I DIDN'T SEE ANY CRAWFISH.

Tina had been going to the same tax man since she was 16, but after the storm, he dropped a bunch of clients to focus on other endeavors. You know like rebuilding and such. 

He gave her a recommendation for a new accountant, and we've been using him since. He lives in Arabi, but the first few years he had a temporary office in Metairie. On Tuesday, we drove out to Arabi for our appointment. 

His streets was 3/8 empty lots, 3/8 abandoned homes and 1/4 occupancy. 

There used to be houses there.

Couple of slabs there. 
We ate at Rocky and Carlo's for the first time after the tax man was done with us. I had the veal parmesan with a big side of macaroni. I was surprised by how spacious it was inside. The food was solid (nothing special, probably a result of too much hype), and I had plenty of leftovers. 

THE TINA CURSING CORNER 

My mom was anxious to leave for our tax appointment. She didn't want to be late, and I told her to calm down. "You were the one driving around all night looking for a fucking signal." 

On the way, mom gets pissed at a fellow driver who was not turning. "Turn off your fucking blinker, asshole." 

Mom had three TV related comments. 

1) About our DVR. "It's getting full. Time to start deleting stuff. Like erasing all the fucking How I Met Your Mothers you got on there. We don't have room for the whole season." 

2) On 24: "They got fucking Chloe working fucking where everyone can see her. What kind of fucking set up is that?"

3) On the digital transition: "They make a big fucking thing about it. Get everybody all fucking ready. Then they fucking push it all the way to June or whenever it is."

We're nearing the tax man's house. "We in fucking Arabi." 

On the way back, we approach a big building. "What the fuck is that?" (It was the courthouse.)

We're taking in the sights. "This lady behind me wants me off the fucking road. She's been riding my fucking tail." 

We turn onto our street. "This guy on the corner keeps putting bricks on the corner there so people will stop driving on his lawn. They keep getting knocked over. You better watch for those fucking bricks when you make a turn." 

Mom turns on a soap opera. "This guy is all over the fucking place." 

We watch House. At the beginning, a priest sees a vision of a crucified Jesus knocking on his door. "Who the fuck is the patient there?" House gives Thirteen and Foreman an ultimatum. "Why is he fucking with them?" 

FedEx left a note on our door about not being able to leave our package. The note said he knocked on the door at 1:10. Weird because we didn't hear it, and we were in the living room at the time. "What did he do? Knock on the door as low as possible? There's no way we wouldn't have heard it. Un-fucking-believable. Where the fuck could we have been? This doesn't make any sense." 

Mom goes through her workout routine. "We got a fucked up treadmill. A super duper fucked up treadmill. Fucking FedEx." 

Mom finishes her workout. "Oh, it hurts. I want to see some fucking results! I'm working my 

fucking ass, and no results!"

Mom is worried about the new American Idol process. "Only three people per group. That's some shit. Those 12 finalists tonight better pick the right fucking song." 

DEUUUCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Dear Deuce, 

I shall miss you very much. You gave so much to our city, both on the field and off. You never complained. You just went out there and took care of business. Even though you had two major 

injuries, you were determined to play again. And play again you did. 

I'll never forget the playoff game against the Eagles when you carried their entire defense into the end zone. Or that picture of you with your gloves flopping from your facemask at training camp last year. We must have run that picture in the paper 17 times. 

Your ability to pick your way through blocks and holes was remarkable. Your ability to run between the tackles and wear down the defense was awesome. Your burst of speed always surprised me. 

The Superdome sure will be much quieter without your name being shouted. But you will remain in our hearts forever. 

Promise you'll write. Thanks.

The Gene Pool

PARTING SHOT

I call Little Joe to wish him a Happy Birthday. 

Me: Since they pushed back the digital transition from today, do you also have to celebrate your birthday in June?

Little Joe: Yes. Yes I do. It's actually written in the legislation. Anyone with a Feb. 17 birthday, including Michael Jordan, has to to celebrate this year's birthday in June. They want my birthday to be in HD.  

THE DAILY TOP LIST

Movies 100 through 96. 

100) The Empire Strikes Back. 1980.

Who's your daddy, Luke? 

99) Shrek. 2001.

Ogres are like onions. 

98) Zoolander. 2001.

I've been working on a pose myself. 

97) The Ring. 2002.

If someone ever crawls out of my TV, I'm getting the hell out of there. 

96) Remember the Titans. 2000. 

I do. They lost to the Ravens at home even though they dominated the game.