Growing up in Southwest Louisiana, everything seemed pretty normal to me as a kid, but now that I’m older and have met people from many places, I realize my childhood was anything but normal! Some folks have no idea what it’s like to catch your supper all summer long in the canals between here and Cameron! The drive down was always full of curious sights, from the wild irises blooming amongst the cattails to the odd look of old rusted cars and appliances deposited in the marsh, enduring grim reminders of the devastating and powerful Hurricane Audrey in Cameron so many years before. I took for granted everyone grew up knowing how to pull in a crab line in with one hand while negotiating the dip net with the other to grab the big blue crab that was nibbling on the bait. We threw a bunch of strings with bait into the water and then waited. When a line stretched out and became taut, we knew we had a crab. There was a trick to coaxing the crab close enough to snag with the dip net. Using both hands, we would ever so slowly pull the line in, an inch or less at a time as steadily as possible. When the crab got close enough to see, we’d dip the long handled net under it and bring it ashore. Seeing an alligator swim up close always added excitement to the day!
We collected dozens of big blue crabs easily, and put them all in a big galvanized tub. When it was full, we’d head for home. The crabs were always the first to get a bath! We would pour them in the bathtub of clean water with a box of Morton salt poured in. The crabs, still alive, would purge themselves in the clean water. Meanwhile the big pot was on the stove coming to a rolling boil and the distinctive smell of a bag of crab boil seasoning would fill the air. Sometimes a crab would get loose in the process and it usually caused excitement for both kids and dogs alike! The kitchen table would then be covered in newspaper. Mama and daddy would boil all the crabs to bright red, and we would have a feast! The next day we’d have crab patties made with potatoes and green onions. Those were the best leftovers ever!
