Kelly - I've not lived in N'Awlins since I was 12 or 13 - & I only go back to visit relatives once every year or so....you should really understand that writing it like that is just an easy way to put the word into 1 syllable!

....& something else, gumbo without a dark rouz is as I see in lots of "poser" restaurants, not gumbo!

ABSOLUTLY !!!!

Justim Wilson says it should be as dark as his shoes. Maybe the above poser "chiefs" have on light colored shoes.

I do have to admit that the poser box gimbo Kelly had did indeed make a nice dark roux (I have no idea how) and tasted right.......it just came in a box.

I still think it's an abomination.

Just call me Ignatious Reilly

Where'yat cuz !!!!!

With 8-0 you should at least have a smile on your face if not a black and gold jersey on at the moment.

If not.......don't make me and "ya mam'en'em" come up there !!!!!!

( I do hope she's still with us, if not, I'm sorry for your loss.)

So, this begs the question, you from here?

(I say "here", even though I'm not "there". I will always be "there", even if I'm "here."

(NOTE: for those who don't know, "where'yat" is a greeting, not nessisarily a question of location, which it can be, and like everything else, one syllable.

It's the same as "what's going on", "how are you", "I'm very glad to see you" or "where the h--l are you" amond other things." It is customarily shouted out of moving vehicles by drunk individuals at pedestrians in a VERY loud manner, usually in crowded areas.
(at least in my family)

It it quite common to ask about someone's mother, especially first as she is the person who treated you like her own and one of the people directly responsible for your habitual over eating.

Once again, if she is Italian, she is directly responsible for at least 20 PPM pounds of your current weight and 30% of any blocked arteries (PPM, pounds per mother). Lord forbid her mother live in the same house too or close by. If that's the case, multiply by a factor of three.

Judging by the photo of Tony under the hood of a Midget, it's safe to say there were Italian mothers in his neighborhood. If he hadn't left N.O at such an early age, he'd be as big as the car by now or dead.

My buddies grandmother lived 30 miles away. If she hadn't, I'd have been dead 20 years ago.

( I hope no one takes offense from this as none is meant in the least bit.)

Grandmother lived off Elysian Fields up near where the college is today, I lived with her, had an uncle who lived nearby....favorite uncle lived over the river in Avondale....'nother uncle lived in Metarie (he died the night Katrina hit)...an aunt lived in Gretna & another out in Westwego......today, I've got an old aunt and 4 cousins who still live there.

Oh, my Cajun cousin who lived in Westwego (now in between Marrero & Gretna) has a real bad French accent & butchers the English language as bad as or worse than you described.

Yep, was born in Mississippi though I don't call it home.....left there as a baby & didn't go back until 12 or 13....was at a garden party years ago & met a lady from Jackson - very proper Southern lady who broke Mississippi into 32 syllables when she pronounced the word & considered herself 'above' the normal person, especially those who left MS....when she asked me why I didn't live there at the time, I told her that were God to give the world an enema, he'd stick it dead through the golden dome of the capital in Jackson! &, that, I consider MS a place you have to drive through to get to N'Awlins (nothing against present company)!

Thank's for condolences, mother's no longer with us but she led a heck-of-a life until she went at age 84.

Sorry to hear about your uncle. All of my family lost everything but nobody was hurt. Great aunt and uncle was in the upper 9th @ Dauphine and Press and made it through. There were the last ones living in the city proper.
Mom's side from Gentilly and Dad's is upper 9th. MOm's side lived in what I believe is considerd Treme' or central city now. That was EARLY on (1930's).

Funny thing is, when they got here in the late 1800's, they lived right up the road from where I am now for a little while then went into N.O. They might have been there first (N.O) and came here and went back, but no way to tell now.

Shucks, you and I are pratically cuzins.

Main reason I was asking about the little 'track' you found is I've a friend in Hattiesburg who has a hot MGB GT racecar & if it's close, he'd probably use it for fine tuning before he heads for the track.

Here's something you'd appreciate Tony. Grandfather on Dad's side was head of vehicle mantenance at Falstaff brewery on Tulane ave. He worked there till he passed away from '57 to '72........and he died.......while eating........of all things.........CHICKEN !!!!!

(I'm dead serious about this!)

