The Cajun Saint

On this St. Paddy's day eve we are toasting a full two weeks on the road. Today was actually a pretty good day. We drove some 200 miles from the Frog Capital to where we'll spend tonight and tomorrow night: Biloxi, Mississippi. And did we tell you about our last stop in the city of Rayne,Louisiana right on Interstate 10, west of Lafayette? We were told that the city actually has a large RV park with 700 spaces on the county fairgrounds. We found it, paid $20 and could park in any open site which wasn't a problem since there were only four other RVs hooked up. We could have parked on either asphalt or on grass. And one thing Paul has been looking for is green grass that Daisy could run and play on to wear herself out. So we chose a spot away from everybody--easy to do--then hooked up, settled in, ran Daisy on the soggy grass, and hit the hay about 10:30. But sometime around 3 in the morning we were awakened by one of the heaviest rains we've ever encountered. It pelted the tin can and boy, it was noisy. It rained and it rained and it rained. We figured we'd wake up in a virtual lake. Which we did but it wasn't as bad as it might have been. We managed to pack up and move on. If we can figure out a way to post some pictures you'll see what we awakened to.

So down the road like a toad we went. Away from rain. Nothing fell off the trailer. Paul's back seems to have improved and Daisy's intestinal malfunction has corrected itself.

The highlight of Rayne if there is such a thing was a trip fifteen miles northwest to the grave of Charlene Richard in the town of Richard. Charlene was only twelve years old when she died of leukemia in 1959. According to local church records, she showed enormous courage and holiness in the face of death. And that has turned her into a Cajun saint. Her story has spread across the internet and now people from all over the United States come to St. Edwards Catholic Cemetery to ask for her intercession for various problems. Prayer petitions, photos and donations are left at the shrine. I caught Paul leaning his left leg onto her crypt. The leg that has the sciatica problem. He reports that the leg has felt better today than it has during the entire trip. He insists there is a marked and dramatic improvement. Coincidence? Divine intervention? Paul's fourth glass of wine? You be the judge.