A young woman in Baton Rouge was so depressed that she decided to end her life by throwing herself from the Mississippi River Bridge.

Just as she was about to leap into the frigid water, a handsome young sailor saw her tottering on the rail. He took pity on her and said, 'Look, you have so much to live for. I'm off to Europe in the morning, and if you like, I can stow you away on my ship. I'll take good care of you and bring you food every day.'

Moving closer, he slipped his arm around her shoulder and added, 'I'll keep you happy, but you just have to promise to keep me happy.'

The girl nodded yes. After all, what did she have to lose? Perhaps a fresh start in Europe would give her life new meaning.

That night, the sailor brought her aboard and hid her in a lifeboat. From then on, every night, he brought her three sandwiches and a piece of fruit, and they made passionate love until dawn.

Three weeks later, during a routine inspection, she was discovered by the captain.

'What are you doing here?' the captain asked.

'I have an arrangement with one of the sailors,' she explained.

'I get food and a trip to Europe, and he's screwing me.'

'He certainly is,' the captain said. 'This is the Plaquemine ferry.'

LOL How does one pronounce "Plaquemine" in Louisiana?

It's "Plak-a-minn." We also have a parish (it's like a county in civilized states) called "Plaquemines" right next door to NO, pronounced the same way but with a "z" sound at the end.

But people are weird here anyway. True Swamp Dwellers call the big city "Noo Or-lins" or "Aw-lins" or "Orl-yuns," never "Or-leens." But the parish containing the city, and the street and avenue in the city itself, *are* pronounced "Or-leens."

The wine, and the district in France, are "BUR-gun-dee." But the French Quarter street is called "Bur-GUN-dee," and Chartres Street (How do you pronounce the French? "Shart"?) is plain old "Charters."

The musical machine is a "Ca-LIE-uh-pee," but the Garden District street is "CAL-ee-ope." The Greek muse is "Mel-POM-eh-nee," but the street here is "MELP-oh-meen." The Italian city should be "Mih-LAHN," but the street is "Mile-un."

More than you needed or wanted to know, huh?
.

__________________
* *
-- Paul W. (The Benzadmiral)
('03 Buick Park Avenue, charcoal/cream)
Formerly:
'97 C230, smoke silver/parchment; '86 420SEL, anthracite/light grey; '84 280CE (W123), dark blue/palomino

^^^ You're gonna miss it, I promise you.