Guess who's coming to town Friday?

So the industrious, ever-resourceful BW heard about a casting call a week ago from Capt. Swallow, and her wheels started spinning.  She went online and found out that the same casting crew would be coming to a nearby town, and she knew exactly who this crew needed to meet.

This was released today.

CASTING CALL

HOUMA, LA

HISTORY CHANNEL’S “SWAMP PEOPLE”
IS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR NEW SWAMPERS!

In the farthest corner of America, lies the nation’s largest swamp. A hidden world where nature rules…and man fights back! For 30 days every year, the toughest Swampers on the bayou make their living hunting alligators. HISTORY channel follows these hunters as they battle the elements to survive!

~ WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR ~

ALLIGATOR HUNTERS: With AT LEAST 50 TAGS
who are LICENSED TO HUNT IN LOUISIANA.

TRUE SWAMPERS: Any interesting folks who live off the land or earn their living in the swamp— the unique people that can only be found in the swamps of Louisiana.

HOUMA, LA CASTING CALL
DATE: Friday, August 5th TIME: 9:00am – 5:00pm
LOCATION: Big Al’s
1377 West Tunnel Blvd
Houma, LA 70360
www.bigalsseafood.net

The Story:

About ten years ago, on a beautiful bayou in south Louisiana, a young woman stood on her dock with her tiny son watching the mullet jump.  Along came a wild-looking man, with long hair, in a small rough-looking boat.  The boat slowed to an idle as the man struck up a conversation with the two.  Even though he was hard to understand, the woman and her son felt like they had made a new friend.

He reminded her of someone very handsome from a different time and place.  She thought about it a long time, and it came to her.  He reminded her of that guy who posed for the front of romance novels (or so she heard, never having read one in her life), and did artificial butter commercials.  It was the hair that made her think of that model, what was his name?  And it finally hit her– Fabio.


Fabio couldn’t believe it wasn’t butter.

Every day, the wild-looking man rode by in his boat, always looking so serious.  And the more she looked at him . . .

the more she thought  I can’t believe it’s not Fabio.

He looked like Fabio from a distance while driving his boat backwards.

He looked like Fabio when he hauled his gar out of his boat,

when he played with his alligator snapping turtle,

when he helped a local professor with her gar research,

when he cleaned his gar fish

when he hung out with friends (BW),

when he shared his gar fish scales with Kim, the jewelry maker,

and even when he was just showing off his BIG catch.

BW took many of her friends to meet Bayou Fabio because he is such a unique character, and he was open and kind to each one.

After a few conversations with the wild man, BW (along with one of her writer friends, S.S., who had come to visit) lovingly gave him the name  Bayou Fabio, and it stuck.

Once upon a time, BW tried to have a serious conversation with BF.  It went something like this:

BW:  “Bayou Fabio, you stick with me, and I will make you famous.”

BF:  “Oh yeah?  You tink so?  I don’t wanna be famous.  I’m just looking for a blonde with brains!”

BW: “Looking for a blonde with brains?”

BF:  “Yep, I been lookin’ a long time, and now I know dey ain’t got no blondes wit no brains.”

BW:  “Oh yeah, how do you know that?”

BF:  “Because, last year, I axed Santa for one, and even SANTA couldn’t find me one. So see?  Dat’s how I know dey ain’t got none!”

BW:  “Well, I might not be able to find you a blonde with brains, but I promise I am going to make you famous.”

Remember, BW’s wheels were spinning, and she remembered her promise to Bayou Fabio when she read about that casting call.  And because she has a friend who is a producer, she knows a little bit about how the biz works.  She did a little more internet research, found an email address for the casting person and sent him an email pronto telling him all about Bayou Fabio.

They’re not just looking for alligator hunters, but for anyone who lives off the wetland.  BW has taken many people down to see and meet Bayou Fabio, and many of those people have written about him, taken his photo, and even done videos of him for TV and internet.  But none of those people made him famous yet.

BW pulled out all the stops and and immediately wrote the casting person an email.  In the letter, BW said that there was no way Bayou Fabio would go to a casting call with hundreds of other people there.  He would, though, be very much open to the idea of taking the casting crew out on his boat so they could see exactly how he catches his gar fish.

