For a long time I have wanted to write about my life. At one point, when attending Louisiana State University, I wrote an article for my English Professor that covered my experience in Korea in 1951-52 and impressed him so much he read it to the class. I was surprised and pleased. I will relate this to you later. For those who read this, it will be a work in progress...

It all began in the summer of 1932, when I apparently entered the world without a whole lot of notice. My father, Maurice Sr, was a young attorney from Lafayette, Louisiana, Born August 8th, 1906, and my mom was Beatrice Louise Chauvin, from Abbeville, Louisiana, born July 3rd, 1909. Dad attended Loyola Law School and went on to the Sarborne University in France. Mom went with him and would talk about her experience often. One thing she talked about was the stalls set up on the streets where men would go to pee. All you could see was their legs. Well, there I was and it would be some time before I would realize I was on earth. Each of my parents could be a whole story by themselves. I was close to my mom but it seemed to me, back in those days, that Dad was always away working. He worked for several oil companies doing leasing work and ended up writing a book, A Legal Mineralogy, about leasing. I ran accross it in a book store on the internet recently, probably no longer in use.

Back in 30's young attorneys did'nt make much money. I can recall my father setting up an office in a wooden building near the Lafayette Court House, I think it was on Buchanan St. Dad was a nice looking man, medium weight, about 150 lbs, 5'7" short, rosey cheeks, wore a little moustache most of his life. And I forgot to mention, black curley hair. And, oh yes, he would buy cigars and chew them. Little wads of tobacco were left every place he would go. I hated that! As a very young man I would sometimes work in his office...and I went there often. On one occasion I recall telling him I was hungry and he told me he would be getting a fee later that week. Hmmmm! Lawyers back in those years were not able to advertise as they do today.

One of my earliest recollections was of my Grandparents old house in Abbeville, me standing on the top 2nd floor porch, jumping off an flying around the yard, just like Superman. You know, movies were getting interesting and Comic books were the rage in the 40's. At one point I would try to buy most of the comic books. I became interested in all the joke books as well. TV started blossoming in some homes in the 1950's. And music in the 50's was the very best..still is today. Those were the days when you could understand the words they were singing. Well yes...I do recall flying about the yard. Quite a feat for a small young boy. I really thought I could fly. I can remember wondering later whether it was a dream, or not.

We lived in Grandfather's old house in one of the apartments, probably more than one time. We were in the house in a downstairs apartment when World War II began in 1941. I was listening to the radio when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Franklin Roosevelt came on the radio an announced "Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, we, the people of the United States of America, were viciously and maliciously attacked at Pearl Harbor". I knew at age 9 that something important had happened. We were in the old house on a couple of other occasions but I don't recall much about them.

I do recall being in an upstairs apartment at another time. Dad gave me instructions to go down to Mema's kitchen to pick up a plate of food. I tripped on the stairs going back up. Not once, but twice with the second plate. That stood out in my mind. I think dad had been in an auto accident. Anyway, he was pretty mad.

I recall attending the Abbeville Elementary School, a 2 story red brick building, with its large school yard, near the railroad tracks. On my first day of kindergarden...and I remember it well, we sat on benches at tables. I was sitting next to Johnny Cochran (not the lawyer) when he moved toward me and left me sitting on the floor crying. The lady teacher responded by giving Johnny a paddle whipping while Johnny laughed like hell. It was a memorable experience for a 5 year old. It did'nt seem to bother Johnny at all.

Down the street from Grandmother's house, was the Guarino Blacksmith shop, where there was always a fire going and hammers hitting metal. I remember my oldest sister Bea Lou was a friend of the Guarino girls and them sitting on a little bridge next to the shop. Their house was next door. The girls were at the age when they were probably talking about boys. One of the girls later became a teacher and taught one of my brothers.

We also had a bakery near by. That was good and I did go into the bakery often for sweet rolls and delicasies. At night, you could often hear the cajun musician's playing in the shop...where musicians would gather to practice. The music could be heard for quite a distance from the shop. It was all Cajun French Music. It was really memorable.

There were a couple of wholesale grocery stores past the bakery. Often I would go down the street on errands and the owner, I beleive he was a Mr. Guilbeau, would be standing on the street. He would say "Bahh...Bahh...Black Sheep" when I would pass by his place. Later I realized that was because my name "Maurice", meant dark in French, and my last name meant "Sheep" in French. You know, "Black Sheep". For some reason he was trying to make fun of a little boy like me.

I recall the city of Abbeville, and my Grandparents house, where I would be spending a great deal of time over the years until about 1950 when I graduated from nearby Lafayette High School. Lafayette, La. was actually about 20 miles away. The house was in the center of Abbeville, Louisiana, a predominantly French Catholic Community. After that I went back when I could. My Mom and Dad would move back to Abbeville during their last years together. They would build a red brick home on the corner in front of the house and dad had a office in front and living quarters in the rear. My Grand Parents had been gone for some time.

As was the case in most of the South Louisiana communities, there was the very large and impressive red brick Catholic Cathedral which was usually built near and facing the courthouse. The Cathedral was a place of reverence and mystery for a young boy.

There was a Town Square with trees, planting, and benches. It was close to the church as was the graveyard. The house was about a block away. It at one time had belonged to one of Abbeville's Priests. It was two stories surrounded by balconies on the front and side. Grandpaw planted two Camelia's at the entrance to the house and they grew quite large. One of the Camelia's was named "Governor Mouton". There was a large pecan tree on the corner side of the house. The house was an impressive structure sitting on top of a high point on the street. The house never flooded. Grandfather owned a red brick store building on the main street and his house was behind it on a side street. The old house was recently torn down to make room for an office building. It was at the corner of Lafayette Street and South Jefferson. I would have thought that the house would have been preserved as an historic structure, as it was probably over 100 years old. My oldest son informed me today, 2006, that all that was there now was green grass. I guess the person who bought the house in 2003 held off on building an office building on the property, as was reported in the local newspaper.

Pepaw and I would often sit on the porch of the old house in wooden rocking chairs. I think I mentioned to you that I loved the old man. He was a fine statue of a man, tall, left handed, blue eyes, light hair, and a working businessman. He at one point was on the Abbeville City Counsel. He told me some stories I still remember to this day.

There was the one about a man who had come into the store and was giving him trouble. He said that he went to the rear of the store, grabbed an ax handle and hit him on the head. Then he dragged him out and left him on the street at closing time. The next day the man was gone. I'm sure it was of some relief to him when he saw him gone. A lot of things happened in the old general stores. It was an exciting place for me when we were busy.

Grandfather Chauvin, Pepaw, was a self educated man. He learned to read and write and later kept the books for his store. He read the newspaper every day. His wife, a school teacher, must have played a large part in his life. I think her name was Marie Louise Larrey until her marriage. She was also important in my life.

One day we were sitting on the porch of the house in the old wooden rocking chairs, and a man came walking down the middle of the street.
He was sort of scary, swinging his arms widely from side to side and walking the same way. I had heard his name before, they called him "Puppy". I asked Pepaw about the man and he told me that was because he had drank too many cokes. That was enuf explanation for me.

Another time when I was older, we sat on the balcony, some cute ladies passed on the street and I commented on one of them. On Sunday, the ladies would all dress for church and there was sort of like a parade in front of the house. He told me that she was just "frying size". I sort of knew what he meant. I have always had an appreciation for women. So did Grampa!

Today Grandfather's old store houses the Abbey Players, a theater group in Abbeville. My mother was active in the group for many of her last years of life. Mom was a small person but full of life and personality. She was an attractive lady a little over 5' or so tall. She lived until the age of 90. She smoked lots of cigarets until late in her life. Many of her last 10 years or so were in an assisted living situation. But it was only in her last days that she became disabled. Everyone called her Miss Bea in later life. She performed with the Abbey players several times. She eventually sold the building to them. Most of her girls were there when she died.

Mom went thru hell and back several times during her lifetime. She would become mentally ill on several occasions. It would break my heart. I tried to help but it was not possible for a small boy. She had those horrible electric shock treatments at one time. And medication! She literaly went thru a living hell. On the other hand, there were plenty moments when she was just fine. Raising seven children could not have been easy for them. Somehow they always remained together until Dad died. She did leave dad on a couple of occasions, but she always returned.

Whenever I visited with mom along the last years we always ended up having a great laugh, real belly laughs. Some of my funniest moments were spent with her. I can remember when I visited her; she had just bought the Chauvin Home from her brother the Doctor, and she and I went upstairs to show me an apartment. Upstairs, we checked the kitchen sink, I turned on the faucet and heard a noise...when I looked below, I found the water pouring out on the floor. There was no drain pipe. Mom said it looked as if we had bought a lemon...and we laughed hard for a while. The old house actually produced income over the years but the overhead was probably also high.

When she left this world she was buried with great fanfare and a display of playing cards. She loved bridge and played most weeks she could with her friends. When she got real sick my oldest sister told us she would not recognize me if I made the trip to Abbeville and I did not want to see her last days so I stayed away.

Dad preceded her in death some years earlier, on December 2nd, 1968. He must have been about 59 or 60. My brother in law, who stayed in school for years, now a Professor in Colorado, and a member of a breakaway Catholic Church was there to send her on the way. I don't know what he said, it was a lot, but he did a wonderful job in seeing her off and impressed me lots. Lloyd is a very smart and intellegent man. He is married to my sister Maydeen, who is several years younger than me. We were 7 children all about three years apart. Mom and Dad were busy. Lloyd asked me if I wanted to say a few words at the funeral home but I knew I would break down if I did.

