Strengh to Give Other Strength

My mother has recently decided that the best way to spend her time is by telling me what to write about. She suggests everything from the chaos in other countries to the swine flu to why people don’t pick up the newspapers in their front yard before noon.

I explain to her with each suggestion that there are only certain things I write about. This doesn’t seem to satisfy her though, and she’ll usually push the subject until something new happens, or I threaten not to take her to sell her aluminum cans.

Her most recent writing suggestion is about a black and white photo that she found while cleaning up her office. It’s from a Carnival Ball at E. Broussard High School from 1937, and shows a king and queen surrounded by children, teenagers and adults.

“Write about this,” she commanded me while she shoved the photo in my face.

“I write about careers and strength,” I explained. “Although it’s sort of a miracle that you’re actually cleaning up your office, the photo doesn’t fit into either of my columns.”

My mother continued to strongly suggest (in ways that she seems to have mastered) that I write about the photo. I told her maybe, hoping that either she’d forget about it, or something new happened, like someone else not picking up their newspaper before noon.

But a couple of weeks ago, my mother made me drive her to Piazza Office Supply in Kaplan to make copies of the photo. Her purpose was to give them to different people who were either in, or knew someone from the Carnival Ball court.

Our first stop was at Mike and Ann Langlinais’ house in Cow Island because Mr. Langlinais’ sister, Laura Lee, was one of the children in the photo. She now lives in Lafayette, but she and her sister, Eugenia Mae just happened to be visiting their brother.

Before long, my mother and I were standing outside on a beautiful day with the three siblings and Mr. Langlinais’ son, Chip. While birds chirped and little dogs played around us like children, Laura Lee stared at the photo and smiled.

“Thank you so much for this picture,” Laura Lee said. “I haven’t thought about it in years.”

I’d spent a lot of time on the Langlinais’ property when I was a kid because of my friendship with their children. Being there a couple of weeks ago brought back many pleasant memories from that time. But the entire moment of catching up with old friends, meeting new people, and Laura Lee’s smile did something to me that I hadn’t expected. It gave me strength.

So here is the photo my mother asked me to be write about. Now everyone has a copy and can take a trip down memory lane. But to be clear, I didn’t write about this because of mother’s strong suggestions, or as some may call, “nagging.”

I wrote about the photo because of the time she took to make copies and share. She didn’t do it for a selfish reason like money or a big bag of aluminum cans. Her act was fueled only by the knowledge that it would bring others happiness, and in turn, give them strength.


Pictured from left to right:

Back Row: Lovelace Hebert, Eula Mae David Phillips, J.N. Greene, Janeverette Mouton Frederick, Raywood Mouton, Wanda Dartez Malden, King Billy Trahan, Queen Lily Mae Greene Morton, Azar David, Zoae Hardy Simon, Earl Dartez, Marie Greene Richard, Earl Couvillon, Rita Richard Mouton

Front Row, Left to Right: Dotsie Langlinais, Raywood Menard, Laura Broussard, Laura Lee Langlinais Pears, Larry Whitmeyer, and Maxie Mae Langlinais Trahan