I lived in New Orleans for about 25 years; it's nice to see that things haven't changed much. Billy Tauzin sure hasn't. Well, he has a lot more money and a much more powerful audience to play up or down to than he did in those days way back when.
"Boudreaux and Thibodeaux were out in the woods hunting one day. The pair stayed out so late that it got dark, and they got lost on the bayou. Standing at the edge of the water, Boudreaux looked at Thibodeaux and asked, 'So how we gonna get across? It's cold, and it's deep, and we got all these hunting clothes on.' About that time, a fellow from Texas A&M showed up across the way, and Boudreaux yelled over to him, 'Do you know where we can cross?' 'No,' said the fellow, 'but I got this here flashlight with me. I can shine it across the water and make an artificial bridge for you to walk across.' Boudreaux yelled back, 'You must think we're stupid!' 'Why?' asked the Aggie. 'Because,' said Boudreaux, 'we gonna get halfway across, and you gonna cut that light off!'"
In his two decades on Capitol Hill, Representative Billy Tauzin has become famous for his 'Boudreaux stories': tall tales--most of them corny, many of them racy--about a fictional clan of ne'er-do-wells from the Cajun stretch of southeast Louisiana where Tauzin was born and bred. He has 'zillions' of such stories, say friends, and, with minimal tweaking, can roll them out to warm up the crowds at bayou barbecues and congressional hearings alike.
This is a wonderful piece of political reporting on a fascinating man and politician, in TNR.
