FRANKLIN, LOUISIANA: WELCOME TO BAYOU COUNTRY

​​

​

​

​

​

​

 

I thought it only fair to offer a mini orientation to the Franklin that I came to know as a child. Looking back, my experience there was kind of like “Alice in Wonderland,” filled with characters, different languages, mysterious places, and new and different ways of doing things.   

 

Let’s start with the word “Hey”. Not to be confused, mind you, with the New York “Hey!”

 

Remember Dustin Hoffman in the movie “Midnight Cowboy,” as he crosses the street a taxi almost hits him, slams on the breaks and starts honking. Dustin bangs on the hood with his fist and yells the iconic “Hey! I’m walking here. I’m walking here!!!”

 

The New York “Hey” demands attention and suggests urgency.

 

In Franklin, you don’t say “Hey” – you sing it. “Heeeeeeyyy!” is a standardized greeting with lilt and charm. “Heyyyy!” is something you might say to that special someone when you run into them at the post office. “Heyyyyy” is also something that can go more high pitched like when you meet your cousin’s new baby.

 

But “Heyyyy! TP?” is also something that you can say to your neighbor’s husband Thomas Peterson* to let him know that you done seen him sneaking out that heffer’s house down the street. You know the one with them 2 little bad ass kids that don’t look nothing like they daddy – and Thomas Henry Peterson ain’t got no business being there, no.

 

Not at no 2:00 in the afternoon.

 

What I’m trying to say is that there’s a “Heyyyyy!” for every occasion, but it’s most often a sweet, gentle and inviting greeting. You can keep your “hellos” and “hi’s” to yourself. You’ll have no use for them in Franklin – not if you want to blend in anyway.

​

​

*Thomas Henry Peterson is a fictional character created for the purpose of storytelling. 

​