One of my brothers, Phillip, was a slow learner. It would be well after he was in school for awhile that mother told me of his problem. He was probably in high school I think she was trying to hide his problem from people, even at school. I recall mom asking me to help him if I could. His life was ended early when a tenant in the old house shot him. The tenant had not been paying his rent and mom asked Phillip to check the apartment. Unfortunately, the man returned and shot Phillip. He was never prosecuted...and I understand that he had once worked for the police department.

At one point I can remember some disagreement as to when I was born. Mom had planned a birthday party for me and I think we may have had it a day late. It confused me for years thereafter. A highlight of the party was a performance by Aunt Edith, my mon's sister, who was an accomplished Ventriloquist, and her dummy figure, Sambo. Problem was...I was a little young for Sambo and remember crying and leaving the room. The party was held in the original living room of Pepaw Chauvin's old house. The crying is is a reaction I observed over the years for many very young children who saw a ventrioquist figure for the first time. This was the start of something new for me that I will discuss later.

There were three theaters (movie houses) in Abbeville, the Gem, the Dixie, and the Rex. I spent lots of my free time in my young years going from one to the other to keep busy. Grandmother was always willing to give me some change for the movies...to keep me busy.

The Gem theater building belonged to my Granpaw Chauvin, the merchant. It was adjacent to his general store building. The store at one time occupied both adjoining buildings. It was quite a place, where we sold everything to the french people of Abbeville. Saturday was our bussiest day, when everyone would come to town and the French language was alive and well. I learned to wait on customers in French and it was lots of fun for me as a teen. I don't recall many cars on the street. Altho I later took courses in high school and college, I never did learn to speak French fluently. The language was slowly dying in South Louisiana and this continues until this day.

We sold seeds, horseshoes, nails, feed, clothing items, yard goods for sewing, knives, combs, cigaret lighters,...you name it...we had it. Cigarets were a great item, altho during the Second World War, the big one, customers were forced to use ration stamps to obtain lots of things. I liked working on the showcase in front of the building, keeping it looking nice. The store had wooden floors and we would sprinkle the floor with kerosene before sweeping it to keep the dust down. It was an interesting time when America was 100% behind the war effort after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. It was all on the radio...however, there was a store in town that had a TV set in its outside display window. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, the war in Europe had been going on for some time.

It wasn't until 1953 that my dad purchased a TV set at my encouraging. He would be living in Alexandria, La. and working for Mr. Roy O. Martin as his company attorney. I think I made the first down payment when I returned from Korea.

More about the Gem Theater. The building was leased by Grandpaw to a Mr. Milton Guidry, who I was the brother to Virgina Guidry, who had wed Dr. L.E. Chauvin, Pepaw's son. Aunt Virgina, I would call her. Milton Guidry eventually owned a whole chain of theaters. Later, after high school, I would perform my Ventriloquist act on the stage. Mr. Guidry was to pay me 50% of the proceeds, but I never received the money. I was young and this dissapointed me. I decided I would keep his PA system but he later called me and had someone pick it up.

Well, I had free access to the theater...so I saw all the movies..maybe hundreds of them. It aided my imagination, I'm sure. Early on I liked the ones that featured little people on horses, Cowboy Movies, guns, ponies, and all. Just like a Roy Rogers but with small cowboys. I could probably see myself as one of those small cowboys, since I was a small child. Young boys of that time were facinated with six shooters and horses. That theater is probably where I saw the "Wizard of Oz" for the first time. Maybe, "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs" also. People used to pack the theaters, since this was a new form of entertainment.

Yes, and this is when the cowboy Roy Rogers and Dale Evans first started out. They actually made a road show visit to the Theater. My older sister, Bea Lou, three years older than me, got to sit on his lap for a picture. He came with his horse "Trigger" and his wife Dale. There was lots of excitement in the air that week. It was quite impressive since I was a small boy at the time. Cowboy movies were big back then, real big. How about Bob Steel, and Gene Autry, not to mention the Lone Ranger and his friend Tonto, and his horse "Silver". Then there was Bill Hickock. This was the era of Jane Russel, too. Hummm! Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy was popular during this period as well. Edgar Bergen was my idol.

It was also in the late 40's that "Hadacol", an herbal concoction, became a national name. I understand it contained some red wine. Mr. Leblanc, from Abbeville, had a plant making the stuff. You may recall the Hadacol Road Show, if you're old enuf. It featured stars like Mickey Rooney and others. I wanted to go on the tour with my vent figure and mom sent me to see Mr. Guidry, but he was too important to see me. Two public relations men met with me and told me how wonderful Mr. Guidry was....but I never saw the man.

When I was still young, there was a guy with a small Shetland pony who would take pictures for people. He would sometimes be behind the store in an alley. One day when going home from work with me, Pepa actually tried to purchase the horse for me. Fortunately, he backed off. Can you imagine the problems we would have had with that horse in his back yard. It was already full of chickens. I was excited and wanted that little horse. Pepaw also had some a nice productive fig tree and Mema would take "Ball" jars and preserve the figs for us.

An interesting fact about South Louisiana is that it is the home of the French Accadians, who were run out of Canada, and settled in several places along the U.S. Coast line. Many ended up in the area along the Louisiana Coast, including members of my family. My Dads' family were original settlers around Lafayette. My Moms' family settled eventually in Abbeville in Vermillion Parish. Her mother was a Larrey from around Franklin, La. Grandpaw was a Chauvin from around Point-Au-Chien, below Houma, La. He worked in General Stores and eventually met his wife and settled in Abbeville, where he became a General Store owner himself.

Grandpaw Chauvin was one of the first people in Abbeville with a motor car. I can remember mother describing it. They used to take the trip from Abbeville to Houma to visit his relatives. They would leave early at daybreak and travel until nightfall to reach Houma from Abbeville. The trip was rough and over dirt roads. Today, the trip takes no more than 2 hours on four lane roads. His sister lived in a house on Barrow Street that I think no longer exists. They were Lulu and Tracey Duplantis. I understood that Tracey was a teacher and knew that she wrote articles for the religious section in the newspaper, the Houma Courier. She at one point was choosen as citizen of the year. I understand my grandfather had two bothers that lived down the bayou going toward Chauvin, Lousiana. One of his brothers had a leg disability, but I can't remember their names. Some of his relatives also ran the Liberty Grocery Store in Houma.

Grandfather Chauvin operated the store on the Main Street in Abbeville, next to his home. Pepaw, as we called him, was a fine looking man and he operated his store until his death. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, but favored hunting. The men would leave early in the morning and returned with barrels filled with ducks. I don't think they had restrictions back then. Pepa asked me to go one time but Mema discouraged him because it was cold and I was fairly young. We ate lots of duck in those days.

I don't recall the main street being paved when I first went to the store. My Grandmother, Mema, was a very fine lady who I understand had once taught school. They had three children, Louis Eaton Chauvin, who became a physician, Beatrice Louise, my mom, who attend beauty school and married my father the young lawyer, and the third child, Edith Marie Chauvin, who I understood became a teacher, prior to falling ill with a paulsy. She died before the age of 50.

Edith, who shook all time time, was prone to leave her mouth open and could not control herself from shaking. It may have been Parkenson's desease. She often would wake up in the night with startling screams. I occasionally would go to her room and visit with her. She seemed to enjoy my visits. I can remember the first time I heard her scream during the night and Grandmother assured me she was o.k. At that time I was sleeping in the dining room on a single bed next to where Grandmother slept. Edith's bed was right on the side of her room. Grandmother had the job of helping her until her death. And she apparently thought that she would have liked to have become a nun after this experience. She and Gramps had beds at opposite ends of the old house. She was a wonderful gradmaw and I loved her and grandpaw very much. I can't say enough about them.

Gosh, I have so much to write about. Stay tuned! I hope I don't run out of time.

My first recollections were of schools and our family home in Abbeville. It was located near the Godchaux swimming pool and was nice for the times. You had to cross the railroad tracks in Abbeville to get to our house. It must have been constructed sometimes in the 30's. I recall swimming in the pool every chance possible. I loved the water. The Godchauxs'owned the Godchaux Sugar Mill in Abbeville. The sugar mill was next to the tracks. The Godchaux's had a large house set back behind a woods before getting to their home, an impressive structure. I recall playing in those woods as a child, and making bows and arrows out of bending sticks that I would cut. Charlie Godchaux was one of the kids we played with altho I think he was older than me. I lost track of Charlie early on.

When I was a young boy I can remember walking to Grandma's house. It seems that I was given quite a bit of freedom as a child, I don't really recall much supervision. I remember passing the sugar cane railroad cars and the tracks on the way. I would occasionally pick up a cane or two to chew. Sometimes I would see hoboes, men who would hitch rides on the trains. Those were good years. Later on I remember seeing young men working for the WPA, I think that's what they called it. It was during a time when the economy was poor and the government put these young men to work on local projects.