BW got an immediate response from the cast person, who was very interested.  He asked for photos, which she emailed promptly.  Then he asked for a video link, which she also promptly provided.

Shortly after, he wrote back and said he would very much like to go out with BF on his boat and would let me know if he could go this Saturday.  BW waited  almost a week to hear back from him.

Tonight he called and said he was so sorry that he would not be able to go out with BF on his boat Saturday.  He has two more casting calls in two other towns to do after Houma on Friday.

BW was very sad to think they were going to pass over this unique character and block his road to stardom . . .

And then he said this:  BF does not have to come to the casting call.  He has already made the cut.  I will be back to go out on his boat with him some time next week. The video of him looks great, and he looks like the kind of genuine person we would be interested in filming.

Bayou Woman was thrilled . . . way more thrilled than Bayou Fabio, it seemed.  For you see, BF is not impressed with celebrity status.  He just lives his life, day to day, not bothering anyone, helping anyone who asks for his help.  He fishes, he gardens, he visits friends, he throws his cast net, he catches baby crab and pins them up for a few days to watch them grow and scurry around sideways, he tends to his gar fish scales that cover the ground around his dock.  He is very unassuming and probably the happiest, freest American BW has ever known.

But BW, in her very proud way, wants everyone to know that she knew the day was coming when somewhere in the world, someone with the means and wherewithal to do so, would think that this man lives a lifestyle worth documenting on film for all posterity.  And that time has come.

BW told BF that she wants to be his agent, but it has nothing to do with money.  She’s not asking for money.  She just wants to make sure no one takes unfair advantage of her bayou friend, Bayou Fabio.

All he wanted was a blonde with brains.  Guess he’ll have to settle for TV stardom.

I have a feeling, though, that he will soon be beating those smart blondes off  with a paddle!

Agent BW

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46 Comments

  1. Attaboy Rickey. Very nice.

    BTW blu wants a redhead with freckles but will take any substitute that
    does not remind me of all the women I know north of I-10.

    BW, the stuff he messes with he has the advantage already.
    And blu wants the tee shirt concession….

    This is very kewl. very very kewl.

      1. hmmm I dig hazel eyes…remind me of my Weim, River.
        If you got a collection post a slideshow. LOL.

  2. Can’t wait for next season. BW, maybe you can be BF’s “Lizbeth” on a few episodes. I’m sure he won’t be hollerin “Choot ’em” the way Troy did. (They were my favorite hunters this season.) Hope it all works out.

    1. Hm. Hadn’t thought of that. In order to be his Lizbet, I would have to hit the gar in the head with a hammer. I don’t think I could do it. Sad, huh? But I could drive da boat, cher!

  3. I loved the video. Very interesting and informative. I haven’t cleaned or helped clean a gar in some time. I think the last time I did, I was using vice grips and after a hard tug, I landed on my caboose!

    I really hope he is one of the Swamp People that are featured. That would be really nice. And having you as an agent would work out great.

      1. We nailed those suckers to the 2×6’s stretched between the #3 washtubs or a couple of stumps mom used to clean fish on. There were times we had to resort to the hacksaw! Then, we cut them into “steaks” and mom canned them. Used them like canned salmon. Some she froze to be fried or used in fish chowders. They always tasted like chicken w/a fishy after taste to me.

        1. Well, if that’s the case, you could really appreciate watching Bayou Fabio clean a big gar in about five minutes using his little sharp knife, his big sharp cane knife and pliers. It’s pretty amazing. You know what? I have never eaten gar, but it’s past time for me to go get some meat from him and make some garfish balls and post up the recipe, right? 🙂

          1. It’s probably been about 40 yrs. since I had Garballs. Mom used to put them in a brown gravy and of course we had it over rice with a salad on the side. My mom was the “Queen of gravies”…Man, I miss her.

    1. Remember before we met him, how we used to spy on him with binoculars from the bathroom window when he was next door visiting? LOL! And remember how he used to flirt with you down at the little store? I told the guy that they would definitely have to “kyron” him because his English is harder to understand than his French.

