The Biker, The Blues & The Louisiana Prison Work Gang

If you’re going east on I-10 in Louisiana just about where Port Allen is located you run into a junction and the road going south is named Highway 1. Highway 1 follows the Mississippi River and it’s a nice ride on two wheels. On this day I took the exit as I was headed to a place I heard about named Roberto’s River Road Restaurant in a city named Sunshine. I had been told that on the outside Roberto’s wasn’t much to look at but once inside it’s the place to be for authentic Cajun cooking. So here I was tooling along at about 55, ok maybe 75 at most, but it was a nice day just right for scooting down the road. I kept glancing at the Mississippi every time I was close enough to get a good view and I noticed a state sign that read roadside rest ahead. Seemed like a good time to stretch the legs, use the facilities, and sit at a picnic table and watch the waters of Mississippi roll by. So this is what I did. Soon a white un-descript van pulled up and a man wearing a pistol got out. That’s always a curiosity of course so he got my attention and was definitely holding on to it. He opened the back door of the van and eight women wearing stripes got out. Each one had a gunny sack and a pole with a nail on one end. It didn’t take much to figure out that it was either a county or state prison work gang. They were either there to use the restroom or they were there to clean it up a bit. It turned out to be the latter. They all seemed rather relaxed including the man in charge. So they began doing their thing while the man with the side arm came walking toward me. I thought oh no here we go. He saw the bike and now who am I? I didn’t want to get rousted out the park so they could clean it or worse yet be harassed but true to form after the gentleman asked to sit at the table he then proceeded to ask the standard and usual set of questions. Nice enough guy but dead serious about his job. He stopped long enough to look closer at two women talking to each other. He yelled out for one of them to come to us. She approached us and the officer asked her if she knew the rules and the young woman said yes. Then he told her to sit down with us which she complied immediately. It was about this time that a really cool good looking 69’ Corvette pulled up with two young women inside. This got everybody’s attention. It could have been the loud music that initially got everyone’s attention, I am not sure but the car’s presence sure caused a stir. I wondered if this was going to be a problem and I think the man in charge did too as He said excuse me and off he went leaving the young con sitting there with me. Hmm, I thought this conversation could get interesting really quick. Now I cannot tell you why but I can tell you that the next thing I did was fire up the cylindrical boom box I pack with me. I opened my phone to iTunes and chose Queen Latifah’s “Baby Get Lost”. A nice, sexy R&B number. Shame on me, shame on me, shame on me! She smiled and I asked how long you in for? She said six months with about four more to go, that’s why I am out here. Then she asked me, “Do continued on next page