I can remember a flood in Abbeville (must have been about 1940) and being carried to our car, by our housekeeper, Poolah(?), who walked along side the car in the water, since I must have been afraid of the water. We went to Grandmothers house until the water receded. Our house was spared from the water. Some of our neighbors were not so lucky when the Vermillion Bayou came over its Banks. The Primeaux family down at the corner of our street flooded up to the roof. I think the next time the Bayou would flood the city would be from Hurricane Rita.

There was a very memorable Christmas one year. We were living in a house by the Godchaux Swimming Pool. Grandpaw Chauvin had come thru for us that year and I received a great train set, and a small two wheel black bicycle. It looked great to me. My older sister got a bike also. I remember our first ride resulted in my going thru a hole on the corner which contained dark muddy water. The streets were gravel. I went down. I recall crying and going into the house...with a small scratch but mostly with hurt feelings.

One of my later schools, the Convent in Abbeville, had nun's teaching the children. I only attended one year. My only recollection was of being held after school in the classroom and when it got dark and the nun did not return I climed out of the window and went home. That worked! I really thought she had forgotten me.

We had lots of neighbors and the kids all knew each other. Charlie Broussard lived accross the steet. Charlie's father had liquor stores around Abbeville and apparently was successful enough to eventually send Charlie to the University in Lafayette, USL I think they called it then. Mr. Broussard placed a padlock on his icebox (refrigerator) so that Charlie and his sister could not use it until they unlocked it. I can understand the wisdom of that. I lost track of Charlie but heard he had gone into the military and settled down in California, and married a girl whose father was in the same liquor store business.

By the way, when Charlie was a young man, I went to his house one morning and his mom said he was sleeping. I thought he was being lazy so from then on thats what we all called him, "Lazy Broussard". It was only when he went to college that I was told that by another friend, Buddy Hebert, that it made him very angry and that we were not to call him that. He was concerned about what would happen when he went to find a job...you know, "Hello, Lazy, you looking for work?"

Another of my friends from Abbeville was Charles "Buddy" Hebert. Buddy was a fine young man who lost his father at a young age and lived with his mom. He had other brothers and sisters but I really never knew them well. Buddy and I were close in high school, and remained friends until his death. He was on KROF radio in Abbeville during high school and when he later attended college at USL he worked at a local radio station, KVOL in Lafayette. In those days people got their news by newspaper and radio mostly. Buddy was great on the radio and TV in Baton Rouge, WBRZ Channel 2. He went on to LSU where he received a degree. In fact, during the time he and I were at LSU, I helped Buddy with a couple of his courses. He later worked in Public Relations and helped get one of our Louisiana Governors elected along the way. I can't recall the Governor's name. But his life was cut short in a fire which started at his home. After leaving his house below L.S.U. he returned to make a call to the Fire Department and never made it back out of the house. I lost track of his family after that. He had a wife and child or children.

In 1945, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, I can remember listening to the radio when President Roosevelt made his famous address about the Japanese "On Sunday, December the 7th, the United States was viciously and maliciously attacked Pearl Harbor". I had that part of his speach memorized but since have forgotten some of the words. I was 9 at the time and knew that something important had happened. We were living in a downstairs apartment at the Chauvin house at this time.

Most of my Dad's brothers and friends went off to war in Europe and the Orient. My Dad was exempted since he had several children at the time and he worked in various Government Jobs during that period. I didn't feel comfortable about that but that's the way it was for Dad. His brothers, Louis, Gilman, and Welton Paul were off to war. Mom's brother, Dr. Chauvin, went off to war also.

I can recall the ration stamps, since I was working at Grandpaw Chauvin's General Merchandise store. I kept the store clean and orderly and enjoyed my years with "Mr Goode", as his friends referred to him. One of his friends, Mr. Ben Bernard, a retired wholesaler, was often in the store giving advice to Mr. Goode. I loved my grandfather and think of him often.

We all ate at the same dinning table on Sunday, and often Dr. Chauvin was with us. He had served as a medical doctor in WWII. As Pepaw put it, "he flew over the hump" in Asia. I think often of Uncle Eaton and his wife, both now deceased, and the help that his wife offered me when I was attending high school in Abbeville in 1948. My mom was ill at the time with a mental problem and I was lucky enough to be able to stay with the Grampaw Chauvin for that year. Aunt Virginia helped me learn the "Rubiyat of Omar Kaiam" for a Speech Class. She may have also helped me with my "I am democracy" speach in the 11th Grade at Abbeville High.

When Dr. Chauvin, Uncle Eaton, returned from WWII, things were changing. He opened up an office next to the old house. Before the war he was not always paid with cash or checks but with produce from the farmers, hunters, and fisherman. After the war people were beginning to have group health insurance. That is one of the reasons that so many Doctors have made an above average living today. His dad told me how well he was doing when he returned. I don't think that the young doctors of today really know what group health did for them, as well as the workers. Today, many doctors receive monies from the Government under Medicare and Medicaid as well as from private insurance companies.

Doctor Chauvin at one time owned a nice home in Abbeville, and land, part of which he donated to the Catholic School. When Grandpaw Chauvin died he owned the Palms Hospital. As he worked he eventually purchased property in New Orleans and had rentals. He and his wife eventually retired to the City, which they loved. They had one child, Little Eaton, and she married a man named Brown from the area whose family was in the food business, a third generation food business. I never knew what this meant. Later I learned that it was a sizable business, Bruce Foods, a large privately owned Louisiana business that does business around the world.

During WWII, Grandmother had tenants in apartments created in the old house. One of her tenants worked on Slot Machines in Grandpaw's front garage. The slots were a big thing at the time. They were later made illegal in many places. Pepaw had one in the store and he would let me play partners with folks who came in the store to encourage them to play more. And yes, Pepaw thought it payed off too often and he had his tenant fix it so it was a little tighter and payed off less often. There was also the time when they had a raffle at the Gem Theater and guess who won, Mr. Thomas Goode Chauvin, Grandpaw. I think he had it fixed. But I loved the old man. He was so good to me. I was proud that he was my Grandpaw.

Another of his tenants was a Mr. Dan Boudreaux and he would be instrumental in my later life when I was faced with the decision of finding work. Dan was a fine young married man who later became active in the insurance business in Lafayette. I was impressed by Dan and his wife, Iona, I believe. He lived in a apartment at the old house with Gramaw and Granpaw during the 40's. Back to Dan, the Insurance Man, later.

It was during this perior, during WWII, that I recall getting bicycle for transportation. My dad, bless his heart, found a man who remodeled bicycles during that period. Since new bicycles were not in production for non-military uses, he purchased a used bicycle for me. It was repainted black and looked pretty good. I was to ride it for miles before I had other transportation. In fact, the bicycle propelled me all over Lafayette, a much smaller city at the time. Traffic was meager back in the 1940's and I ended up riding my bike the 20 miles from Lafayette to Abbeville many times to see my grand parents. I don't recall seeing many cars on the road at the time...

It was probably in 1951 that Pepaw Chauvin and I sat on the front porch of the old house in wooden rocking chairs and Grandfather told me he had cancer and was dying. He told me that since he could not send me to college he was going to purchase a car for me...and he did...it was a 1950 light green Ford Coupe, which was purchased for less than $2000. He took me to the dealership and let me pick it out. I recall it was on display at the Ford dealership in Lafayette. How lucky could I be, huh? I kept the car until about 1953 when I was returned from Korea by the Air Force and was assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, when I remained until an early release that same year since the Korean conflict was about over. But, that's another story for another time. Korea later...O.K?

Our family eventually moved from Abbeville to Lafayette where we lived on Myrtle Place Blvd, near what was called the "four corners". I recall that I was able to walk to the Myrtle Place elementary school. And later to the Lafayette High School. The only people who rode busses then were people out in the country. Our neighbors there mostly were employed in some capacity in the oil fields, as I recall some were pretty well off. Down the street was the Andrus Family, and Mr. Andrus was in Insurance and Real Estate. They still have the Andrus Real Estate and Insurance business in Lafayette today, being run by their elder son Dwight.

The Doucet's lived accross the street and the father owned Doucet's Meat Market, an apparently thriving business in that period.
I can remember when the son was visiting my sister Bea Lou and when he got a new Baby Buick. Dan was a boxer at Lafayette High and was damned good. I saw him knock out several guys in the ring. His fights never seem to last very long.

My first school that I attended when the family returned to Lafayette was the Brother School, where they told me I was the first son of a graduate, my father, to attend the school. I went to school there for one year only. That was also when dad purchased a large pre-owned car, a LaSalle. The LaSalle eventually went the way of the Kaiser and the Frazier, out of business. It was a large heavy car and distinctive. I can remember Dad picking me up at the Brother School one day. That's the last I remember of that car. It was also during this time that I acquired my first two wheel motor bike, a ServiceCycle. It was belt driven and went up to about 50 miles per hour. I used it for several years until I secured a light weight James Motorcycle (English). I can remember tearing down the ServiceCycle and rebuilding it myself on the side of the house.

I can also remember cutting the grass. Back then we would use a rotary push mower. I could cut about a quarter of the large yard at a time, huffing and sweating. By the end of the week when dad came home it still looked like it needed cutting. It was almost too much for me. When Dad came home at the end of the week he was often a little tight(drunk)and I would be upset about it.

