Ajoleblon...A Cajun Tale

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Lafayette, Louisiana, United States
This journal is a bunch of rants about nothing. Mostly lighthearted happenings in the life of a woman who is very simple and who wants for nothing but greatly appreciates whatever is given. You will find nothing profound here but hopefully something that will make you laugh and that's what I enjoy doing most. Being humorous. Fight all error, but do it with good humor, patience, kindness, and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Cajuns

This made my day! I am mighty proud of my heritage!
Just a poetic reminder, from an "adopted Cajun" Bob Hamm.
What is a Cajun?

Between the red hills of North Louisiana and the blue waters of the 
Gulf of Mexico, lives the Cajun. Among the marshes and the bayous, the
tall oaks and whispering moss, he carries on the traditions of his 
hardy Nova Scotian ancestors, les Acadiens (the Acadians), whose 
flight from persecution brought them to the lush South Louisiana soil 
over two centuries ago.
In other parts of the world, little girls are made of sugar and spice 
and everything nice, while little boys are made of snips and snails 
and puppy dog tails.  Little Cajun children are made of gumbo, boudin 
and sauce piquante, crawfish stew and Oreilles de Cochon.
A Cajun child is given bayous to fish in, marshes to trap in, room to 
grow in and churches to worship in. A Cajun likes fiddles and 
accordions in his music, plenty of pepper in his courtbouillon, shrimp
in his nets, speed in his horses, neighborliness in his neighbors and 
love in his home.
A Cajun dislikes people who don't laugh enough, fish enough, or enjoy 
enough of all the good things God has given to the Cajun Country.
He doesn't like to be hurried when he's resting or distracted when 
he's working. He doesn't like to see people unhappy, and he'll do all 
he can or give all he has to bring a smile to a face stricken with 
sadness.
A Cajun likes to dance and laugh and sing when his week of hard work 
has ended. And just as Saturday night at the fais-do-do replenishes 
his store of energy and his personal balance so he can meet the next 
week's chores with vigor, Sunday at Church refreshes his spiritual an moral values
and keeps strong his always sustaining faith.

A link with a proud past, a Cajun is a man of tolerance who will let 
the world go its way if the world will let him go his. He is a man of 
great friendliness who will give you the crawfish off his table, the 
Sac-au-Lait off his hook or the shirt off his back.

But if you cross a Cajun, he'll give you the back of his hand or the 
toe of his boot. If he likes you, he'll give you his whole wide,
wonderful world. If he doesn't, he'll give you a wide berth.
A Cajun is a complex person, with as many ingredients in his makeup as
there are in the gumbo Mama makes for special company.
He has tolerance for those who earn it ... charity for those who need 
it ... a smile for those who will return it ... and love for all who 
will share it.
BUT ... a Cajun can be as stubborn as a mule and as ornery as an 
alligator. If he sets his head on something, he'll fight a circle saw
before he'll yield to your opinions.
You'd as well argue with a fence post as try to change the mind of a Cajun.  And, as fun-loving as he is, a Cajun can work as long and hard as any
man. He carved out "Acadiana" by hand, from the swamps and marshes and uncultivated prairies.

But when the work is done and the argument ended, a Cajun can sweep 
you right into a wonderful world of joie de vivre with an accordion 
chorus of "Jolie Blonde" and a handful of happy little words

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