Old man Webster may insist “skin deep” means superficial, but for Lafayette native and longtime New Orleans Saints fan Stewart Bacque, it means committed for life.
It’s a mild Thursday afternoon on Jefferson Street downtown, and the 33-year-old Bacque is lying on a chair at Bizarre Ink Tattoo & Piercing as tattoo artist James Puckett stipples a fleur-de-lis into Bacque’s right calf. The shape — it originated in France in the Middle Ages as a heraldic symbol of the French royal family — is of course the logo of not only the Saints, but of the city of New Orleans (and UL’s Ragin’ Cajuns) as well, and it has become a ubiquitous symbol of hope and recovery across the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina, emblazoned on everything from mugs and T-shirts to jewelry and, well, body parts.
“I’ve been wanting to get it a while, but now’s as good a time as any I figure,” Bacque says, as unfazed by the literal translation of fleur-de-lis — flower of the lily — as he is by the burning pressure on his lower leg.
And then there’s Zepherin Legé of Kaplan, who, in addition to having a really cool name, is being more graphic in making his Saints fanaticism indelible. According to a recent article in The Abbeville Meridional, Legé plans to have the legend “The Day Hell Freezes Over” and “Feb. 7, 2010” (Super Sunday) tattooed on his forearm if the Saints win on Sunday.
Puckett is one of three tattoo artists at Bizarre Ink, which opened its doors three years ago. By then, the fleur-de-lis had become a popular symbol of solidarity, and of the New Orleans diaspora driven from the city in Katrina’s wake. “Seven out of 10 customers get a fleur-de-lis of some kind,” says Puckett, “and probably three out of those are Saints [fans].” Surprisingly, he says, no one has yet requested a “Who Dat” tat, but one customer did get the words “Finish Strong” — a popular expression among Saints players and fans — etched into an arm. Prices range from a minimum $30 fleur-de-lette to thousands, depending on size. Bacque’s Saints logo — about 6 inches high and 5 inches wide — cost $250.
“I’ll have a little story to tell my grandkids, you know,” Bacque says with a laugh — an even better story if the Saints win on Sunday. “There’s no if,” he proclaims confidently, “they’re gonna win!”
In rendering his ruling, District Judge John Trahan all but called the real estate developer a liar for inconsistencies in his accounts of what prompted him to punch a school teacher unconscious.
Frank’s Casing Crew, now doing business as Frank’s International, will make its final appearance on ABiz’s list of the Top 50 Privately Held Companies in Acadiana this year, and once again it will likely be at the top with more than $1 billion in annual revenues. The 75-year-old company specializing in tubular fabrication and installation services to the oil and gas industry plans to offer shares of its stock to the public for the first time.
The defeat, or rather highjacking of House Bill 420 in the final days of this year's Legislative Session, say Reps. Vincent Pierre and Terry Landry, is the result of the propaganda spread by one unidentified local media outlet and an unnamed former state Representative, but nothing to do with the original legislation's lack of checks, balances or details.
City-Parish Council Chairman Brandon Shelvin heaped steady doses of condescending ire on a Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Louisiana executive while failing to reveal his financial ties to a BC/BS rival.
Abbeville native David Primeaux was a popular professor until his death late last year, and while he was successful at camouflaging a dark past, he couldn’t outlive it.
Tehmi Chassion’s failure to recuse himself in the school board’s selection of a group health benefits provider raises ‘serious questions’ on whether he violated state ethics law.
He’s a singer. A songwriter. A piano man. A family man. He’s even got his own Wikipedia entry. He’s David Egan. And he knows ancient secrets about the monolithic stones of Stonehenge that he’s not willing to share.
Subscribe to this comment's feed