A highlight of that year at the Brother School was my acquiring a white pair of tennis shoes. Such shoes were hard to come by unless in the Military. Everything was rationed. That actually changed my life in a way. I wore the shoes to class on my very first day and Charles Ashey was in my class. He came up to me and asked me if I was going out for the boxing team, and I was taken back some, and after a short pause, I told him that I was indeed going out for the team. It seems that Charlie and I were about the same size and we would be competing for a spot on the team. We were both lightweights, about 90 lbs or so, and so there I went to practice. The Principal of the school came to me and told me I should not go out for boxing since I was really new to the sport, but I told him that I was going out for the team. All this because I wore the white tennis shoes that I found in the house on Myrtle Place when an airman from the base rented our house, then departed. Also, Charles Ashey did not show up for the 1st fight so they placed me in the ring. After the first fight, I was angry because I mostly just stood there and lost the fight, but that was enough to make me ready for the second fight when I just kept on punching. That may have been when I met the Michot Brothers, who may have been working with the team. I also remember the Bass brothers from that period.

I went on to have quite a high school career in boxing, not too much at the Cathedral, where I learned to defend myself in the ring, but the next year when I attended Lafayette High and fought every week during Boxing Season. Of course, I lettered and had some pretty big fights, one at USL where people were so packed in that they were on the rafters of the college gym.

My boxing career started at Lafayette High School in typing class. Yes, that's right. When I entered class I picked up a wooden typing stand and a larger boy (about 160 lbs)tried to pull it away from me. It started a standoff which ended in threats and his meeting me after school. He threw the first blow and I started to defend myself when the boxing coach, I think it was Mr. Campbell, asked us to go behind the gym and put on the gloves. We did and I ended up hitting him without any returns blows...since I did so well, Coach Campbell had me put on the gloves with his twin brother, and I handled that very well indeed. A boxer was born. I remained a boxer until I moved to Abbeville to be with Grandpaw and Mema in the 11th grade.

Another of my friends from Lafayette was Gus Weil, who's grandfather had a slaughter house on the highway between Lafayette and Abbeville. I met Gus while at Lafayette High School and saw his progress as the years wore on. Gus was active in public speaking, and he eventually graduated from College and ended up in Baton Rouge, where he entered into public relations and helped another of our Governor's become elected. He remained active on public television but I have'nt seen him in some time now. It made me proud to know Gus.

I can recall many of my friends from Lafayette. There was Jack Block, Raymond Peck, "Baby" Delhome, and Bubba Myers. I know I am spelling names wrong. Bubba played football, Baby's family ran the funeral home in Lafayette. I recall going to see Baby one day and him taking me up the the Attic where they kept the coffins. I did'nt really like that visit. Then there Howard Allemand, who ran track with me and boxed. In fact, he did everything, including being an honor student. He later became a doctor and practiced in Abbeville.

Then there was the year I spent with Granpaw Chauvin and Mema during the 11th grade. That was a real good year for me. Mom was being treated for her illness, and all I had on my mind were my studies at the school. I improved my grades considerably that year. I participated in the band and got to play the Oboe. The Oboe instrument was used mostly in the concert band and I had solo parts. It made beautiful sounds for me. I was actually first chair clarinet for the band that year. I can remember my teachers face...but not his name. A Mr. Milme???

I put on a show with "Gilly", my ventriloquist figure, and that helped me when I ran for the School Council. Since the kids liked the Ventriloquism Act I performed when running for office, I was elected to Secretary-Treasurer. I don't recall doing very much in that office. I ran for office with my Friend Buddy Hebert, and other folks. I was the only one that was elected to office from my party.

I went out for the football team, but broke my hand before getting to play. A Sellers(lastname) boy ended my football that year when I was playing tailback and running a punt back in practice. He hit my hand with his helmet and he was hollering like a banchee. A broken hand hurts! That ended my career in football. I sure regretted that but I let my hand heal on its own and it stayed swelled up for weeks. The coach told me he was going to let me play a couple of weeks later but my hand was still swollen. I didn't want to go to see Dr Chauvin since the last visit he seems to be unhappy and frowning. I guessed it was because I was not a paying customer.

I also went out for basketball that year, but the coach didn't pay much attention to me. I probably did not even look like a basketball player. But I think he made a mistake since I could hit the basket from center court in nine outs of ten shots. One of the players told me I should talk to the coach but I just did'nt show up one day. I wasn't going to be a bench warmer.

My best friend that year was Buddy Hebert,the guy who was on radio and later TV, and later was with me at LSU and we spent lots of times together. He earlier would drop by often to see me in my room at the Chauvin house during that 11th year in high school. I would also see him at his mom's house where we would drink coffee that we ran water thru more than once. I guess we were recycling. Have you ever tried that?

We belonged to a quartet and we really were very good. Me, Buddy Hebert, Jimmie Vorhoff, and another guy. We were really good and placed at State. That may have been the year that I went to USL and sang a solo, when "love is kind, cheerful and free, loves sure to find, welcome from me, but when love brings, heartache and pain, love may go hang... ha, ha, ha, and so on." I have never forgotten that song. I remember singing Chrismas Carols that year and going from house to house of people we knew...it was fun.

Another of my friends, Jimmy Vorhof, was in competition with me when we entered speech contests. I recited the "Rubiyat of Omar Kiayam" in the competition. You know, "A jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and you, my love". Aunt Virginia, Little Eaton's mom, helped me with it while sitting on the front porche of the old house. Uncle Eaton became a little crouchy about it I recall. Aunt Virginia was very kind to me.

I learned in later years that Jimmy Vorhof took some wrong turns in the road and was into drinking and drugs. One day they found him on the street dead. We double-dated several times during school in Abbeville and Lafayette. He always had access to a car...and that was special back then. Very few kids had such access. He was a very fine looking boy and very well spoken. No car..that probably kept me out of trouble until Grandpaw purchased the Ford Coupe for me in 1950 or 51. I don't know what Jimmie's dad did for a living but I do know he was became Mayor of Abbeville at some point. He may have had a business.

By that time I was using the 50 Ford car for entertaining with my vent figure "Gilly Casanova". I did mostly "one liners" like Bob Hope for which Bob Hope was famous. I would ask Gilly why he was so stupid. He would reply, "I'm a dummy, what's your excuse?" As I mentioned earlier, it was fairly easy to earn money since the schools would book my show and I would get part of the receipts, usually 50%. The kids would pay either 10 or 25 cents to attend. I was real happy doing this work. I earned over $2,000 in one day in Morgan City for five school shows. You recall I had learned the art from my Aunt Edith, one of the three Chauvin children, of my Grandpaw Chauvin.

After school I moved out of the house because dad and I were not getting along too well. He sometimes had a drinking problem. I may have mentioned this earlier, but dad often would come home intoxicated. When this happened he just went a little crazy. He would become abusive. Many of you have had that experience with a member of your families. When dad came home after drinking we all braced ourselves. I may have taken the brunt of this problem since I would always intervene between mom and dad. I just could not stand there and do nothing. Dad would not remember anything the next day. It turned out this was not always a popular stand to take back in those days. I personally went thru a living hell during our time in Lafayette. I also spent a lot of time riding around Lafayette all night long to stay out of the house. This was the reason I left home early.

Often I would go on trips with dad and when we were returning to Abbeville, he would always stop at the City Bar in Maurice, La. Many people in the area remember this landmark. It might still be there today??? I remember the bad feeling that would come over me when we would make that stop. He sometimes would stay gone for quite a while before returning and you could smell the liquor on him. I knew we were in for it.

I recall living at the Thompson's house in Lafayette after leaving home, next door to Mema Mouton, my dad's mother. They had a house and rented to young men who needed a place to stay. It was in the center of the old city of Lafayette. Buddy had rented a room there at one time. I stayed there until I was able to get into trouble, I guess I felt the world owed me more. I had been thru hell because of dad's drinking.

I haven't talked about the Mouton side of the family. Grandfather Fernan Mouton, had no formal education. After returning from war, he realized he needed some business training and went off to a Junior College. After graduation he found a job selling produce in Lafayette and eventually got a job with New York Life. He did very well and was sent to France where he opened an Office for New York Life and built their business. He spoke very good French like most people in the area in the early 1900's. His wife became ill and he returned to Lafayette and eventually started an Independent Insurance Agency just down the street from his house on a corner lot. He was the first one to help establish the the Louisiana Rating Commission when he became a Louisiana Senator. I was not around during that period but remember my Dad pointing to him when he was walking down the street between his office and his house. He walked with a black cane with a Gold Head. His son Welton Paul Mouton Sr., who was also an Attorney, later had his law office at the location where the insurance office had once stood. And Welton Jr later followed in his dad's steps after Welton Sr died. Welton, Jr. is now retired and I see him only at family funerals.

Grandfather Mouton eventually ran for City Counsel in Lafayette, ran for office as a Senator, and was elected with a very large majority of the votes. He became friends with Louisiana Governor Parker, and was eventually elected Lt. Governor in 1916. His picture was in the State Capital and was given to Dad when he visited the State Capital with me in tow. He later died as a result of a stroke, and was confined to a bed when I was old enough to visit him. Mother had Grandpaw Moutons' Official Picture from the Louisiana State Capital in her living room for years and it eventually was given to my brother Larrey Mouton, who became President of the Iberia Bank. Larrey hung the picture in his office at the Bank and it hung there for years. Another of my Brother's, Tommy, called my brother Larrey the Governor. Note, when the picture was offered to me by mom...I turned it down.

