2362"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2635,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2362\/revisions\/2635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}