CAROLINE'S CORNER: A FABULOUS FIESTA IN NAWLINS

The music and food of New Orleans periodically pull me all the way down to the end of Interstate 55. Where else can I have early morning beignet doughnuts, late-night gumbo and in between experience two concerts by Clarence "Frogman" Henry, the best of classic jazz at Preservation Hall and on any corner in the French Quarter, street musicians who would put most recording artists to shame.

Last week, Boulware and I decided to celebrate our 27 years of wedded sometimes bliss by taking advantage of summer rates at the Royal Sonesta in the middle of Bourbon Street and doing the Fat City scene. For three days our only mode of transportation was our own four legs and an occasional street car ride. (We never located the one named Desire). You never know what might happen in Nawlins, where no excuse is needed for a parade. The Society of St. George celebrated the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II with a parade in which participants in all-white attire threw beads and flowers to the onlookers. We joined those grabbing for goodies and came away with our share of white beads. My long arms and lack of shyness were a definite advantage in the quest for beads.

My lack of restraint did cost me a quarter. A young man who was definitely not dressed in the fashion of an Ivy Leaguer or a J. Crew shopper asked me if I would like to pet the rat he was holding. Since it was a pretty gray and white rat, I consented and gave the rodent a quick pat on the derriere. It soon became obvious that the keeper of the rat had an ulterior purpose in mind."Lady, could you please spare a dollar for a poor homeless boy?" he implored.

I gave him a quarter and was very careful the rest of the day to resist petting animals that belonged to homeless boys.

The most unique idea used by a homeless person was the man with one leg who sat on the street and had his prosthetic placed strategically in front of him. The leg was filled with change and bills, and the engaging entrepreneur asked if I could please spare a dollar for a poor man with one leg. I quickly learned to avert my eyes from alternate lifestyle young men with small rodents and gentlemen with detached prosthetics.

The highlight of the trip was a concert by Clarence "Frogman" Henry. The concert, presented overlooking the Mighty Mississippi, was sponsored by the Flamingo Casino, where one is able to gamble in style, a la Las Vegas.

Henry began his concert with a a"bump bump" song that included lyrics about Cape Girardeau's own Rush Limbaugh. "Rush Limbaugh, bump bump, bump bump, Rush Limbaugh, bump bump, bump bump," was the tune.

Since Limbaugh uses Henry's "Ain't Got No Home" for his homeless update and I knew that Limbaugh and Henry have a special relationship, I decided it would be interesting to talk to Frogman. With special permission from authorities from the Flamingo, I was able to talk with Henry after the show.

Henry is a big fan of Rush. "Rush is beautiful," Henry said. "I just love him. I met his brother and his mother and they have all been beautiful to me. I talk to him in New York, and when he is down in New Orleans, we visit."I went to the Caribbean with Rush for eight days," Henry continued. "But the only song of mine Rush cares about is 'Ain't Got No Home.'"After the second concert, with my spirits flying from listening to such tunes as "I Don't Know Why I Love You But I Do" by Frogman, we walked next door to the mall, where I purchased a hat I absolutely could not live without. Now you know that in the Heartland if I wear a wide-brimmed hat with a huge bow on the side, I will be stared at and thought of as eccentric. So I wore my fancy hat the rest of my vacation in the Big Easy. I'll save it for my next food and music adventure in the French Quarter, where I can be eccentric and no one cares.

I carefully packed my priceless hat and reluctantly climbed into the car and headed north.

Just across Lake Ponchartrain from New Orleans, Boulware discovered his retirement home, accessible only by boat, tucked in the middle of a swamp.

That's okay with me. When I make my first million, I plan to purchase a retreat under the magnolias and Spanish moss on Mobile Bay. With my second million, I plan to purchase a vacation spot in the French Quarter. Surely in the atmosphere of local sights, sounds and scenes I will be inspired to write there as were my fellow Mississippians Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner.

If Boulware cares to visit me, he may. We'll sit on my balcony with red hibiscus trees all around and watch the people go by. Of course I'll be wearing my conspicuous hat and my eccentric manners. I wonder if I am too old to learn to play the saxophone?