When Larrey, my younger brother, was in his Senior Year in college, he needed money for tuition and when I visited mother she told me and asked that I lend him the money to complete his schooling. I had gotten married by then and had some savings. Larrey never knew about this until I told him in the last few years. I think mom paid me back. Larrey finished in Accounting, did his turn in the Military, and became a CPA. He worked for a couple of accounting firms then went into Banking, in Baton Rouge, I beleive. My mom was real proud of Larrey and kept telling me he would become a Millionaire. In her last years she talked about Larrey everytime I visited her in her assisted living home in Lafayette. I was proud of Larrey, too. I really bragged about him often.

I told you about my stay at the Thompson's house in Lafayette. It was during that time period that I was entertaining and finally got in some trouble. I decided then to leave Lafayette and entered the Air Force as a recruit. The Korean War was dominating the news. More later, it's been a long journey. I was about 18 years old at the time.

I'm back and I am ready to get on with this story. In about November of 1950 I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. My dad actually came to see me off at the Bus Station. I was surprised to see him. We said goodbye and I was off. I was sent off to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for training. Marching mostly, Kitchen Detail for about two weeks. I was sick at the time from a Small Pox shot...but they keep waking us up about 2 or so in the morning and sending us to the kitchen. I could'nt beleive it after they kept it up for several days. I must have been there two weeks. It was at that base that I saw the Warrant Officer in charge of the Band and auditioned for the Special Services job. He assigned me to Special Services, otherwise I would have probably gone into radar. By the way, I wasn't too good with shots...I passed out when receiving shots in Alexandria and again at Lackland AFB in Texas. We had to stand in long lines and the shots were like a production line. By the time I got to the front, watching the whole afair, and taking my licks, I would drop to the floor or ground. I ended up entertaining in the Lackland Service club before thousands of Airmen, that was really fun. Of course, we did all the other things you do at boot camp. It was O.K.

Then I was off to Manchester New Hampshire to join an AC&W Squadron and was stationed there for the rest of the winter. The highlight of my time in Manchester was going to the YWCA for dances. I met a young lady there and often missed the bus home, they stopped running about midnight. I remember walking home in the snow several miles. I would see her again before going up to Bath, Maine. I really can't remember her name but she was glad to see me when I passed by the YWCA. I has gone to Louisiana after Manchester, picked up my 1950 Ford Coupe, then to my next base.

My next stop was a Naval Airbase near Bath Main. There was an AC&W squadron in the woods off the base. I spent a great deal of time playing ping pon and pool in the recreation room. I had the opportunity to travel while up there, I had my Ford, and enjoyed driving all the way to the Acadia National Park where the mountains met the sea. Also, there was a beach called "Old Orchid Beach". It was a good experience. I also stopped off at the Bath Playhouse Theater for a great play. In later life I would return.

During my stay at the Naval Air Station in Maine I had the opportunity to travel to a base in Newark, New York where we put together a USO style show and entertained at a couple of bases.
Nothing ever came of this since I would be moving on soon.

My Sergeant came to me one day later that year and told me that a call had come in for Korea. The other guy I worked with, Bob Hill, if I remember correctly, was a young married man. Because of this I volunteered to go in his place. Crazy, huh! As a single man I thought I should go.

Meantime I had picked up a girl friend in Bath by the name of Rita Lavertu(?). I met her at a band concert in the Portland City Park, I was fond of the girl and saw her often. She was a cute girl. It was spring and it was a beautiful place. The day I met her there was a music concert in the park and we just met. We had it going fairly good when the call came for Korea. After I had been in Korea the letters from her stopped coming. Her sister wrote me later and told me Rita was going out with another service man. That was the last of Rita. I never saw her again.

I then was sent home for a week or two and left for San Dieago, California. for the trip to Korea. After shots and lots of waiting around I was placed on a plane and we were leaving the California Coast. I remember it well. I thought to myself that it might be the last time I would see the U.S.A. In California at the base I met several men returning who described hand to hand combat. It did'nt sound too good to me.

The plane flew into a storm after a while and I remember the lightning hitting just outside of my window, it was pouring rain and very dark. It was bad folks and I thought we were on our last trip. The plane started falling, and falling, and falling...I thought we would hit the water. The officer in the next seat flew up and hit his head on the ceiling and stayed there for a while, our duffle bags were flying all over the place. Serves him right for not having his seat belt on. After a long time the plane finally stopped falling and the plane began to gain altitude. Wow! We landed on an island midway between the U.S. and Japan, I think it was in the Philipines. We ate a meal and we were loaded onto anther plane for Japan and then Korea. The weather had cleared.

The day we landed in Korea, at Kimpo Air Force Base, near the 38th Paralel, the ground was covered with ice. It was pretty from the air however the landing seemed endless. We skidded until I could see off the end of the runway, and not by choice. It was like ice skating. I'm sure the pilots were as nervous as I was when the plane haulted and we taxed to a stop. We spent our first night in a transit tent. The next day we received our assignments.

I left the tent looking for a "John" the first night and when I could not see one asked a fellow airman who walked nearby. He pointed to a little shack and said, "thats it." It was large enough but consisted of a long benches with holes in it and barrels on the bottom. It sure did stink. They later built better facilities, with hot and cold showers. I recall we would run for them when we saw smoke come up and rush to shower. After we would get soaped up the cold water would come and we would exit quickly. They had trouble keeping them working, I recall.

I was assigned to Personnel Services Unit on the base. I was part of the Forth Fighter Interceptor Wing during 1952. The Korean War was in its second year. Peace negotiations were in progress and the only issue still pending was prisoner repatriation. They were still fighting and we could sit behind our tents at night and see the trucks going up the the DMZ. There was lots of firing every night and I felt sorry for the men, Army and Marines. It was probably the most unusual and most bitter of all the world conflicts. This was the time of the F86 Saberjet. It turned out that they were able to win battle after battle, despit being outnumbered, with the MIG-15's that came roaring out of China.

Korea was the coldest place I had ever been. We were assigned to bunk on cots in tents. We had two blankets, one which was placed under me and the other on top. Then I would get in my sleeping bag also. Our tent was equiped with a heater which operated on plane fuel, that's what they told me. The fuel would usually burn out about 1 or 2 A.M. in the morning. I would generally be aware when it gave out and would spend lots of time trying to be warm. It was impossible. My tent consisted of 8 men, and we all went to work each day.

Tents to which we were assigned held about 8 cots. Behind the tent were trenchs, and also AA gun implacements operated by the Army. Other folks on our base were the 77th Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marines, Aircraft Control and Warning, and members of the Korean Army.

You will recall that I earlier wrote a story for my English teacher at L.S.U. The story was about my Korean Houseboy, that worked in our tent. It involved a Sgt. William Kennedy, who turned up missing about $10 or $20 dollars. He accused our Houseboy, Han Jung Ju(?) of taking the money. Han was picked up by the Korean Military police, and I was told by another man that they were real mean. Kennedy kept looking and found the money so I made a quick call to have him realeased. My story was very descriptive of the area and this memorable young man. He did everything for the men in our tent. He shined shoes, kept the tent clean, and brought our laundry for cleaneing to a Korean lady.

I worked for Captain Jack H Milne, Personnel Services Officer and a fine man. My rank was A/2C. There was A/1C William R. Kennedy; S/Sgt Gerald L. Hayden; was in next cot along side me, Capt Clyde E. Stoddard; and Capt David H Weisberg; We also had folks assigned to our Base Gymnasium, which was under construction, Capt James B Huskission;WOJG Henry D Griffin; A/3rd James C Jacob Jr; A/3C Roger S O'Brien; and S/Sgt William A Rupe.

At one point we heard that someone had slipped into another tent and slit a man's throat. There was also the threat of isolated attacks or even a full scale invasion over the rice padies that surrounded the base. I would go to sleep with my M2 rifle loaded in my bunk. Sergent Hayden and I would always call ahead when entering the tent.
You should have seen the base light up at night when an enemy plane came over...there were tracers and shells filling the air. You couldn't help but duck down for fear of being hit. You would not have beleived your eyes at the displan of gun fire.

In our Information and Education office were A/3C Richard J Grysinger; A/1C Joseph H Kress, 2nd Lt. Ralph W. Pope, 1st Lt Norman V Clough, S/Sgt James F. Davidge.

We had men working at SWIG-ALLEY which was run by Capt Walter N Nash, S/Sgt Spig G Johnson, A2C Theron Gooslin, who was a great Guitar Player, and 1st Lt Albert Rogers. We also operated the ROCKER-CLUB for the Sergents. I had contact with most of these men.

A/1C Oscar R Cutting, and A/1C Thomas W Beard worked at steward in the Airmen's Club. There were thousands of other men at the base, but these men are the one's I knew first hand. I can remember most of there faces.

They completed the Recreation Center that year and I was fortunate enough to be moved into a back room on one side of the stage where I was left alone for months. This is where I worked, playing music on the sound system, the music of the 50's. I helped with the Ping-Pong and Pool Tables...and played quite a bit. I eventually was placed in charge of the R&R program (Rest and Recouperation) and would schedule the officers and enlisted men to fly to Japan for a rest. I dealt with everyone at some time are another. It was important that the men take a break from work. The recreation center was appropriately decorated with Bamboo for the walls and furniture. A nice touch. We had colorful decorative signs painted by Sgt. Kennedy and others.

