Dear Smiley: A Sunday article in The Advocate told about a violin passed on through several generations of a family. It reminded me of this story.
When I was 13 (60 years ago), I owned a Fender guitar and played in my first band. When I switched to keyboards, like a fool, I sold the guitar for about $50.
One day I got a knock on my door and two friends were there holding a huge box. When I opened it, my guitar in its original case was inside with a note from the gentleman who had bought it from me.
He now lives in Arkansas. The note stated that he did not know my address, so he asked friends from my area if they would bring it to me.
He said had no use for the guitar, and he thought I should own it again. He did not want any payment.
At this point, the guitar is a lot more valuable than the $50 I sold it for. But, rest assured, I will never sell it again. I still play guitar and keyboards, so I am making good use of it.
ELWYN BOCZ
Lutcher
Miserable cabbies
Dear Smiley: The story about having to get out and run if your taxi got in a wreck in Turkey reminded me of a trip to New York for a production of "Les Misérables."
Myself, my wife, my mother-in-law, and my daughter stayed in a hotel very close to the theater district. However, on the night of the performance it was snowing and the sidewalks were covered in ice.
Although the theatre was only a block or two away, we decided to take a taxi.
The driver, angry about the short distance and low fare, drove off at a very fast rate and slid around a corner. We slammed up against another taxi, and the two drivers began screaming at each other in their native tongues.
We quietly exited the taxi and, sliding my mother-in-law on the ice, made our way to the theater.
MICHAEL J. DeFELICE
Zachary
Eat your beer
Dear Smiley: Back in the days of steel beer cans, I remember a girl in high school telling that her dad would freeze beer, empty it into a bowl, salt it, and eat it with a spoon.
CHARLIE ANDERSON
Shreveport
The jinx people
Dear Smiley: Over the years my wife and I have learned that whenever we watch their game on TV, our team will be doing poorly.
Last Saturday we were optimistic and watched through to the third quarter. But LSU was fumbling the ball and the score was LSU 10, Mississippi State 16, so we switched to a more cheerful BBC detective program.
On the evening news we learned that LSU had won 31 to 16 — which proved, yet again, that if we want LSU to win, we must not watch them on television.
MARTIN HUGH-JONES
Baton Rouge
Dressed for success
Dear Smiley: Frances, our 4-year-old granddaughter, started Pre-K at St. Margaret Mary in Slidell this month.
She was so excited to finally get to go to school with her big brother Henry. When she came home the first day, she ran in to tell us all about it.
Out of breath and between gasps, she said, “We got to color, and sing, and dance, and play, and eat our lunch on the floor, and take a nap, and, you are not going to believe this, Nana, but every girl in my class wore the same dress as me. How did they know what I was going to wear? What will I wear tomorrow?”
I looked at her mom and said, “Seems like we have a born leader and a fashionista on our hands; good luck with that."
RENIE CLARK
Covington