Dear Smiley: In 1978 (I think), my husband John and I, with another couple, the Boudins, went to Merida, Mexico, a beautiful city called "The White City.”
The four of us decided to take a horse and buggy ride through the city. It was so romantic.
Our driver pulled over; we thought for us to get a breathtaking view of the city. Little did we know he was lighting votive candles for his back lights.
After that, with several lanes of fast-moving traffic, it was not as romantic as I first thought!
Now that I think about that night, I guess it was romantic — because we were holding on to each other for dear life.
Dear Smiley: As an elementary school student, I was an altar server for our pastor, Monsignor Labit (pronounced La-Bee).
He owned a big, beautiful black Buick. It was a thrill when we served at a funeral; then we got the chance to ride in the back seat.
Monsignor had the knack of scaring us half to death.
Coming back from the cemetery, he would get up a fair amount of speed and try to get as close as possible to a pole just in front of the garage.
He would turn in, barely missing the pole and the garage door, then with a big smile ask us, "Was that close enough, boys?"
Dear Smiley: Lee Robert’s story of living in Izmir, Turkey, and blowing the horn to give the driver the right of way brought back memories for me.
In 1963, I was stationed at England Air Force Base in Alexandria. I was deployed to Izmir on a four-month temporary duty assignment.
Upon arrival, we were briefed on what to expect, such as the horn-blowing. But the briefing also covered wrecks.
They told us if we hired a taxi to go into town and the driver got into a wreck, to get out of the taxi and run — because under Turkish law, we would be responsible for the wreck.
This was because that driver would not have been in that spot at that time if it wasn’t for us hiring him.
For that reason, most of us on this assignment rode the Air Force’s shuttle.
Dear Smiley: About the recent thread describing "chairs outside damp with Icelandic dew," and making use of the paper to achieve a drier seat:
We have another practical application. Years ago, the paper showed up in a light plastic wrapping. This meant a drastic reduction in soggy papers on rainy mornings, but also a new stream of disposable plastic.
The solution is to reuse the bags.
We have wonderful French bread, but if you don't eat it the day you buy it, it gets stale.
The solution is to cut your loaf into three or four pieces, and stuff each into a newspaper bag. Two layers of Advocate bag will keep your French bread soft in the refrigerator for several days.
Dear Smiley: Reading about horns brings me back to my first car, a 1949 Chevy, aka "Beige Bazooka."
I bought it for $150 after working all summer at Audubon Park.
When I went to pick up my friends, they all laughed at the holes in the back floor. Also, did I mention that going over 30 mph, it would shake like a washing machine?
The horn didn't work, so my friend's dad gave me a railroad horn. He was a good mechanic, and put it on.
It might have had holes and shook like a washing machine, but when I came down the street and blew my railroad horn, cars moved and people noticed as my Beige Bazooka went by.
Write Smiley at Smiley@theadvocate.com. He can also be reached by mail at P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821. Follow Smiley Anders on Twitter, @SmileyAndersAdv.
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