‘Like The Hide Of A Gator’

Terrific piece by Chuck Culpepper of The Washington Post, about the deep ‘Down The Bayou’ accent of LSU head football coach Ed Orgeron. He’s from Soud Lafoosh. Excerpt:

“He is just the embodiment of what ‘Down The Bayou’ means,” said Ian McNulty, the food writer for the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate, and the author of a book, “Louisiana Rambles: Exploring America’s Cajun and Creole Heartland.” “‘Down The Bayou’ is not a place. It’s not a sense of direction. It’s not something to which you give people driving directions. It’s sense of place and a sense of bearing. … Somebody’s character is ‘Down The Bayou.’ It means deeply rooted, way out there, deep in Louisiana. It’s not a vector point. It’s a mind-set. It’s a framework for identity. ‘Down The Bayou’ is who somebody is, or what something is.”

In Orgeron’s voice, McNulty said, a listener might detect “incredible warmth, but you also feel this power behind it, this strength.” He likens it to a bear both cuddly and physically capable of dislodging your limbs. He said: “In that voice you can hear a defiance against the wind. You can hear a voice that shouts against the wind, that’s going to do things his way. It’s a big voice, but it’s not a scary voice. Firm, but it’s not harsh. It’s weathered. Callused, but not without tenderness. You know he could lift up a 55-gallon oil drum on the derrick if he had to. He also could brush back a newborn baby’s hair.”

Read it all.

You like my purple and gold Coach O Christmas ornaments? My friend Kevin makes them — order yours here. You know you’re going to want them for your tree next year.

McNulty says the texture of Coach O’s voice is like “the hide of the gator.” Which is the perfect description. I feel that Coach O is the kind of man who wakes up each and every morning, and his first thought is, with complete earnestness,”How ’bout dem Tigahs!”

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