December 1, 1997
Never really thought of Baton Rouge, LA as a vacation or tourist mecca of the USA. Have traveled through it often in the past, sometimes visiting friends at LSU (Louisiana State University), but generally considered it to be the last traffic bottleneck before New Orleans. But because it is another stop on our wanderings down the Great River Road, this time we slowed down and enjoyed the sights. Maybe the best view of the entire Mississippi River can be obtained from the 27th floor of the state capitol building. On an outside viewing platform, it is possible to obtain views in all directions while walking around the building. The view up and down the Mississippi River is spectacular. No, it is not a wild, scenic view of nature, but it provides an outstanding view of river traffic, the city, lawns, and parks around the capital, and the many industries in the surrounding countryside. Of course, a couple of casinos dominate the river bank beside the city. The old Huey Long bridge spans the river to the southwest. To the south is the LSU campus and “Death Valley” where rabid football fans chant “tiger meat, tiger meat” over and over to intimidate the Texas A&M Aggies and other enemies. The barge repair industry dominates the river’s edge along the river south of Huey Long bridge. To the north of the capitol building is Capitol Lake. The lakeside is occupied by the Governor’s Mansion, some other governmental buildings, and some nice homes.
On Sunday afternoon, we visited Capitol Lake and watched a man and woman carry a couple of large sacks to the water’s edge. We were sitting on the lawn trying to identify ducks in a large flock far out on the lake, mostly out of range of our binoculars. The males of these ducks had dark heads, breasts, backs, and tails but with white sides. This couple walked up in front of us and scared the ducks even further out into the lake. I refrained from chastising them for their lack of consideration. Then the ducks changed their minds and started to swim toward these interlopers. Out of the bags, the couple brought loaf after loaf of bread which they started throwing into the water, a slice at a time. They also dumped some grain on the bank. The ducks swam rapidly to the bank to partake of this feast. Now the ducks fed on the bread only a few yards in front of us so that we were able to clearly identify the white ring on the bill of the ring-necked duck, the black tip on the beak of the lesser scaup, and the black ring on the beak the ring-billed seagull. Maybe attracted by the commotion, a trio of black-bellied whistling ducks swam by in the sunlight so that their reddish bills and grey faces were clear. A family of nutria swam out to share in the feed, very unconcerned with our presence. The double-crested cormorants, white egrets, snowy egrets, and water turtles ignored the food and kept their distance. The couple explained to us that, “After all these years, they (the ducks) are like family.” It may explain why so many ducks occupied this small lake.
Back up in the tower, the observation deck is shared with a small bookstore where T-shirts, sporting large letters “LOUISIANA” across the front, can be purchased. Among the various displays and signs near the cashier was one that particularly interested me. I decided to copy it verbatim and send it to the International Wolf Center at Ely, MN to add to their wolf lore. It read:
LOUP--GAROUS.
Some people in Southern Louisiana believed in evil spirits, of which inhabited the bodies of living persons and animals, especially wolves, snakes, or bats. There were loup-garous and zombies, and children were constantly warned to be careful or “The loup-garous will get you.” As one old man explained it some years ago, “Loup-garous is them, people, what wants to do bad work, and changes themselves into wolves. They got plenty of them, yes...big, red eyes, pointed noses, and everything just like a wolf has even hair all over and long painted nails ... you keep away you see any of them things, hein? They make you one of them, yes.” However, all a person had to do to frighten away a loup-garou or a zombie was to throw a frog at him, for they were very much afraid of frogs.
After reading this story, I asked the black man sitting behind the cash register how a child was supposed to find a handy frog when confronted by loup-garous. Did all children carry a frog in their pocket as insurance against loup-garous? He gave me a long answer with such a strong Creole accent that I could barely understand a word. Realizing that even if he repeated himself, I would not be able to understand him anyway, I decided that the story was good enough as it is - but I heard his “You have a good day now” as I left for the elevator.
Later we decided that it would be nice to enjoy some spicy Cajan food while in Baton Rouge, but ruled it out because the restaurants that normally serve such food usually add some bacon or ham fat. Since my digestive track does not digest animal fat very well and not wanting a belly ache we decided against the idea. But when in the Delchamps grocery store, I spied a box of Zatarain’s red beans and rice - “A New Orleans tradition since 1889.” By ignoring the recipe suggestion to add a tablespoon of margarine or butter, we cooked up a pot of this fat-free yet sumptuous dish; my stomach remained rumble free and our cravings were satisfied - at least until we receive new hunger pangs. A box of Zatarain’s dirty rice mix awaits for that occasion.
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