THE LENGTHENING OF SEASONS

Greetings and Salutations O Ye Sojourners...

"Craaaaaaaawfish....Craaawfish...see I got em...see the size...stripped and cleaned...before your eyes....swwwweeet meat...fresh and ready to eat." (Crawfish from the movie King Creole). Here is one of my favorite pictures with my boy Phillip...sucking the heads of the crawfish...aaaaaaaah
"sweet meat...fresh and ready to eat."




NOTE: No...your eyes don't deceive you...that is a picture on my shirt... that world famous rock group PINK FLOYD...the barber that is.

For those who don't know...my favorite Elvis Presley movie is KING CREOLE (1958) adapted from the Harold Robbins book A STONE FOR DANNY FISHER.


The opening for King Creole is set in the French Quarters in the early morning...with the sellers of various foods...pushing their carts...crying out what they have to sell. Craaaaaawfish is being shouted out. Elvis leaning on the balcony...joins in and sings along with them. Ms Kitty White is one of the first females to share vocals with Elvis. It was more a call and response more than a duet.

Elvis plays Danny Fisher...a kid who works in the clubs at night...and goes to high school by day...and is getting ready to graduate...until he has a run in with some local gang members in the club...and Maxy Field's (Walter Matthau) girlfriend...played by Carolyn Jones (Morticia Addams of the Addams Family). The picture in the lower right hand corner is Elvis/Danny singing..."If your lookin' for trouble...you came to the right place...if you're looking for trouble...just look right at my face...I was born standing up...and talkin' back...my daddy was a green-eyed mountain jack...I'm evil...my middle name is misery...well I'm evil...so don't ya mess around with me." (Trouble Lieber and Stoller).
Well...you may be asking yourself "Self......what does any of this have to do with the "lengthening of seasons" Well I'm glad you asked. NEW ORLEANS....the place where the world is looking at as the season of Lent is fast approaching. March 8th, FAT TUESDAY...the day before Ash Wednesday..the kick off for a forty day sojourn into LENT. The word LENT means the "lengthening of seasons."...and is the sojourn into a time of preparation, prayer, penitence, alms giving, and self-denial for a 46 day time frame in the space time continuum...where the end will be Easter (Resurrection Day). It reflects the time when Jesus went into the wilderness prior to His public ministry began as He was tempted by the devil (little d). He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights...prior to this temptation.

NOTE: The common thought about temptation is something that you are pulled INTO...but temptation is really designed not to pull you into something (although that would be one of the causes and effects)...BUT...temptation is designed to PULL YOU AWAY FROM WHO YOU REALLY ARE...AND YOUR PURPOSE/DESTINY. (Thanx and a Tip O Da Hat To Larry Napier)

I like the season of Lent...because it is a set aside time of self reflection. it is a time for a more intense time of disciplining my self for "the purpose of godliness" in the areas of my speech, my conduct, my faith, my love, my purity. (I Timothy 4:8-16)

Oh I know...I know...this is what I should be doing 365 days a year... 24/7. But there are times...seasons... when you just have to draw away from the crowds, the voices, the hoopla, the hoi polli...and press into HIS PRESENCE...to clear the cobwebs out of your spiritual head...to clean out the build of of cerumum (ear wax), wipe out the sleep (crud) from your eyes...so think, hear and see things from a God Perspective, instead of being overwhelmed by the world in the Land Of Nitty Gritty.

Part of the process is to give up something during this time as a symbolic representation of dying to the flesh. The day prior to Ash Wednesday...aka Mardi Gras...Shrove Tuesday (pancake Tuesday), Carnival (Farewell To Meat)...the LAST FLING...has turned into a time for debauchery before the 40 days of denial.

For me...there are multiple things that I will be giving up...during this time (known only to me and God). I usually seek God in the areas of my spirit (little s), my soul (mind, will, emotions) and my body (flesh, blood, bones).

The time frame for LENT differs from Western to Eastern church culture. For me...I will be utilizing the 40 days...with 6 days off from what is given up...on Sundays. The 6 days of rest from the other days represents mini-Easter/Resurrection days.

DISCLAIMER: Fear not...I am not advocating rules, regulations, holidays, special foods, etc. as something that will get God to love me more. It is just a personal time for me...to remove the distractions and things that leech onto me throughout my walk.