Another of my duties early on was showing the movies at the outdoor theater. I can remember well the day the film broke and the men turned over my little projection both, others came along and help me get it going again. This is also the place where we would have our USO shows.

We had quite a bit of entertainment at the outdoor theater, but I particularly remember Eddie Fisher, who later married Debbie Reynolds. Eddie was a rising star at that time. When he arrived at the base I was given the task of setting them up in the Airmen's transit tent. Eddie called me over and said the place was filthy...it was...I don't think it had ever been cleaned one time. I took on the job and had it clean for Eddie and his group in a couple of hours. I'm sure if he were alive he would remember that day. Eddie was an Airman just like myself.

I recall needing to secure a military license to drive the weapons carrier. The guy who gave me a driving test took his job a little too seriously. He had me drive up on a high hill and told me to drive off the steep side of that hill. I told him he was crazy and I would'nt do it. He ended up driving down that hill with me holding on tight. The damned thing almost went over...probably would have killed us. I heard a week later that he had gotten in trouble with one of the civilian ladies working on the base when he gave her a driving test. Huh? @#%$#

Another of my jobs was going to pick up the movies to be shown at the base from a central point in Soeul. I also was given the job of picking up live shows in Soeul, and taking them to the base to perform, and escorting them back at night. It was dark and we were instructed to drive without headlights at night. When you would journey to Soeul during the day you could see bodies handing from the RR tracks,..they told me they were N. Koreans trying to infiltrate. The city was in ruins at the time. I remembered seeing the Bank with its walls busted out. I guess someone must have needed a loan.

One night I was assigned to guard duty around the base. In walking toward the main gate, pass little Korean Hutments accross our perimeter fence, someone shot at me. I heard the bullet wistle over my head. I dropped to the ground and must have remained there for 30 minutes. I never reported the incident, but I want you to know it scared the hell out of me. It was late at night and no one heard the shot

One young airman who became friendly with me was working on a recreation room on the other side of the base. At one point he asked me to go over to see it, but I cautiously refused since I did'nt know him well. As he worked his way back to his side of the field that night an F-86 crashed on the field. I read the next day that he had gone to the downed plane and pulled the pilot free. He received some type of metal for his bravery. Maybe I should have gone, I'm probably dumb enough to have helped him save the pilot.

Did I tell you that I also helped set up the Base Library. I worked for a young civilian lady and we did the whole job all by ourselves.
We cataloged all the books, set up and index, and did it all. That's where I found a book on "Flying Saucers" by a fellow named Scully. I was fascinated with the book. I would later try to secure a Vent figure of a space man. Despite spending lots of money the figure was a flop. The guy who made it had also made a figure for Danny Kaye, the movie star, which was made of a new soft material, but the guy was slow and after threating him with the U.S. Mail, he sent me a poorly made figure. I was never able to use it.

The year went by fast and after 13 months and no additional promotion, their were none available in my job classification, which was considered unemportant compared to a mechanic. In fact, we were told by our Captain, that if we were attacked we would be the last defenders loaded on an outgoing plane. That was something to think about. Also, the show that I had performed in at Camp Bagio in the Philipines never materialized. We were to have gone on tour. It may have happened after I left.

So I loaded up on a plane back to Japan where I was placed on a ship for home. The voyage took two weeks. I was unfortunately was sick the whole time. We stopped midway on the trip and floated for a day or two. I was told we were waiting for a large wave that might be on its way. We finally arrived home and I received a week off and was reassigned to Barksdale AFB in Sherveport, La., near my family that was living in Alexandria.

I worked at the Air Base in Sheveport for about a year. I was first assigned to the library, where the lady in charge was not too happy with me, nor I with her. I eventually was able to get transferred to the Special Services Office where I worked the rest of my time at the base. I also worked part-time at the base theater, where I was a ticket taker and usher. Eventually I took the job as Janitor because I could do the work in a couple of hours in the morning. I would get up real early and get the job done. I saved all the money that I earned and would have a small nest egg when I was given an early discharge since peace had been declared.

My stay at the base was relatively uneventful. I had a couple of girl friends during that time and a couple of rendevous. I think I was happy when I was discharged and returned to Alexandria, La. where my dad and mom had settled down. Dad was working as an Attorney for Mr. Roy O. Martin, who had a Lumber Mill in Alexandria. He appeared happy there and they had a nice house with a big lot, a horse and a born. I think most of the children were still at home about then. My oldest sister had married earlier in Lafayette, I was the next child and my sister Addriene was still at home.

I found a job working at a W.T. Grant store, they were opening a new store in Alexandria. I met several ladies there. When the store was finished after a couple of months they offered to send me to a store in Oklahoma, a small town. My dad told me that it would be a bad move and encouraged me to go back to school. I was offered a small government assistance, about $110. a month.

I visited around but ended up going to a Baptist College, Louisiana College, in nearby Pineville, La. My life was just beginning.

It's Christmas day today, it's a dark, wet Louisiana night, and I need to get home to my family. More later...
By the way, this was not all written on one day but on several days after the 19th of December, 2006.

So I'm off to Louisiana College. By this time I had been out of the Military several months, but just before a exited the service, I stopped at a Ford Dealership, saw a real nice Baby Blue Ford Convertible, and before I knew it I would be dischared. The Baby Blue Ford Covertible would help me with my next project.

So I'm enrolled and going to class. One of my classes was in Algebra. This was not going to be my favorite class. However, very fortunately, a young lady sat to me one day. I missed her in the next class or two. Then there she was again. I thought she was the best thing I had ever seen.

She was a little over 5' tall and a real sweet beauty. I asked her to go for a coke...and to my surprise she accepted. A love affair was born. Not only was she sweet, good looking, talented, she was an Angel. Her pop was a Baptist Minister from Minden, Louisiana, up in the Northern part of the State. She could sing, play the piano, and pray out loud. I would walk on air everytime I saw her. The shool appreciated her talents, too, and had her playing the piano at assemblies. My Baby Blue convertible would serve me well.

After that, Velma and I were together as much as possible. I was greatful that she responded to me. I sat by her in the Algebra Class, and she was kind enuf to ignore me when I copied off her paper. Ain't love wonderful. I think the old professor knew what we were doing!
XXX XXX

Velma and I remained friends and by the end of the 2nd semister we were married in her Dad's Parkway Baptist Church. I remember it all so well. I had no money, not even a new pair of shoes. I wore an old suit and had probably less than $100 in my pocket. We left on a one night honeymon headed for New Orleans, but we never made it there. We stopped on the way for a night in a motel in Alexandria.

How lucky could a poor old boy get. Velma was multi-talented. She was very smart and was Valedictorian of her high shool. She was at one time President of the Future Homemakers of America. She received an American Legion Award. She scored as a genius, but she never liked me to tell anyone about this. And did I mention, she was cute as a bug!

Our next stop would be in a small apartment in Pineville, La. which had probably been set up in WWII. We would share a bath with a neighboring party, and when the gas stove would stop, we would have to put 25 cents in a meter. That worked.

It was about that time I got a job at the Charity Hospital in Pineville. I worked as an orderly at night. That was a real experience, caring for patients, carrying them out to the morgue when they died, occasionally holding them to assist the nurse or doctor. On one particulary stormy night I was asked to pick up a small package and carry it to the morgue. It was lightning, thurdering, and pooring hard. I got to the morgue, put on the lights, and started looking for a place to place the package. One at a time I opened the refrigerated boxes and closed them. They were all occupied. Finaly, I opened the last one and it was occupied, too. What to do? I placed the small package in the last box. I kept this job for just a couple of months. I was getting some money from the Government for school, about $110. a month.

After my second semister I decided it was time for me to find a job. By that time Velma, my wife, was working at the Baptist Book Store and helping out. She had dropped out of school. I was able to find work at the Roy O. Martin Lumber Company in nearby Alexandria. You may recall my father was an in house attorney for Mr. Roy, Sr. I would stay at the Saw Mill for one year working in the Invoice Department. I did O.K but was making about $60 per week working about 60 hours a week, six days a week. It was not unusual for us to work 60 hours. After 6 months I was given a raise...5 cents an hour. That's when I decided to go back to college. We actually were able to save some money, but our first funiture, and were off to L.S.U.


I think I overlooked telling you about my first television show after I left the Air Force. While working at the Lumber Yard I talked them into sponsering a T.V. show at the local station in Alexandria. After working the 60 hours a week at the Mill I was in no condition to be preparing a live T.V. show for Mr. Roy O. Martin in my spare. I was able to produce about three shows before I told him I would no longer be able to continue. It was pretty good tho, Mr. Martin was pleased with the Commercials that I also prepared. After the service I still had dreams of being onstage and entertaining.

We arranged to stay in the Veteran's hutments between the L.S.U. stadium and the Missippi River Levee that passed thru the area. They were actually old military barracks and housed two apartments per building. Nothing fancy, but adequate. I had purchased a Cushman Scooter to drive but kept it only a short time. I think it was an insurance related issue. I worked in the photo lab at one point, then as a janitor at the L.S.U. stadium for a couple of months. The job paid well for part time work.

