Thursday, and it is my day to visit residents at J. Michael Morrow Nursing Home. I arrive promptly at 9:30 -- trying to imitate Auguste Pelafigue, aka “Nonco.” He was a man who walked the countryside visiting residents and delivering leaflets of the League of the Sacred Heart. Today, I am distributing Nonco Prayer Cards with a relic. Many believe he is a saint; and certainly, I do. Sometimes I feel like such a fake, trying to imitate Nonco; but, still, I am drawn to the nursing home. I love these people. They are my friends and they are always eager to visit with me.

Jeff Zerangue is sitting outside enjoying the sunshine before the rain. He asks if I will be there for a while and I tell him I will and he sits outside for a while longer. When I enter the dining room, several of the residents are sitting around the tables chatting away so I join in the conversation. Mr. Bruno Quebedeaux passed away during the night. Everyone I encountered today talked about Mr. Bruno.

Our deepest sympathy to the Quebedeaux family. From what the residents told me today, he was a special person who will be missed by all.

I am happy to visit with Neva Marks who had been in the hospital but now is happy to be back home. She tells me about the “lifter.” She did not like the lift which was used to move her while she was hospitalized. She said she told Dr. Elliott: “No more lifter.” She said that scared her more than anything she had done before. She had us laughing!

Next is a stop to see St. Therese volunteer, Lou, and I am happy to report that she is doing well. I think she will probably be at St Therese’s next week! Hard to keep those volunteers down.

Down the hall, I deliver a CD to Heda Hardy Kidder from Mary Agnes Hardy dela Houssaye Belleau. It is labeled “ LE CHAPELET D’UNE FEMME BY LOIS DONAHUE.” Mary is the daughter of Florent and Agnes Hardy from Cecilia. She is a distant relative of Heda's. Mary recites the rosary on the CD and it is beautiful. She has given the Nonco Foundation a few copies to raffle for the Nonco Annual Meeting which will be held in December. Come join us for the meeting and to learn more about Nonco.

Some time ago, my sister Mavis Arnaud Fruge told me about a lady in the nursing home by the name of Priscilla Guidry. Priscilla knows how to “tat.” Tatting* is the craft of making lace. The tatter wraps the thread around one hand and manipulates a shuttle with the other hand. No tools other than the thread, the hands and the shuttle are used, though a crochet hook may come in handy sometimes. The lace is beautiful as you can see from the photograph above.

Well, I set out to find Priscilla Guidry and I had a lovely time visiting with her and Cecil Guidry, her husband. Cecil’s nickname is “Cha Bou.” Their home is in Cecilia in the area across the highway from Cecilia High School. Priscilla says that she has two Cecils—her husband and her only son, also named “Cecil.”

Cha Bou still lives in the family home but he comes to be with his wife every other day except he comes every Saturday and Sunday. They are enjoying a cup of coffee, sitting across one another with Priscilla’s tray used as a coffee table. It is a lovely time. Cha Bou is related to the Freddie Duplechin family and he has many relatives and friends in the area. Priscilla is a Boudreaux from Leonville where her father was a school bus driver. She remembers visiting my aunt Evelyn Mistrot and her daughter, Shirley Chautin. Sometimes she would accompany my aunt on a visit to my mother’s home. No wonder she looked familiar to me. We knew each other as children!

I remember the tatting and ask Priscilla about it. She explains that she suffers with arthritis now and she had to give up tatting. She learned the craft from a nun who lived in a nursing home in the vicinity of the old Lourdes Hospital off of St. Mary Boulevard in Lafayette. Priscilla remembers the smell of that nursing home and when she realized it was time to find a nursing home she would like, she visited five before she found J. Michael Morrow. She said it is the cleanest and the best! She is a happy resident in Arnaudville.

We have had a good visit when one of the nurses came in with meds and I bid them goodbye. I fear I have stayed too long but, it sure was a nice visit. I will return…

I normally spend about an hour in my weekly visits and it has already been an hour and a half so I head toward the dining room. In the hall, I meet Sybil Stelly. I asked her if I could give her a push and away we go. We meet Camille Deviller and Florina Martin already sitting in the dining room and Sybil and I join them. Conversation is easy. Florina tells Camille and Sybil that her dad, Anicet Tauzin, and I had a special bond. I use to ride Ruby Gill Broussard’s bus from my home until the Anicet Tauzin Store on Highway 31. There, Rosie Hardy Rivette picked me up to travel to Opelousas where I worked for Calvin Woodruff Insurance Adjusters. Anicet and his old cronies sat on a bench in front of the store. One morning, Anicet asked me if I had a boyfriend. I confessed that I did not. He quickly replied: “Savais ça!” Tu connais pas comment marcher.” (Translation: “I knew that. You don’t know how to walk!”) And, there began my education on how to swing my hips. Anicet stood up and demonstrated and then I had to practice. That went on for a few weeks until a guy I had met stopped to pick me up. When we drove off, cheers erupted from the bench warmers. Years later, I met Anicet Tauzin at a funeral. He reminded me that I should thank him because had it not been for him, I would have never found a husband. Florina loves that story.

I tell the ladies that the rain is coming. They are not concerned. They tell me not to worry about that. It is safe in the nursing home. They don’t even hear the rain. But, I must go and Sybil asked why I was in a hurry. They are having meatloaf and they agree that it is so good. I tell her I have to cook lunch. I have a husband waiting at home. I jokingly tell them that I am not like the queens sitting around the table waiting for lunch to be served. Sybil laughingly said: “Stop and buy him a hamburger.” No big deal. They are so much fun.

The last person I encountered was Mr. Joe Kidder. He is looking good; though he is sad to have lost Mr. Bruno Quebedeaux.

I could have stayed all day. I will be back next Thursday. Anyone can join me. I promise you will be rewarded abundantly.

*Learn more about Tatting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatting