Ci et Ca Avec Belle

WELCOME SWEET SPRINGTIME....

After a long and cold winter spell and a taste of spring during the last weeks of February, we are definitely ready for spring to come and stay!  Everything in the yards are dead and will require lots of tender loving care to get back the green foliage and the colorful blooms.  Most things need trimming to remove the dead branches and leaves, but not too soon, since many will come back with the warm sunshine.  

The Annual Cleanest City Contest will require lots of effort to show our city to be the beautiful one that we have each year.  We are certain that the City crews will be working to renew the always lovely blooms on the main streets and I-10 entrance to downtown.  They do such a great job every year and we are always amazed looking at the wonderful results they accomplish.  Our thanks to all of you in advance for your dedicated work.  

The Rayne Garden Club members and every home owner always contribute many hours of hard work to beautify the yards and the park areas in town in order that our city can be recognized for this annual honor.  The District competition and judging will take place the first week in April. Make sure to get your lawns cleaned up, planted and ready for the judges -- they will be on the lookout during their ride-around. Each of us needs to do what we can to get the job done for the judges to see the best we have to show.  Good luck to our City and all residents, and businesses and lets get another state title!

ANOTHER RITE OF SPRING...

This is one that many of us enjoy, and that is to observe the beginning of Daylight Savings Time.  Yes, the time changes on Sunday, March 9th.  Remember to set your clocks to spring forward one hour, which results in an important benefit for all. We don’t know if you share our love for this date, but we know that you all will enjoy the longer evenings.  This was not the original intent for this change, but it has become the reason that most have fun in the longer evening daylight.  Enjoy this new time and the extra sunlight hours for lots of outdoor fun activities.  

Daylight Savings time will end on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2014. At that time we will fall back and move the clocks back an hour.  But in-between times, enjoy the DST. 

Still another exciting event in springtime for most is baseball and other programs available for our young people.  The Recreation Department is looking for volunteers to serve as coaches and asst. coaches for the teams.  They are a much needed and important part to providing these fun programs for our youngsters.  We hope that you will contact the Recreation Department and see what you can do to help in these needed youth programs!  The kids need you! And you will have a great time working with them.

AN ALWAYS FUN TIME....

We hope that you got to “run Mardi Gras”.  There were many exciting and fun things for all ages, from the parades, to the Courrir de Mardi Gras in Church Point, Iota and many other places that celebrate the customs of the old fashion way.  They are fun to watch and you could even join in for the gumbo and dance at the end of the “run”.  The parades were held in Lafayette and every town in the area.  Do hope that your catching arms and hands were successful in  pulling  in the treasured throws in the parades.  This is aways a time that is fun for all ages and ends with the Holy Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of the Lenten season. 

We even loved watching TV for the Mardi Gras costumes at the Lafayette celebration.  The children were adorable and their outfits beautiful, creative, and colorful.  They definitely showed  the work of the parents who helped the children in having the “best” costume of the day. 

Another fun time this month is when everyone is IRISH and green is the color of the day.  Yes, St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated on Monday, March 17th so get your favorite green outfit to wear so that you don’t get “pinched” for not wearing the color of the day.  Corned Beef and Cabbage is the main dish on the menu of the day for many. We have finally learned to cook it but it is not one of our favorite dishes.  

Springtime is such a happy time and we pray that you all will enjoy it and the many activities that we can take part in with the warmer weather.  Love this time of the year!

LOUISIANA, THE NEW HOLLYWOOD....

There are many movies and television series being filmed here in our state and some in our local area.  One of which is the “Haunted” series which is shown at 9 P.M. on Sundays.  These programs take the viewers behind the scenes of a paranormal investigation, as the cast confronts the “unknown” and documents the history of events at each location. 

The HBO police drama of “True Detective” has been filmed in Louisiana in various locations in the state.  The series stars Woody Harrelson (of Cheers) and Matthew McConaughey (up for an Oscar for a featured movie) .  These two detectives follow dangerous leads as they attempt to track down prime serial killer, Reggie LeDoux. 

These are just two of many that have moved their studios to our state. Baton, Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport are utilized in movies that young and old enjoy watching the shoots and then seeing the movies as they are released.  

There are two movies that were made in New Orleans that are up for Oscars on Sunday night.  “12 Years a Slave” and “Dallas Buyers Club” have 15 Academy Award nominations between them.  Having those pictures shot in New Orleans provided opportunities for many local talents to be used in the movies. 

