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Beau Wann, Jr.
YES, HAPPY GNU YEAR....WOOHOOOOO, me that's who! Hey Scotty, is the Four Roses Cafe and Four Roses General Store, and Four Roses Car Wash still in Duson? That was sometime in 72 when I first went through there. There was a French lady from France, Paris to be perzact, that owned all that stuff, plus she was the chef also too. Fixed us a mess of fried shrimp without batter. Never had it's equal since.
I was visiting a friend that lived in Duson at the time. That boy coulda been "Lawrence of Arabia", he did so many things, except he was more of a Johnny from Texas. That boy was a "boomer", a cassanova, the original "Wanderer", a latter day adventurer. He never got out of Junior High before he got itchy feet. Worked on the railroad, Joined the Army, sent to Germany, quit the army, and they had to let him go because he had a heart murmur. Should never have been allowed to join in the first place, but as I recall, all was fair game for a "recruiter". In fact, he was not suppose to live past his 21st birthday.
Johnny and his family belonged to, or sort of belonged to Oak Forest Baptist Church right there at the corner of Rosslyn and 43rd. They had a revival one summer and they invited me to come along. Having never been to a Baptist revival, I went along.
Got saved that weekend, even though I didnt know what that meant at the time. I just followed everyone else down the aisle to the stage, actually I was pushed and pulled down that "saving aisle". You know who the "savers" were? None other than a young Freddy Gage and Jimmy Swaggert, both decked out in Gold lame' suites. Yessir, I was saved by the best.
I couldnt tell you how many times Johnny was married. Isnt there a limit, 6 or 7 times, then not allowed to marry again? Probably reached the limit before he was 30. At the time I was visiting him, he was the Milkman and Sheriff of Duson at the same time, or whatever parish that duson was in. He was also a police officer in the Spring Valley police force till he got shot, had to retire and all before 40 or so. But that never slowed him down.
He once showed up at my apartment dressed in a real, black and silver Bullfighters outfit, topped off with a huge matching sombrero. Seems he'd just come from Mexico and was excited and wanted to share his riches with me, his compadre, and a 6 AM too. Had two suitcases with him, one of them "clinked" and the other seemed to move on it's own. The one that clinked was full of tequila and the one that moved had two boa constrictors in it. I didnt own a gun at that point, cause if I did I would have shot him and the snakes and drnak the tequila before the gendarmes came to get me.
Later on, a few years down the line, he and Cajun wife number ? brought us a Duroc Piglet. Said I could keep it as a pet and then when it was full grown, I'd have about 1500 pounds of ham and bacon and pork belly...in oak forest! ! ! Time and distance and substance, money, meant nothing to him. Once saw him charm a cottonmouth snake with his left hand, then reach around and grab the snake behind the head with his right hand. Onliest (east texas for only) way I'd grab a snake is with a 12 gauge.
Once he came over in a green 62 or 63 MG or Jag, said he picked it up in Kansas after a bus load of nuns or priests ran a stopsign and broadsided his other car whatever in the heck that was. He had a crosley or Henry J at one time. We were going down 43rd right at mangum before the RR tracks when he turned it over on it's side. How I know we were on it's side was the road was sliding past my window. We jumped out and turned it right side up and whoosh, off we went on our appointed rounds. This was all before seat belts. How we mangaged to survive all his shenanagans I'll never know.
ALL the ladies, girls, females seemed to gravitate to him, and I mean ALL. If any resisted, I thought he'd met his match, but then a little time passed and there they would be, walking arm in arm, all lovey dovey. He could sweet talk any female living or dead out of just about anything. Never met his like, his kind, I guess sort of a con-man, "The great imposter". Dont know where he is today if He's still alive. He would be in his late 70s or early 80s by now. Looking back I'm so glad I did not succumb to his con man charm, I'd probably be in prison and he'd still be wanderin free as a bird.
I also had a long distance relationship with a telephone operator in Duson. She'd call me up after midnight on a no cost trunk, no long distance bill, we'd talk for hours. I never got to meet her! Dont know just what we talked about, i was anything but a sweet talker. If I'd been Johnny, she'd a found away to squeeze through the phone lines to be with him.
Now how did I get off on all that stuff? Well, HAPPY GNU YEAR to all youse youtes. Hey Johnny, sounds like you had a great time planned for the gnu year. Wish I felt up to doing stuff like that. Just got too old too fast. Of course I partied hardy back in the day, guess I'm all partied out, too pooped to pop so to speak.
Time to deplane boss...keep the sun at your six and "ride boldly ride..."
Your frien and resident recollecter, Cephus T Magillicutty Allen Badillion Trahern esq
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Hope everyone started the New Year ---- the New Year of The Mad Dog 2020. 