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Smiley Anders has been writing a column six days a week for The Advocate since 1979.
Smiley, who received B.A. and M.A. degrees in journalism from LSU, joined The Advocate in 1973 as business reporter after a 13-year career as a business journalist (he was oil and gas editor of The Shreveport Times and edited business publications for the Louisiana Farm Bureau and Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce).
His column has won first place in the items category of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists' annual competition (the Herb Caen Award) on four occasions (in 1985, 1997, 2004 and 2005). He was named the first "Communicator of the Year" in 1975 by the Public Relations Association of Louisiana. He served as president of the Press Club of Baton Rouge in 1976 and 1996.
He is married to the former Katherine Scales. He has two children and six grandchildren.
Send your e-mail items for Smiley’s column to smiley@theadvocate.com or call him at (225) 388-0639.
Marian Landry, of Denham Springs, titles this tale “Speaking of Geezerhood:” “My father pulled up to the speaker of the drive-through of what he thought was the cleaners, and asked the young lady how much it would cost to clean a down jacket.
At the National Society of Newspaper Columnists conference in Ventura, Calif., we mostly discussed Major World Issues of Great Importance, of course. But there was time for less serious activities, such as our annual Sitting Duck Award.
Criss Morgan, of Port Allen, says either there was a mistake in a story on our Outdoors page, or a thrilling new kind of hunting is about to be launched.
Glenn Hardin, of McKinney, Texas, offers an example of how the meaning of words can change over the years: “My daughter Allison lives in Springhill, Tenn., and home-schools her two daughters, 11 and 6."
As I approach my Golden Years, my wife and daughter have started looking for signs of geezerhood. “We want to know when it’s time to put you in ‘the home,’” they tell me jokingly — I think.
Dear Smiley: I am so proud of the LSU baseball team and their coach. Good things do happen to good people. And while they are giving out awards, I want to present one to the smartest LSU baseball player.
State Fire Marshal Butch Browning said something profound the other day. Discussing the use of fireworks during a drought, he urged firecracker users to use “common sense” and not pop them in dry grass or near structures.
If you don’t think times are tough for Louisiana educators these days, here’s proof from Vickie Mansur LeBlanc: “My father, Weber P. Mansur Jr., and my brother, Steve, were at the golf course just about to tee off when they saw a gentleman by himself at the first tee."
Al Long says, “My daughter Heather was trying to explain to her daughter Addison, 7, about the much talked-about death of Michael Jackson."
If I look tired, it’s because I just got back from the 33rd annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists in Ventura, Calif.
Recalling Starhill’s bopotamus David Grouchy says he and wife, Janet, recently attended a science fiction writers conference in Minneapolis:
Dear Smiley: Graduation time reminded the family of when our youngest son, Brian, graduated from LSU in 2001. That year LSU was demoted from the No. 1 party school to No. 2.
Rose Rolfsen was excited to read in The Advocate that it is illegal “to place those ugly plastic signs in the medians and on corners. “There is a hefty fine associated with this. “I would like the job of removing them and splitting the fee with DPW.”
Della Neely-Stout was driving home to watch the Tigers play Texas in the College World Series when she saw a group of guys set up to watch the game in style...
Some of the most imaginative ideas I hear — even the ones that aren’t possible — come from youngsters. Anne Moss says, “With all the warnings about the coming hurricanes, my little grandchild asked me if they came, could they hurt us.
Bill Noonan, the leader of the Bamboozers social club, tells of his Alfred Hitchcock moment in Canada: “Earlier this month the Bamboozers made their usual trip to Banff, Alberta, to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Canadian Rockies."
I met Dave Astor many years ago, when he was covering the National Society of Newspaper Columnists conferences for Editor & Publisher magazine. He stood out because he was the only person at the conference actually working. Dave is now writing for the Montclair, N.J., Times and posting on The Huffington Post.
Dear Smiley: After living in Baton Rouge for the past 31 years, we moved just north of San Diego in late May to be closer to our 8-year-old granddaughter, Lauren, and her parents — our daughter and son-in-law.
There’s something about Mardi Gras that lifts the spirits even in the darkest of times. One of the first questions I heard after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina was “What about Mardi Gras?”
On a recent visit there, Hope Moreau discovered that despite being in Gator country, Disney World in Orlando, Fla., is the home of many LSU fans...
After the Carencro Curmudgeon (Dan Burkhalter) complained about seeing, on a drive to Opelousas, motorists eating and driving at the same time, Vita Clement, of Opelousas, explained...
John Rooney of Portland, Texas, says our mention of Pancho’s Mexican Buffet brings to mind a story which explains the dangers of locating “all you can eat” places near college campuses. It might also explain why Pancho’s is no longer in Baton Rouge.
The first two items below indicate that some folks in the Frozen Nawth need to brush up on their Louisiana anthropology. You can’t dig it
Dear Smiley: Our daughter Lynn recently shared this story with us about our 2 1/2-year-old great-grandson, John Theriot. Lynn’s husband Bill and John were in the bedroom one evening at bedtime.
I was a surprised to read the story in the Thursday Advocate about plans for a toll bridge to Grand Isle. I wasn’t aware that a new toll was needed to get to Grand Isle, because for years motorists have been paying for the privilege of visiting the island.
The start of hurricane season moved Travis Keowen, of Lottie, to come up with a poetic look back at the late unlamented Gustav.
Nancy W. Lee, of Plaquemine, has a word of advice for Marvin Borgmeyer, who’s having trouble being an empty nester after the last of his kids left home: “Don’t worry, because they come back — and they bring people with them!”