According to the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate more studios are being built and moving into the Baton Rouge, Shreveport areas and in Port Allen which will also result in Lafayette being a site for many future productions.   

There are casting calls often listed in the papers and on TV to find locals to participate in some of the scenes for the movies.  Watch for them.  It can be fun to do and a great experience also.

GREAT LOSSES FOR THE

ENTERTAINMENT WORLD AND ALL.....

It was heartbreaking for us to read about the passing of one of our earliest loves.  Shirley Temple entertained us and we so wanted to sing and dance as she did so well.  But, even more, we wanted her beautiful curls and her great dimples which were one of the highlights of her smile.

We sang, “Animal Crackers in my soup...Monkeys and Lions loop de loop”  or something like that. Then we tried to tap as she did.  We took dancing classes when our mom played the piano for the classes.  But, alas, we had no talent.  We had two “left feet”.  

 But, we might still have some beautiful curly hair we thought.  Our hair was very thin and very white and very straight.  But, the sweet “moma” that kept us while Mom worked tried to help us.  She tore a brown paper bag into strips and wrapped our hair in the strips very tight.  It worked, we had some curly hair for about 10 or 15 minutes until it returned to it’s straight and thin look.  She told our mom that she had used “poppyotts” to try to curl my hair and she  also did it on some special occasions and we really thought we could be Shirley!  A note to our younger readers.  There were no curlers or anything for hair as there are today.  Nothing much in fact.  We washed our hair in rain water and used the poppyotts to try to get it looking fuller, etc.  We are not sure of the spelling of the brown paper strips used to curl our hair.  But, we spelled it as it sounded.  No one could tell us how to spell it. 

Shirley was three years older than us, and we would sit in the picture show from the time it opened until it closed just to watch and dream of being another Shirley.  The Craig family owned the picture show, Mom sold tickets and Pop ran the projector to show the movies, so we could sit through all of the shows and watch that someone we really wanted to be. 

Seeing the clips of those early movies, hearing her sing, “On the Good Ship Lollypop” and the other songs we learned and sang with her really brought back great memories and lots of sadness knowing she is no longer with us.  Thank you Shirley for being a role model for the young girls who watched you as well as the entertainment you gave to adults.  You were a tremendous influence on us all.  RIP Shirley and Thanks for the Memories. 

Another great loss of someone we enjoyed watching and laughing with for years was Sid Caesar, the star of the “Show of Shows”.  His comedy was so unique and surprising and he was surrounded by wonderful comedians, his co-star, Imogene Coco, who was also a great talent.  Their writers went on to be stars in comedy shows after the end of the “Show of Shows”.  An unusual thing about their shows was that they were really funny, and everything was “clean”.  No bad words or jokes that hurt other people... Just funny in ways that we can’t describe.  

 There were clips on TV on his passing and just watching these short clips made us laugh just remembering his tremendous talent.  When his show was on television, we all would sit,  ready to watch and be entertained and we were never disappointed.  He was a great teacher for others who wanted to be in comedy.  You were and will be missed Sid Caesar.  Thank you for bringing much happiness and laughter into the world and into our lives.  Rest In Peace  Sid and know we appreciated and enjoyed having you in our lives.  God Bless You and Rest In Peace!

Little of This and That....

.....Congratulations to Ray Lantier for his latest honor.  He was recognized for his work with a special Louisiana task force formed by the Secret Service to combat financial crimes, such as counterfeiting.  Ray served almost four years along with other Louisiana police officers selected by the Secret Service to form this specialized task force.  He was cited for “outstanding assistance and support on behalf of the investigative and protective responsibilities of the United Secret Service.  We are very proud of Ray for this honor, but it does not come as a surprise to us.  We have known him since his high school years at Rayne High and watched him as he became a very special part of Rayne and the Rayne Police Department. Ray has always been a very special friend to us. We send our love and  congratulations to Ray  and to his precious wife, Kat. 

.....We watched with interest a story on TV which reported that work was underway to clean up the old St. Louis cemetery where Marie Laveau is buried.  For years, many have made their way to her tomb to mark it with three “XXX’s”.  It was thought that this would bring good luck to those who marked the grave and through the years it was covered with these marks.  Work was being done to redo the bricks and mortar of the tomb, clean off the crosses and clean the area around it. It was also believed that to have some of the graveyard dirt from around her grave could be used  to ward off evil spirits at a residence.  

