Open Letter to the Man at Flora-Bama; You’re Welcome in Lafayette Anytime

(KPEL-FM) - It has been said that the world's a small place, and it keeps getting smaller. I experienced this saying again over the weekend. After finally getting the chance to take a few days off, my wife and I decided to hit the beach, Orange Beach to be precise. When someone you know has a condo with availability for the weekend, you take it. After settling in the first day, we decided to head to Flora-Bama which was conveniently walking distance from the condo (or stumbling distance depending on the number of Bushwhackers consumed).

After sitting outside listening to live entertainment wrapping up as the sun went down, we headed inside to catch the LSU/Florida football game. As expected, there were plenty of cheers every time LSU did something well. We sat down at a table and a young man turned around and asked if we were LSU fans, because his friend 'hated' LSU. I replied, we like LSU but I'm a USL fan, and that's when he did a double take.

Get our free mobile app

He said "Wait, you said USL?" I responded that I had graduated just before the name change so I still sometimes refer to it as USL. His face lit up and proceeded to tell me his story about how he spent two years in graduate school at UL and had the time of his life here. From reminiscing about LaFonda's and the artwork on the wall to Old Tyme Grocery, the downtown night life, even his old neighbors and faculty he still communicated with to this day even though he moved to Dallas, his appreciation of what Lafayette had to offer was glowing.

More to Celebrate: Lafayette Ranked Happiest City in US

He seemed to embrace everything Acadiana, including the Chicken Run in Church Point, Festival International and even Cajuns football games. We both reminisced about how Billy Napier had led the Cajuns to historic highs including a 13-1 record in 2021 and multiple bowl appearances before heading to the SEC as head coach of Florida (who we were both watching as they faced LSU at Death Valley in Baton Rouge). He's currently attempting to convince his girlfriend to move to Lafayette, although she seems dead set to move to Florida.

Alex, thanks for the visit and your unwavering support of Lafayette. We will welcome you upon your return and will buy the first round of drinks to celebrate. Maybe you'll find even more things to love below: