Mother's Day reminded Kenny LeBlanc, of Prairieville, "of the trials we boys put my saintly mother through.
"I had a hamster named R.I.P. (the name is another story) as part of a 10th grade science experiment.
"Mom had just bought new curtains for our front room picture window, and was so proud of them. One night I housed R.I.P. in a wired bird cage and placed it on the floor next to the curtains.
"The next morning we discovered he had chewed on the curtains and made a nest in his cage. Both R.I.P. and I almost lived up to his name.
"The day I needed to demonstrate my science experiment at school, I wasn’t allowed to keep R.I.P. at school (another story), so arrangements were made for my mom and my aunt to bring him to me.
"They were on Florida Street when my aunt screamed. R.I.P. had escaped from his cage and was roaming on my mom’s shoulder.
"Mom slammed on the brakes, stopped the car in the middle of traffic, and both she and my aunt jumped out.
'Thankfully a policeman was behind them and corralled R.I.P. back into his cage.
"R.I.P. mysteriously disappeared a few days later."
Kaim's got mail
"Every three months," says Ronnie Stutes, of Baton Rouge, "I receive four sales brochures from a wholesale membership store (of which I am not a member), properly addressed, down to the 9-digit ZIP code, to four individuals not living at my house.
"Their names are 'Kaim Anvamsim,' 'Lanzo Composf,' 'Iftur Eccie,' and 'Mind Elaetz.'
"If anyone has a current address for any of these folks, I'll be glad to forward the brochure to them.
"I suspect someone is being paid by the number of brochures sent out. I imagine other people may also be experiencing this."
They're not Santa
The Friday story from Mariano Hinojosa about a duck visiting his home by way of the chimney brought comments from bemused readers.
Richard Carter says, "Speaking of home intruders through the chimney, my wife and I have had our share of visitors.
"One was a young opossum. My wife was able to corner it and then box it. I opened the door for her to release it outside.
"The other was a squirrel. This was a real fiasco. After opening all doors and chasing it all over the living room, she was finally able to coax it out the front door.
"It pays to marry a South Arkansas country girl."
Glenn's groaners
Incurable punster Glenn Balentine, of Prairieville, says, "I was amused by Mariano’s 'duck in the chimney' story.
"I would think the fireplace sooted it fine, although perhaps it was not all it was quacked up to be."
Missing person
"I decided to call my friend Helen from my porch, because I live in a wooded area of Denham Springs and she lives in a wooded area of Covington," says Gladys Ford. "We usually experience spotty cell phone communication.
"She answered, and I asked, 'Helen, can you hear me? I'm on the porch.'
"As she put her phone down, she said, 'Oh good, I'll go look.'
"After a long few minutes, she returned and said, 'I've looked everywhere and can't find you.'"
My favorite subject
Limerick poet Frank Fronczek, of Baton Rouge, shares his latest effort. I approve this message:
"An Advocate columnist, Smiley
Was erudite, clever and wily.
But witty, not solemn,
His fans wrote his column,
And this he encouraged quite highly.