When life gives you lemons, the adage goes, make lemonade. On Friday (May 7), Madisonville-area OB/GYN Dr. Gary Agena put a uniquely South Louisiana spin on that particular saying.
When life gives him lemons, he boils up some crawfish.
Like, a whole lot of crawfish.
This year, for the second time in a row, COVID-19 concerns prompted Dr. Agena to cancel the annual crawfish cookoff he hosts through his Crawfish and Roses foundation, which works in support of people with developmental differences.
So, for the second year in a row, he decided instead to cook up 1,500 pounds of crawfish to hand out free to workers at St. Tammany Health System’s main hospital campus as they left work for the day.
“It’s just our way of saying thank you to the hospital after the great job they’ve done this year, year and a half during the pandemic,” Dr. Agena said Friday as some of the 46 sacks of crawfish he planned to distribute soaked. “They’re always under a lot of stress, and this is our way of making sure they know they’re appreciated.”
Judging by the smiles of those lined up to take bags of crawfish home, his mission was definitely accomplished.