Looooosiana

Ah, crawfish...is there anything more beautiful? Ok, I guess there is, but man these little buggers taste good. A week ago I was in Louisiana for One Way Street's Lafayette, LA Puppet festival, so I had to get some crawfish. I often wonder about who was the first person to look at one of these creepy little guys and think, "Mmmmm, I think I might like to eat that!" He must've been starving since these guys don't exactly have the same visual appeal as, say, a banana split. Personally, I like to think whoever it was had just finished some sort of religious fast and God rewarded him by pointing him to one of the most delicious of all his creation.

It is a bit of a leap of faith the first time you try them. I was really proud of Philip, a former One Way Street intern who helped me set up the festival, for diving right in. He had never had crawfish before, but apparently trusted my taste in food more than my taste in movies enough to order up 3 pounds. I was a little concerned at first, the above photo was not posed.

We also made sure to teach Philip the ways of Mr. Tony Chachere. This stuff sits on every table in Louisiana and I've had some in my pantry ever since my first visit 14 years ago.

As I worked my way through my crawfish I took in everything around me. There was a Cajun band playing, and it's pretty much impossible to be in a bad mood when there's Cajun music playing. There was also a bunch of people dancing, every single one of them was smiling. Lafayette is one of my favorite places to visit. It is a joyful place, and it rubs off on me quickly. I think I'm going to pack my iPod with a lot of zydeco...a prescription for all those times I need to remind myself to be joyful.