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY...NO REALLY...FINALLY

See ya the other side of Lent...HE IS RISEN...HE IS RISEN INDEED...EVEN DURING LENT.

Love and Craaaawfish Kisses
Rodney "Lengthening Of Seasons" Boyd

THANKFUL FOR ...CRAAAAAAAAWFISH

Greetings fellow Cajuns and Cajun wannabes. Why is the man in the first picture smiling. It could be that he is watching the LSU baseball team playing on a T.V. in front of him. It could be he thinking about his new recording project that sounds fantastic. It could be the various successful showcases of his band that has been taking place. But none of these events compares with the sweet joy as he is partaking of that sweet meat...Mr. Crawfish at the Annual Legendre Crawfish Boil.

In the third collage that you see...there is a collection of pictures from the boil... and pictures from my favorite Elvis Presley movie...KING CREOLE. This movie opens up with a song...that Elvis sings with KITTY WHITE. This is one of the first...rare...duets that Elvis sings with a female. In Viva Las Vegas he sings with Ann Margaret.

This song is sung in a type of CALL AND RESPONSE song (music of the church)...as Kitty pushes a cart down Bourbon Street in the morning. She is selling her wares of CRAWFISH in the French Quarters. Elvis is getting up...getting dressed and they begin to sing.

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaawfish.....Craaaaaaaaaawwwwwfiiish...See I got em...see the size...stripped and cleaned...before your eyes...sweeeeet meeaat look...fresh and ready to cook. Craaaaaaaaaaaaawfish....Craaaaaaaaaaawfish.

Well I went to the bayou just last night...there was no moon but the stars were bright...put a big long hook...on a big long pole...and I pulled Mr. Crawfish out of his whole...Craaaaaaaawwfish....Craaaaaaaawfish.

Now take Mr. Crawfish in your hand...He's gonna look good in your frying pan...
If you fry him crisp or you boil him right...he'll be sweeter than sugar when you take a bite...Crawwwwwwwwfish....Craaawwwwfish.

The best part of this Crawfish boil is not...sitting around talking with friends... and smelling the sweet aroma of the boiling of spices, potatoes, corn, garlic cloves, corn and of course crawfish. The best part of the boil is not getting a large platter full of the cajun feast...sitting down and begin to pulling off the tails, sucking the heads of the crawfish, eating the sweet meat. The best part is not taking a break and then starting all over again...with the juices dripping down your face and arms as you take a break to wipe your mouth and drink a cool drink. What could be the best part of this event?



The best part of the event for old Ramblin' Rod...is getting together with my son...and taking our annual picture of a son and his dad...sucking the head of the crawfish. It is especially meaningful...since he graduated from high school... has been living at Wherry Housing while interning for Community Servants...and working at UPS at night. I don't get to see him as much as I use to...and just to hear his voice or see him for a moment is a treat.

Sometimes...we don't miss the ones we love until they are not around as much. Sure...this is part of life...and as our kids spread their wings to soar into adulthood...it hurts...BUT...we have to cherish the moments together. I think I have a little taste of how God must feel when we don't call or check in on a regular basis. Sometimes as we grow in the Lord....we tend to drift a little in our independence. We tend NOT to read the Word as much as we did when we first came to know Him. Our prayers are not as consistent. We tend to become more self-reliant rather than come to Him. In Revelation....we are encouraged to RETURN TO OUR FIRST love...and do the things that we did when we first met Him. It is getting back to the basics of life....reading the Word, praying to Him, having intimate conversations with Him. When we do things like this... it makes the simple pleasures of life so much better. When my relationship with God is good...little things like a Crawfish Boil, a night out to a concert, a look of love from your wife, a simple song, a picture with your son...becomes so much sweeter.

Lord...your Word says, "In EVERYTHING give thanks...for this is the will of God concerning you in Christ Jesus." (I Thessalonians 5:18) In EVERYTHING...means everything...including the crawfish boil. If I could learn the lesson of being thankful in the little things...and in the everythings...life would be good.

Love and Cajun...Spicy...Kisses
Rodney "King Creole Boyd"

P.S. The King of Kings...is the King of kings...including king creole.