We attended a funeral in Baton Rouge this past Saturday morning. It was hot even at 8 am when we left home, and only got hotter as the day wore on. But that really wasn't an issue that day, as we were going to be there for a good family who seemed to only do good things for other people. Cheryl Bauer and her husband Joey had us over last spring to their house on the Mississippi River levee in Sunshine, and Joey boiled crawfish. Cheryl had taken Taylor (a senior at LSU), Camille (then a high school senior in Baton Rouge), and our son, DJ to the 2010 Capitol One Bowl in Florida. She is from Rayne, part of the Arceneaux family, and has been around us since we moved to Louisiana in 1991.
We arrived at the funeral home about 9 am, and we went inside to be there for the family. Joey was a great father, and worked for long periods of time in the oilfield in Africa, leaving Cheryl to take care of the family back home, which she did very well. Taylor is going to be an electrical engineer, and Camille is a high level gymnast who works at that sport for long hours every day.
Many Arceneauxs were at the funeral, and it was good to see and talk to them. Anthony Cramer, our old neighbor from the Roberts Cove area, still farming and working through back problems from sitting on tractors his whole life. Steve and Klare Arceneaux from Central, our old neighbors in Baton Rouge while we were in law school, are like us- our kids are growing up and the older ones are going through college and we just keep plugging along. Piggy Arceneaux, the old police chief from Rayne, catching up with all his relatives. Anthony Emmons, an old friend from Rayne who we see every once in a while now that he no longer owns the furniture rental store in town, is running for state representative and riding his bike every day. Charles Faul, our neighbor right down the street in Mire who comes from an old farming family, gave me some tips on growing a garden starting next year.
We were all there to try to help Cheryl and her two great kids, but there wasn't much we could do other than just being there. Joey was just 51, and died unexpectedly last week. I know they will be alright, but they were clearly in shock when we saw them. I hope that if there is anything we can do for them, that they know we are there for them. I know first hand how hard it is to lose a parent at that age- I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
After the funeral, our little family ate lunch at The Chimes near the LSU campus. It's a great old place where I used to go eat lunch every so often when I was in law school, and it hasn't changed much. Their blackened alligator and chicken sandwiches are great, and the kids all like that place.
It was moving in day for the LSU football players, even though DJ had been there since his spring semester ended, as he took one class in the intersession. DJ has a nice room on the second floor, and his roommates are all excited to be back. Tremayne cooked them dinner and did some cleaning up in the place, and the boys and I went to play golf at Beaver Creek by Zachary. Even though it was 98 degrees when we started our round, we had a good time. When a thunderstorm hit us on our 17th hole, we had to settle for looking at the 18th instead of playing it as we drove in to the clubhouse to beat the lightning. If it were just rain, we would have played right through it. As Tom said on the 16th green as we first heard lightning, "Rat fart!" (quoting the bishop from Caddyshack as he was struck by lightning on the last green).
When we got back to the LSU dorms where DJ lives, he and I went on a shopping trip for some groceries, and got he and his roommates set up for a few weeks. Cereal, Powerade, bread, fruit, meat and cheese- all the staples. It was nice to spend a few minutes with him- that doesn't happen very much anymore now that they are away at school.
We left for home about 9:30 pm, and everyone slept all the way home, giving me time to ponder the day. We started the day by going to be there for our friends, a family that is hurting from an unexpected tragedy, and we finished it by being able to spend the day together with our kids as they get ready for summer school at LSU. It definitely makes me grateful for what we have- we need to say our prayers of thanks every night!
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