Raised on a cattle farm in Prairieville, Louisiana, eating was good on fresh beef. But mom did the cooking. Welding was my main source of making a living, but cooking didn't start until after my first divorce. I found the best way to a woman's heart was through her stomach, but as I got older I found cooking was more fun than most women. After hanging around the crazy friends I have, the cooking went hand in hand with a "good time". It seemed the bigger the function, the more food was cooked, the bigger the cooking equipment became. Building some of the equipment for Dudley in my fabrication shop, American Industrial Fabricators, I found it was fun designing and building the equipment. When people would see some of this stuff, like the hanging hog rotisserie shown in the picture, it would generate lots of fun and laughter, not counting the bets on whether it would work or not. Loading and unloading of all this equipment got to be a bigger job than the cooking. A trailer was added to help the setup time with a fully self-contained kitchen, but the package was still not complete. A sound system was added to enhance the party. Still one more thing was missing. Living quarters were a must to assist with overnight stays, and not driving after the beer and daiquiris during the party. This was designated infamously, the "Tailgate Machine." Traveling around the country cooking, especially up north, people always wanted something from the party (i.e. Mardi Gras beads, caps, etc. but these items were not personal enough. Everyone would ask about the great seasonings used, and I would say, "It was my own concoction, Magic Swamp Dust." It started out as a joke, but be damned if I didn't package it and start selling it. Now everyone is asking for a cookbook, so here I am again. I must be crazy!! The Crazy "Coon Ass" Jimmy L. Babin

What is a "Coon Ass"?