Uncle Bert

[trof]

His given name was Hebert (AY-behr), he was 'Bert' to everyone.
Cajun to the bone.
Miz t.'s mother's brother.

Never married.
Had girl friends, but they never hooked him.
Lived in the original homestead (2 bedroom house built out of cypress by his daddy) outside of Lake Charles, LA for all of his life.

Except for the two years in combat in various Pacific islands during WWII.

Lived with momma and daddy until they died.
Then he lived alone until the age of 92.

As mentioned in another post, Bert didn't do DST.
And he planted and harvested his rice crop by the moon.
Plant on the new, harvest on the full.
He prospered.

Miz t. and I would visit and always bring him lunch.
He loved fried chicken.

One summer we were visiting him and bringing lunch.
Bert ate ate the stroke of noon.
You could set your watch.

We were running a bit late, but pulled into the farmyard at about 11:50. Went in and sat in the small living room, chatting about this and that.

At noon I said "Anybody getting hungry?"
Bert said "I don't eat lunch until noon."
period
Woops.
I'd forgotten that Bert didn't do Daylight Savings Time.
My bad.
We talked for another hour until it was Bert's 'official' noon.

Bless his heart.
;-)

[Charlemagne]

1. How fun

Does he speak French? What are this/your thoughts on his french roots and cajun culture in the US? My father had a buddy in Nam who was a cajun. They used to go to LSU games together when they got back stateside and were working for the NSA.

[trof]

2. His mother spoke a patois.

She was Miz t.'s maternal grandmother.
I met her only once.

I took French in high school and college and found that she and I could communicate much better in that language than in English.
Her's wasn't Parisian French (which was basically what I'd been taught) but it was close enough.
Better than using English.

We're talking WAY back in the swamps and woods Cajuns.
She and her husband were first cousins.
When ever Miz t. does something really ditzy, I bring that up.
;-)