This was of interest to us since we had visited the grave years ago when we were going to school in Indiana and were really worried about being so far away from home for the first time. So we drew our three X’s, and got a little graveyard dirt to take with us to Terre Haute.  After all, why not. It would not hurt and if it helped we would be much better off and rest easy.  It must have worked since we finished the year and a half program, with lots and lots of luck, and we had no evil spirits chasing us while we were there.  

Now, since no one can do that anymore, we wonder where they will be able to get some good luck and ward off the evil spirits.  We’re certain that the true voodoo believers will find something.  It’s going to be interesting to watch what happens in the future. 

.....Happy belated good wishes to our dear friends, Helen and Carol Menard on their 55th wedding anniversary..A wonderful, loving couple with a close and dear family.  We hope the day was special and filled with lots of fun and happiness.  We pray that the coming year will be the best every for you two.  Much love and blessings. 

.....Just wondering why the Oscar Nominated song, “Alone, yet not alone”, was removed from the nomination process.  In all of the years that this was a category of honor, only 4 songs have been rescinded  It is a beautiful Christian song, and we wonder if that might be the reason it was removed from the competition.  It’s a mystery, although we are unsure if anyone will ever know the reason.  

Also, we read recently that at a trial for the murder of a young man, his mother was called to the witness stand to testify in the case.  When she was sworn in, she was told to repeat the oath, which she did, however, the statement did not end with the words “In God Trust”.  She stood and would not sit until the judge ruled that she could add that statement. It had been removed from all of the courts in that district was the explanation.  Can’t help but wonder! 

.....A true hero that we can admire!  Gary Sinise, a nominee for an Oscar for his role in “Forrest Gump” with Tom Hanks a number of years ago resulted in “Lt. Dan”, his role in the movie, into a spokeman and active supporter of the wounded military.  He developed a Foundation to assist in the many programs to help them.  Just this past week, Sinise took 50 of the severely wounded vets from a Washington hospital in a chartered plane to Hollywood for an unforgettable trip.  They visited Disneyland, where they were honored by everyone there.  Then, on a tour of Hollywood which ended at the Paramont Sudio where the Gump movie was shot they were surpised with a visit with Forrest Gump,  Tom Hanks, who enjoyed being a part of the group.  Everyone at the studio honored these vets with a parade and cheering on the sidelines of the road in and out of the studio with flags and banners. 

Another highlight of the trip was to have a parade of the vets down the Avenue of Stars in Hollywood where they were greeted by large crowds on both sides of the boulevard.  All of the crowd was waving flags and banners and messages of pride in their service to our country.  The faces of the vets were priceless during the time as honorees of the parade.  What a tremendous way for them to realize that they are the true “stars” to everyone for their service and sacrifices. 

Sinise, for many weeks of the year, visits the military bases in American and even in the war zones to bring a message to all, that is, that the military is very appreciated by all Americans.  He definitely tries to get that message to everyone.  We admire him and thank him for all that he is doing for our military and our vets.  

Our military vets and wounded are truly the Heroes of our country and we need to let them know that we thank them for all that they did to keep our loved country free.  God bless you Gary and keep up this important work.  Americans need to appreciate them and help them in anyway needed.  God bless America and God bless each of these brave men and women.

THANK YOU SO MUCH..... 

A big thank you to a very special friend who really helped us over the weekend.  Frances Bihm came to my rescue to help me to help a friend and her assistance was really appreciated. We really hate to tell anyone that we will do something and then not be able to do, however this time we could do it with Fran’s help.  Thank you, thank you Fran and we will look forward to a longer visit next time.

In closing..... 

We are so appreciative of you dear friends who have helped us so much during this time.  We are recuperating here at home and getting stronger.  But have depended on the goodness of ya’ll for help.  We thank you and pray that you will be blessed for all the things you do to help us and others. 

This is a prayer that we would like to share with you since it describes you dear friends and readers!

“Always PRAY to have the eyes

 that SEE the best in people.

 A HEART that forgives the worse,

 A MIND that forgets the bad and

 A SOUL that never loses faith in God!”

In our opinion, that is YOU!

Until next time, Adios, au revior,

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