I did well at L.S.U. in my first couple of years. I had to accumulate 96 hours before entering the L.S.U. Law School. I enjoyed the classes and and was an AB student. After over 100 hours I entered the Law School. There were probably well over 150 students in the freshman class, many would drop out during the first year.

Problem was many classes had no text books. Some professors would assign a couple of books during every clas for reading. I did O.K. in the classes with books. It's the classes without text books that I could not handle. It was Jurisprudence, a professor who spoke broken English, that was the beginning of my downfall. Also, Family Law had no text books, and the professor would stand up and tell suggestive jokes, and everyone would laugh. Except me...I had a hard time without a text book again. I would stay up til the wee hours of the night and morning studing and would have a hard time waking up and getting to class. I figured if my dad could graduate from Loyola, so could I pass the courses. I was wrong. I dropped out after my 2nd full semester. I never one time had a private interview with a professor. I was a little depressed but knew I had to move on.

I met many folks at LSU Law School who I would later run into or hear about later in life. I can recall a young man who sat next to me in Jurisprudence. He was a genius. His name was Penrose St Amant, and he would later become a District Judge in Gonzales, Louisiana.

Then then was a young man named Joe Waites, who would later be a District Attorney in Houma. His son now has that job. Joe, Sr. is now up in age. He probably does not even remember me.

It was then that I had the problem of having to find a real job. It was 1957, and jobs were hard to come on. We were in a recession and men would line up for jobs. I had worked at a couple of motels as a night clerk while going to L.S.U. I was fired from the first job because my boss got too friendly. At the second motel I was fired because I knew too much. My wife was working for Kaiser Alluminum as a clerk and later as a Secretary and one of her co-workers was dating the boss. I made a delivery to their room one night and was fired the next day. I could understand that.

I finally got a job and a Pac-A-Sak store. A Mr. Penniman, who owned the stores, placed me in one of his units. I did my best but immediatly recognized that the man I worked for was not my best friend. I think my college experience was too much for him and he complained about the way I mopped the floor. I worked their about two months. I was opening and closing...it was a long day. It wasn't long before I started looking in the paper for another job.

I could remember some of the people in Lafayette that I knew as a child who were in the Insurance Business. Read was one thing I knew I could do! I could read the policies. I applied with Metropolitan Life and then later with Prudential Insurance Co of America. Prudential was the first to offer me a job. Unbeknown to me at the time, Grandfather Mouton has once worked for New York Life. I had found my life work.

The Prudential District in Baton Rouge where I applied for work was a District Agency Office. It was in 1958. This began my next 30 years and a career as an Agent and Sales Manager. I worked for a Mr. Ronald Harlow, Sales Manager, who was a very fine gentleman. I enjoyed working with Ron and could trust him. At one point all business was collected by the Agents. After several years we had most people mailing in their premiums. I worked as a District Agent for four years with some success.

In nine months of the first year I won a trip to Colorado, I beleive. After that I was off and running, learning my products and applying that knowledge to secure sales. I was promoted to Sales Manager after four years, in 1962.

Selling insurance was not an easy job folks. Looking back, I must have been very hungry for success. My boss, Ron Harlow, helped me through the first few weeks. When he turned me loose I had no prospects and was not sure how to proceed. Sure, I had some product training but when I reported to work that Monday morning, Ron told me I was on my own. My first stop would be an appartment complex off a main street. I knocked on every door. Left my card on each one and found a few people home. I would then call at night and try to arrange an appointment. I must have made several sales from this first effort and then I would eventually give a card to lot's of folks in Baton Rouge. I really beleive I would during my next four years call on just about everyone. It sure seemed that way to me.

As Sales Manager I was in charge of training other men to sell. I excelled in this position and after two more years, I requested a tranfer to Houma, Louisiana. Mr. Louis Howard was one of my first Agents as a Sales Manager in Baton Rouge. Last I heard he was still with the Company. My motive was to establish my office, do well and be promoted to my next position. I had seen a friend do the very same thing, Mr. Hugh Crawford. He at one point became my District Manager. I ended up working for quite a few people.

Hugh would one day within the last 10 years show up in my Independent Agency in Houma. He was selling health insurance in New Orleans and told me he was just returning from a trip and he had won a new car in Los Vegas. He said he was passing thru, placed a quarter in the machine and won the car.

I worked for another fine Gentleman, his name was Mr. Charles Beck, and he was our District Manager. I really liked "Charlie", as we all called him. He was in charge of the Baton Rouge District when I was hired in 1958. He would later be promoted to a Regional Director in Houston and then Vice President of Sales. I was proud to have worked for him and thought I had played a part in his success. Charles had graduated from the University of Texas. I think he died before he reached an old age and prior to retirement.

In Lafayette I would hire several men who would remain with the Company for years. Mr. Louis Howard, who later became a Sales Manager and worked in Lake Charles, I've lost track of Louis but heard that he had married a Mrs. Sibley when her husband died rather young. He was a Sales Manager in Lafayette and a compeditor of mine.

There was also a man who was a fried for years, Mr. Russ Mixon. Russ knew how to get friendly with folks, making a big deal over their children. Rus loved horses and talked about them all the time. The last time I heard for Russ was when a lady working in my office in Houma, who loved horses also, travelled to Baton Rouge where she met Russ who was selling her a horse. I called Russ and he had married a lady who loved horses and was living somewhere around Baton Rouge on a farm.

My whole thirty years with Prudential can be summed up with a box full of awards. They are sitting on a desk out of the public view. It seems now like a quick 30 years but I struggled thru the whole damned thing! I woke up many mornings not knowing where I would go that day or where I would write me next policy. I will use the awards to outline these 30 years.

I completed my Life Underwriters Training Course, and received that designation in 1961. It was the next year that I became a Sales Manager. I won several trips during my first four years.

In my fourth year I was off to Houma, La., and oil field town on the coast and about 60 miles SW of New Orleans. Most of the men wore large belt buckles and cowboy boots in those days. During my first week Mr. Beck sent me down the bayou to see a Preacher below Dulac, La., quite a few miles below Houma. It was a trip I will always remember. Many of the houses in the lower part of Terrebonne Parish were just shacks, and most had no screens on them. The children had no shoes and many were of Indian and Spanish Decent mixed with some French folks. I thoughts that day I had made a wrong decision going to Houma. The oil business in Houma was beginning to boom.

As time passed, I made personal sales when I could, until I was able to find some men to hire. Most were local people with contacts in the area. My first hire was a man named Donnie Thibodaux. Don was able to introduce me to many local people to get us going. We were selling Life, Health, Disability, and Group Insurance. We quickly began to excell in Group Sales and this really helped. I hired many men over the years.

Our sales unit received President Citations in the following years; 1964, 65, 66, 67, 68, 76, 77, and 78.

In 1967 we won what was called the "President's Citation", an award given to the top Sales Staffs in the U.S.A. We had about 7 men on our unit, Mr. Philip D. Dupre, Joseph B. Lawrence, Ellis J. Blandchard, 3rd, Warren D. Cardneaux, Barry P. Bonvillain, Louis G. Boudreaux, and Nelson G. Cheramie.

One of those men, Mr. Warren Cardneaux, eventually became a Sales Manager and later a Manager. I haven't stayed in touch with him. Many of the men that I hired were promoted and excelled. Some are retired and some still in business today. Mr. Randy McCullough was another man who I trained, helped promote to Sales Manager and sent to Lake Charles. Randy was a likeable chap.

Mr. Barry Bonvillain, who worked for me for several years, was eventually promoted to the City Council, and later became President of the Houma City Council, and later to the Terrebone Parish Council.
Barry is one of the men who really loved Terrebonne Parish. I see him on the Local TV station at times discussing our levees and how to save the coast.

Mr Roy Gautreaux, who spoke with a heavy french accent, worked with me until he finally became an Independent Agent. He us still in business today. Then there was Philip Chabert from LaRose, La. and when he came to work he was made Rookie of the Year. He was a real help to the team. Also, a gentleman who was a Nichols State college grad and school teacher, who worked for me. Tim Watson would eventually be placed in charge of my sales unit in Houma, when in the last 6 years I was forced to return to being an Agent. This was a blow because it was just like starting all over after more than 20 years. I was given a pay check for 16 weeks and had to immediately start from scratch with sales. No one wanted to step back. It could have been a death sentence but I managed to hang on during my last years with the company, until 1987, when I threw in the towel and retired to my little Independent Agency that I had been building since 1981.

In 1968, we won another "President's Citation" for all-around accomplishment. The unit was comprised of Mr. Phillip D. Dupre, Warren D. Cardneaux, Mr. Barry Bonvillain, Mr. William I Rochel, Harvey P. Breaux, Louis G. Boudreaux, and Tomas C. Forgey.

Also, in 1968, I was a member of the "Leaders Roundtable" for leadership and outstanding accomplishment in the Southwester Home office. I was also V.President of the Roundtable.

In 1969, I was a member of the "Leaders Roundtable" and again in 1980. In 1969-70 I was elected President of the Tri-Parish Life Underwriters and was associated with many fine local insurance people.

Meantime, I was working on my next Professional Designation of "Charted Life Underwriter" composed of five parts, each of which I completed with one years study. I was proud of designation and placed it after my name. I had read all the books in detail. I started this in the 60's and became a member of the American Society of CLU eventually.