Oh, yeah, remember Falstaff - and JAX.....Army provided us both free in Vietnam; but, they were always hot....that helps me when I go to England......remember losing my car down newra the JAX brewery when I was a 'youngster'...had a few too many in a little place called The Attic (probably not around today) & couldn't remember where I parked it....was not a night to go to grandmother's so I went up onto Frenchmen Street where an aunt and her Cajun husband were living temporarily while he played a gig up there (trumpet)....found car later but was serously worried as I was on leave from Army on way to Vietnam and, if I'd not found it, would've had to leave it there for a year!

OK - And I'll be Jones:

"That fat freak a guarantee one hunner percen nucular bum...Drop him on somebody, everbody gettin caught in the fallout...Ooo-wee... Everbody fightin and scratchin and screamin and that big fat freak layin in the gutter like he daid..."

My all-time favorite book! Must have read it six or seven times now. Time to read it again!

Upon further reflection of the above statement, maybe the Chinese grad student was right about chicken.

Well I only have one thing left to say, "Heeeeeeere kitty kitty kitty. "

Tony, as long as the car isn't too loud it shouldn't be a problem. Lemme investigate it s bit further and see if any locals will mind. I buddy lives right down the road. I might be able to get the blessing of local LE also.

A quite car shouldn't be a big deal.

I think something with open exhast will draw attention from the neighborhood a short distance away and folks might call the sheriff.

People are usually pretty cool around here. I gave the church kids rides in my dirt track car for five hours straight at 6,750 RPM with a straight pipe in a field next to the church for a fall fest. There were house ALL around it and I was practically in these folks back yard.

I shut down and left. When I got back I found out I missed a kid who wanted to ride all day but kept showing up when the car was already full. I went back and got the car and started to run again and upon doing so,I got a visit from the sheriff. They had come out earlier, just to watch us run and gave their blessing but someone called durring the second "heat" and I had to stop.

Can't say that I blame them. My car ir REALLY loud and I'm sure I drove them nuts. This was a church function and I'm sure that had a lot to do with it.

I just need to find out what these other folks limitations are.
I'd hate for you buddy to drive all the way down here only to be told to leave. I'll help out any way I can.

Needless to say I wouldn't want to live next door to me.

There was a development right behind me that wasn't selling but they ruined it by building houses there and selling three of them. They're not to fond of ol' #40. They get made when I drive through slow to get to the woods behind them. I was a nice place at one point in time. I'll see what I can dig up.

Ther's a church close by that does "life groups" with different themes and they have a REALLY BIG parking lot. I've been toying with the idea of doing an autocross life group and using their lot. I think the pastor would be hip to it and local authorities are real receptive to anything that promotes "building the community".

Only problem is, I don;t know how to run or set up an autocross.

Where does your buddy run, No Problem Raceway?

I hope y'all get a good laught out of this as it would be a shame to pass up such a great opportunity given the recent discussion of this topic in other posts. I'm sure my grandfather would approve and I by no means would be upset.

I couldn't help but laugh myself as I was writing it. Funny thing is ......it's true.

So please, feel free and have at it !!!

Y'all be careful out there when you're playing. I'm not so sure I'd take the chance of venturing into such an area in that part of the country. I remember that somewhere just north of I10 and just a few miles east of I59 there was a large area of pine trees with no roads anywhere around and these large black airplanes kept flying in and out of there. I've tried to find that on maps and when driving around and never could find a hint of anything being out in those trees.

See if you can locate the area on Google Earth. Hard to hide a landing strip from Sat. cameras.

That's Stennis Space Center. You might not be able to see deatail in a sat pic for a reason if you look, but that's what it is.

It's HUGE !!!!!

Where I'm talking about is alot further north.

Bill, if you start seein' them flyin' around your house, make a tin foil hat and put it on real quick.

Jim, when I was there in the late 70s we didn't have Google Earth to help. Had to rely on paper road maps. Sure enough now that we have satalite photos there it is right in the absolute middle of nowhere. You can even see the canals to transport the larger items by barge. Wow, and all this time I was thinking black ops base or such.

If you're not near Hattiesburg, I doubt he'd trailer it that far to test it....he runs at Road Atlanta type facilities.

I'm an hour away from him and the place another 20-30 minutes.

Too bad no one has picked up on the Ignatius Reilly thing. Classic tragic comedy work, that.