Beignets for Breakfast

June 11, 2013

 

Pleasant conversation over coffee and beignets made for a delightful Louisiana style breakfast with Mr. Boudreaux this morning in a nearby town called Scott. We went to the Scott Museum after that, where Mr. Boudreaux knew everything about everyone. While we were inside, I overheard the man who worked there tell another lady that Mr. Boudreaux was the man to talk to if anyone ever wanted to know anything about Scott or the original families that resided there. I felt pretty honored to be able to be shown around town and have stories told by such a well-known and well-liked man.

Once we finished up at the museum, I went out on my own to take some pictures of peoples properties and horses. Earlier in the day, Mr. Boudreaux pointed out that all of the roads between his house and Scott were 90 degree turns because they were once dirt roads, tromped only by horse-drawn carriages. When they laid concrete over the roads they didn’t bother to change their direction, and also didn’t leave any room to park on the side of them. The lack of parking room caused me a little bit of trouble when trying to take photos. I was unable to capture quite as many shots as I wanted, but I made do with what I could get.

 

Mr. Boudreaux's favorite road- Scott, LA

 

A dinner for retired railroad workers is held every second Tuesday of each month, and lucky for me, today was that day! When we walked into Golden Corral, Mr. Boudreaux whispered to me, “Look, I’m about to have all them old farts talkin’!” As soon as we walked into the private room, one of Mr. Boudreaux’s friends walked up to him, took a look at me, shook Mr. Boudreaux’s hand, and said, “Congratulations, Cowboy!” Mr. Boudreaux just looked at me and laughed. He had previously shared with me that his nickname for the 25 years he worked on the railroad was "Cowboy." Once we were in the room with all his railroad buddies, I realized that to be true. Everyone hollered after him, “Cowboy this!” and “Cowboy that!” He told a lot of the same stories that he had already shared with me, but I didn’t mind hearing them again. One story he told was this: “One day, a priest was driving down the road and he was jerking and swerving all over the place. A police man pulled him over and asked him, ‘Father, have you been drinking?’ Father replied, ‘No sir.’ The police man noticed several bottles in the back seat of the priest’s car, and he asked him, ‘Well Father, what have you got in the back of your car?’ Father replied, ‘Well, that’s holy water, son.’ The officer asked him, ‘Do you mind if I taste it?’ Father said, ‘Sure thing.’ When the police man tasted what was in the bottle, he said, ‘Father, that’s not water, that’s wine!’ Father shot his hands up in the air and shouted, ‘He did it again!’” Everyone in the room, including Mr. Boudreaux, bust into laughter. Listening to Mr. Boudreaux catch up and joke with all his friends was a great time, and he kindly introduced me to each and every one of them.

When dinner was over, we made our way back to the house. Mr. Boudreaux let me use his washer and dryer so that I don’t stink for the rest of my trip, because in the morning- I’m off to my next stop.