Smiley Anders for May 3, 2008

• By SMILEY ANDERS
• Advocate columnist
• Published: May 3, 2008 - Page: 1B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Dear Smiley: When the ol’ Mississippi overflowed in 1927, I was 6 years old.

My daddy took me in our T-Model Ford downtown (we lived in Istrouma)  to see it.

I think we were on Main Street at Lafayette. There were big houses, several stories high, along Lafayette at that time.

I don’t remember how high the water came, but I do know it was up to Lafayette and maybe a little higher.

My memory of that day was a rabbit cage, with rabbits in it, floating around in the water, and the people standing either on second or third floor porches as they watched the water creep up.

The water didn’t concern me, but that no one tried to rescue the rabbits was a real worry.

But I couldn’t convince my father to do anything about it. He insisted that when the water went down they’d be safe.
Lou Alexander
Baton Rouge

Hands down
Dear Smiley: You asked about old wives’ tales; my maw-maw knows them all.

As an expectant mother 13 years ago, I was very cautious and tried to do everything possible to ensure the safety of my unborn angel.

While visiting my maw-maw one day, it was warm in her house, so I stretched my arms over my head to cut the ceiling fan on.

By the way Maw-Maw screamed when she came around the corner, I thought it was fixing to come down on my head and kill me and my unborn right there.

But to my surprise, the scream was not to warn me of a falling ceiling fan, but to alert me of the harm I was doing to my child.

According to her, while you are expecting, raising your arms higher than your ears is a big no-no.