Later along the way I also became licensed to sell Variable Annunities and Mutual Funds. Some of my CLU studies helped me with these licenses. I received my license to sell securites in 1983 with Pruco Securities, a Prudential Company. The Variable Annuity would later become a tool for scamming customers by selling it with a financed life policy and the Annuity.

The scam worked this way. You may recall, my old Manager, Mr. Beck, told me that a scam might be coming from California. The Agent would sell the Variable Annuity along with what was called a Financed Life insurance policy. This is where the insured would borrow the cash value each year to pay part of the premium. He could sort of romance the Variable Annuity which was based on investments. He would go see existing policyholders, have them cash surrender existing policies with loan and divident forms, leave in enuf money for six months or so (then no replacement would be charged), and place the rest of the funds in the Variable Annuity. He would receive a commission for both the Variable Life and the Annuity. The problem was that the insured would not be presented with all the facts.

In 1976, I was transferred to the Lafayette District and worked for District Manager Mr. Buddy Nauck. who worked for Prudential until his retirement. Buddy is now gone but I remember him well. He was also a fine gentleman. He never bothered me about the scam. They may have sent me their for protection from my former manager in Baton Rouge.

Buddy once a bus driver on the route between Abbeville and Lafayette. It was during this time that many Prudential Agents in Batone Rouge were learning the scam that later caused Prudential to lose Millions of Dollars and perhaps Billions in fines in later years. This virus like scheme eventually spred to all parts of the country. It began from California.

In 1977 we would win another President's Citation. then again in 1978. We were flying high.

In 1981 my wife was still in her Garden Center business. I had finally set up an Independent Agency. My first two companies left the State of Louisiana. I found other companies to sell with and continued working. Eventually I purchased a large building next to my little portable office. We are in that building today and doing fairly well. My youngest son Mark Allen Mouton, is now working for the business after returning to Houma in about 2003.

Sometimes along the way, Prudential introduced the Property and Casualty business to the field force, and I had to get licensed and train the men from Houma. It was a battle but we met each week for training meeting. The men did'nt necessarily like training meeting but it was the only way to learn. It could have been in the 70's. This changed the whole ball game.

There was no training for the management team. We had to secure a large license manual from the State of Louisiana and learn what we could from that book. It wasn't and easy task and some men took the test several times. We would all be required to be licensed.

We received product material and I set out to educate my sales team. We had licensing Agents begining to open their own offices...which later became more popular as time when on. Mr Barry Bonvillain was the first Agent to rent space and open his own office. It worked and other Agents soon followed. Mr Roy Gautreaux was the next one to open an office. Others would follow and business rolled in.

It was in the late 70's and things had begun to get real interesting then and after much training and work we quickly started getting solid results. I was eventually making fair money...about $50,000 a year...in the 1970's. My first year in Houma I only earned about $15,000 dollars in 64. My Sales Unit would lead the country in the 70's in Property and Casualty Sales. I became a member of the PRUPAC CHARTER CLUB for my efforts. I was becoming confortable in my job in the 70,s and when, in 1979, a Training Consultant came up to me in a Coffee Shop in San Diego, California, after a year when we had we won everything, and asked me if I wanted to be a Training Consultant, I turned him down. We were still rolling in 1980. It was in 1981 that I was asked to step down as a Sales Manager.

By then my wife's Greenhouse Garden Center was in full swing. We started the business from scratch because she was interested in plants and we were not certain about our Prudential future. I assisted her every chance that came along. This was a tough job, in the sun, heat, rain, and cold. She ran this business for 18 years. One year we took in about $500,000 and were able to help our two boys out with jobs and other aid. We closed it sometime in the 1990's, when labor was short, and we were aging a bit, and competition was increasing from the big discount stores. Velma, my wife, was extremely talented and she was recognized for her knowledge of the business and plants. My son's both worked for her their last years in High School and the oldest boy, Jeffrey Paul, was an asset in helping to run the business. Jeff would later come to work for me in my insurance office for about 10 years as a licensed agent. He is away now, but that's a whole new story for later.

My younger son came back in 2003. You will recall I said Mark had moved to California when he was about 20 years old for his try in the music business and he returned in 2003. He is now working with my Agency, Mouton Insurance Services, DBA Insure-Mart, in Houma. We had him licensed early for his Property & Casualty, which is the bulk of our business. He may eventually run the business. He must have inherited some of his mothers smarts.

I'm not sure I told you but I retired from "Pru" in after 30 years with a small pension and a health program. It was in 1987 that I left the company, very ingloriously. Sort of sneaked out since I no longer had the favor of my bosses. I don't recall them telling me goodbye.

My last years after 1981 were a struggle. I did however open an small office and started selling Auto on the side in addition to trying to keep my Prudential check coming in each week., that's when my wife became licensed and I joined the union. You will recall that I reported my Manager for scamming customers. It turned out that his boss knew all about it. I was in deep stuff!

Reporting problems in companies was not as popular as it became later when companies were in difficulty and the problems were coming to the surface. Companies have paid Billions for their mistakes.

Note: I will continue to add to this Blogg until I feel it's complete. It is today December 29, 2006. I am having a little free time lately. Back later...

It is now Jan 1st, 2007. As a younger person I never even thought about being here. People seem to be living longer, however you can never tell, can you? Well, I have 25 years to go from 1981 to the present time. This last 25 have'nt been too bad.

As mentioned before, I became an agent again with Pru in 1981, after my demotion. My sales staff went to a young man named Tim Watson,who I had trained, and he who would work at the job for some time, then it would turn over to several other people over the next few years. I can't recall how many men tried to do the job. None were in the job too long. Sometimes in recent years, Prudential sold their property and casualty company, Prupac. They were more interested in investing money than in P&C sales. They remain in the investment business and even in real estate. They sold their P&C company to Liberty Mutual and they actually still have my business today.

I actually tried hard to produce business after 1981. Altho I produced $1,000,000 of business my first year, I would be told that it was not enuf. I was upset but knew I would have to hang on for several more years. I did what I could until 1987 when I felt compelled to retire. I was lucky to have made it threw my 30th year with the company. Many of my friends never made the 30 year mark. I received a very small pension which I still receive today. I want to live as long as possible so I can collect more and pay some bills before I leave for a final time. I began receiving Social Security when I reached 62, because I did not know how long I would be receiving it. Having sold life insurance most of my life I knew there was a risk of not living too long.

Some interesting things happened along the way. I at one time owned a 20 acre mobile home park in Thibodaux, LA. It happened when my brother, the banker, passed thru Houma one day and made an interesting offer. Larrey asked me if I would want a Mobile Home park and asked me how much I could put down. I told him nothing. I had purchased the Greenhouse property with that amount down, with some success. The next week he called me and I was soon in the Mobile Home Park business in Thibodaux, It was the Waverly Mobile Home Park. Very nice with an office building and a pool!

Many things would go wrong at the park. Business was in decline and mobile homes were seen going down the road each day. The water in the park was extremely expensive and eventually I had my older son place about 100 water meters in the park. That worked but not soon enough. A large water pipe broke and thanks to Jeff, we had it repaired. Problem later developed that a lady slipped and fell in front of the office while getting her mail. This would later cause a loss of $160,000 from my Insurer at the time. When that seemed to work for her it gave some other tenants ideas and there was an incident in the swimming pool that occured. Just at the time I was selling the property back to the bank, another person called about a hole in the road and a child falling. Anyway, it cost me $25,000 before I gave it back to the bank. They called it a "Dation" I beleive.

Some of my other properties were later sold along the years as money was required. They helped out but did not make me rich. I had several pieces around the Terrebonne Parish and one in Lafourche.

We celebrated our 25th year in 2006. I was proud that we were still receiving income from our business. There was never a lot of money from the insurance business but there was enough to pay the bills. I actually never received a salary until the last couple of years when I received a very small check for expense money.

Today my office is being run by my wife, Velma. She was not sure about whether or not she could use a computer. She learned quickly and is now running my office with the help of other employees. One of the employees is my youngest son, #####. He told me not to use his name??? He also is doing a fine job. He worked for Geffin Record Company in Los Angeles for some years while pursuing a music career in California. We are glad to have him home. He has assisted us with our automation issues for the last three years since he returned.

Today, it's all about automation and the internet, you know V.2.
The new internet. Insurance companies have been slow to adopt using the internet but they are at it full blast today. There are many savings involved for the companies and the agencies that work with them.

My first computer was a Tandy 1000, and the next one was a Tandy 1200. Does anyone remember them in the early 80's. They were pretty limited compared to todays machines. My experience made me very cautious with machines. I'm past that now but still don't know as much as my youngest son..

Most companies now have an internet presence, which is an aid to us and the clients. Transactions are now completed on line instantly. No waiting for results. Many applications, policy changes, and payments are completed on line. It makes it easier for us and the customer. Ain't it sweet. The most important thing for us is keeping up with the automation and training of our people.

I have related enuf about my life for now. I will return a little later to tell you about my oldest son. O.K. I hope to return to tell you about my last 25 years, when I will be 100., maybe.

It's now off my mind for now. Keep up with me. "I shall return" as Douglas McArthur said as he left the Phillipines. Bye for now.