Due to a job promotion and transfer, Boudreaux, a Cajun highlander from Rapides Parish in central Louisiana, moved to Larose, Louisiana. For those of you that don’t know, Larose is way down there in Cajun Country and the hometown of LSU football coach, Ed Orgeron. (Geaux Tigers!)
Boudreaux was an older, single gentleman, who was born and raised a Baptist, Upon moving into his new home in Larose, Boudreaux continued a Friday night ritual he had been doing all the years he lived in Rapides Parish. For every Friday night after work, Boudreaux would fire up his outdoor grill and cook a nice venison steak – sending the wonderful aroma of grilling venison throughout his neighborhood.
Now, all of Boudreaux’s neighbors in Larose were Catholic — and since it was Lent, they were forbidden from eating meat on Fridays. The strong delicious aroma from the grilled venison steaks was causing such a problem for the Catholic faithful that they finally talked to their priest Father Fonteneau about the matter. They asked Father Fonteneau to intervene on their behalf to teach Boudreaux the importance of observing the Lenten season, and not eating meat on Fridays.
The priest came to visit Boudreaux, and suggested that Boudreaux convert to Catholicism, cautioning him that once he became Catholic he could not eat meat on Fridays. Boudreaux agreed. After several classes and much study, Boudreaux attended Mass and as the priest sprinkled holy water over him, he said, “You were born a Baptist and raised a Baptist, but now Mr. Boudreaux, you’re a Catholic.”
Boudreaux’s neighbors were greatly relieved, until Friday night arrived and the wonderful aroma of grilled venison penetrated the neighborhood again. Father Fonteneau was called immediately by the neighbors with a new set of complaints. The whistle blowers warned the priest that Boudreaux was cooking meat again, that something had to be done fast. Their spirits were breaking and they feared they would have to eat meat before the night was over if Boudreaux didn’t stop cooking his venison steaks.
Father Fonteneau jumped in his car and zipped over to Boudreaux’s house. As he walked up the driveway and approached Boudreaux’s back yard, clutching a rosary and preparing to scold him, he hears Boudreaux talking and decides to peep through the cracks in the cedar fence to see what was going on. Father Fonteneau stood quietly, totally speechless, watching and listening in amazement to what his eyes were seeing and his ears were hearing.
For there stood old Boudreaux, clutching a small bottle of water in his right hand, and sprinkling it over the grilling meat while chanting these words: “You wuz born a deer, and you wuz raised a deer, but now little deer — you’re a catfish.”