      1. Yes, I remember! Every time I went to the store he would show up a couple minutes later lol! What’s “kyron”?

        1. I spelled it wrong, of course. Never seen it in print. Only heard my other friend Steph say it. It’s really spelled “chyron” and it means subtitles. He’s not the first one they have to do that with, right?

  4. You go Bayou Fabio! I’m so excited for him. Just as you said BW, he will have more blondes wit/witout brains than he can shake a gar at.

  5. I think what you did for him is amazing my friend! I know that he is super excited about it. I was just teasing him about having the women coming outta of the woodwork and he laughed and said, “Yes, indeed!” as only Rickey could say!!

    1. I know the sound of those words exactly, coming out of his mouth! Rickey gets really excited about fish, fishing, and photos of his fish, but I seldom see him get excited about anything else!

  6. So much excitement! Such good writing. Enjoyed this tremendously. I’m thinking you should be down there trying out yourself tomorrow. After all, a Bayou Woman is a Swamp Person too, isn’t she? That crew boat ride you took last week would make for good TV. Besides, you have seven other shows already written for them.

    Are there other bayou women like yourself? Round them up and pitch a Bayou Women show to them. You did alright pitching Bayou Fabio. Lizbet needs some company. I want to see more cooking and eating and dancing. So much excitement! Ricky the Exterminator up north and Swamp People down south. Yay Louisiana! And people like you who help promote it. Who knew what a kooky, quirky great state it was!

    1. HI Brenda and welcome to the bayou! I love the way you think, and you have some great ideas! I guess if my hair were dark I might could pass for Cajun, especially if I throw around a little French here and there!!! There are plenty of folks who qualify to be on that show, and maybe when they run out of those people, I can run your ideas past them!!! Thanks again for the comment and please come back often! BW

  7. Bayou Fabio and T-Wendy? The Captain and Fabio? We’ll have to think up a good moniker. The solo players never last past the first season. They all have a sidekick.

    You just don’t want to stand in the hot sun all day to get Miah a new autograph. The lengths some folks will go to…… LOL

    1. That made me think of “The Captain and Tennille”, remember them? It just won’t work, Goldie, because I can’t, no matter how UGLY and DANGEROUS they are, I just cannot knock them in the head like he wants me to. I J U S T C A N N O T D O I T ! So, if they want me, maybe I can drive the boat while he picks up the lines, but he has done this solo for SO LONG that he won’t know what to do with me at the wheel. Just in case, I’m on the healthful eating track now so I can lose about 30 for the cameras, LOL!

    1. Ok, mom said this first and now you… Must be a fancy television term I don’t know! Pat Sajak didn’t teach me that one. Do tell!

      1. Okay, Steph never comments here and I guess my misspelling of that word brought her out of the woodwork. It’s producer lingo for what we viewers call subtitles.

    1. No, I didn’t see that. That is a HUGE fish! I wonder why he didn’t pursue the world record. If he’s going to get it mounted, he still could have done that after submitting the fish for the official records. Maybe he just wanted to eat it?

    1. He said they narrow it down and then come back to take a closer look at the ones they liked best. They will take a closer look at B.F. supposedly some time this week. That’s all I know. I don’t even know how many people they are looking for, but they did about five of these calls.

  8. Hi Wendy, This is Regina your neice (George’s daughter). I love your blog and the things you are doing. I am on facebook and I would love to reconnect. You can find me under Regina Billiot Johnson. Hope to hear from you soon!

    1. Wow! How in the world did you find this blog? It’s so great to hear from you, Regina. I will certainly do the FB thing, but I’d love to have you come back here, too! Gives you a little taste of back home, right?

  9. My sister Nancy found your blog and told me about it. She says hello and is inspired by all that you have accomplished. So am I by the way. Yes, this does give me a taste from home, just wish I could really taste those yummy recipes you have created. I am looking forward to catching up on facebook!

    1. Gina, I could not find you on FB, even when I typed in your whole name. My maiden name is Wilson and is included in my FB name. Can you try to find me?

  10. So, I just found you on empowering women FB…. sent you a message. I looked for you but on FB found you, but your privacy settings does not allow me to send a friend request. My settings were also set that way, so I opened it up to everyone so now you can find me. Talk to you soon!