Rotary 'Claws For A Cause' a big success

I’ve had quite a lot of “firsts” recently. I went into my first Buc-ee’s, I went to Wrestlemania and now, I attended my first Crawfish Boil/Festival. All I can say is, “wow.” Let me explain why…..

I believe I’ve discussed before that I have the eating habits of a 7-year old boy, at least according to every woman I’ve ever met. And I don’t eat seafood or fish of any kind, so there’s no need to ask me whether I enjoyed the crawfish last Saturday.

When I decided to write about my experience at the Rotary Crawfish Boil, held last Saturday in beautiful downtown Sulphur Springs, I knew that I would need to “tread lightly.” You see, everyone I’ve spoken to about crawfish is extremely passionate about either loving it or despising it. It should be obvious what side of the fence I’m on, so please forgive me in advance for some things I may say.

If you’re best friend is a crawfish or you’re married to a crawfish or you attend a church that worships crawfish, don’t take anything here personally. We live in such an over-sensitive world now, it wouldn’t surprise me to have someone see me and start yelling, “How dare you! My mama gave birth to me at a crawfish festival and that’s why I’m called ‘Little

Baby Craw Craw.’ Seriously, I hope I don’t meet that person.

OK, back to the festival. It was packed. I was so impressed with the turnout. The Sulphur Springs Rotary Club did a wonderful job putting the entire event together. Chaney Johnson and her committee were amazing and they made me proud to say that I am a member of the local Rotary Club.

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend my time there volunteering with Judge Robert Newsom. We both served as Greeters and I also helped with putting wristbands on some of those who attended. It really was a lot of fun and I was able to witness something I’d never seen before, besides crawfish. I witnessed the kind of respect and admiration Judge Newsom receives from the citizens of Hopkins County. It was amazing to watch. For example, the Sheriff ’s department had some of their Trustees working the event, helping out with so many things and while I was standing with the judge, a Trustee stopped working, came right over to the Judge and shook his hand and said hello. I have never seen someone who is currently incarcerated, walk up and shake the hand of someone in a position such as Judge Newsom. I said to the Judge, “that is absolutely amazing.” Judge Newsom, being the very humble man he is, said, “what do you mean?” I said, “That man felt comfortable enough with you to come up and shake your hand and say hello. That speaks volumes about you and how you treat people, that he felt comfortable doing that.” And in his always humble way, the Judge said, “I supposed so.” And Judge Newsom proved to everyone in our Rotary Club what a warrior he is. The man just had back surgery a few days earlier and not only came to work his twohour shift, but he walked to the event from his nearby home. When I asked if I could give him a ride home, he responded, “No, I really need to walk.” The man is a true inspiration and I’m proud to know him. And I don’t have any outstanding warrants or anything, so what I’m saying is very genuine….:)

While working the front gate, one of the attendees asked if he could leave and come right back. He said, “my wife loves this stuff, but I have to go over and get myself a burger.”

That made me feel so good, knowing that there were other people attending who felt the same way about crawfish as I did. Although, I do have to apologize to the lady who walked up to me holding a big pan of crawfish and before she could say anything, I looked at the crawfish and said, “oh, the garbage can is right there.” I don’t think she found it as humorous as I did. My guess is she might be related to “Little Baby Craw Craw.”