by "Miss Vickie"
special ops./STLBLUES.NET
~ Miss Vickie@STLBlues.net ~

It's never too late to hear about the goings-on of Mardi Gras. Even though Mardi Gras is over for 2007, I've got a great story to tell you. It's about a young girl and her first King cake experience.

Let's meet Ella Bauer, age 9, a third-grader at St. Francis Assissi grade school. Her real name is Elizabeth Grace Bauer, but everyone knows her as Ella. She's a cute little nine-year old who enjoys life and friends and family and sports. She has a best friend, Kara Hosick, age 8, in the same grade, and a stuffed dog named Mongo. Mongo goes everywhere with Ella and brings her good Luck. Ella loves soccer, both indoors and out, and just started playing softball last year for the CYC. Mom and Dad share the shuffeling from one event to the other for both Ella and her brother Sam, age 10. Ella has another brother, Rob, age 22, in the Marine Corps stationed in North Carolina with his wife and three children, Kaia age 4, Jackson age 3, and baby Isabella, age 6 months. Ella enjoys having two nieces and a nephew. She also enjoys playing with her dog, Lizzy and her two cats, Cheech and Chong. Ella started playing the piano at age 4 and plays classical music. At age 7 she picked up a little bit of the clarinet. She comes from a music background as her dad is Frank Bauer of the Phat noiZ Blues Band, her second cousin Patti is Patti Thomas of Patti and the Hit Men, and her second cousin Mike Thomas plays a mean guitar around town, and is a great cook!

I met Ella and her family at the HWY 61 Roadhouse in Old Orchard in Webster Groves. We were all there to help support the Katrina Instrument Drive featuring T.J. Wheeler, Shakey Ground, and Rockin' Jake. This event helps to raise money and takes donations of new and used musical instruments back to New Orleans to help provide music for the kids. It's a great cause and our hats off to the Hwy 61 Roadhouse for providing a great venue.

At the end of our dinner, our waitress offered us deserts. Of course the King cake was on the menu that night. The Roadhouse offered a $50.00 gift certificate to whoever found the "baby" in their piece of cake. Guess who got the baby! That's right, Miss Ella Bauer! We were all very excited for her and she was a little unsure as to what this all meant, escpecially when I told her she has to have the next Fat Tuesday party for finding the baby. (laughter)

She will be age 10 by then and should be old enough to throw a party. (laughter) We teased her in fun and she laughed. We all had a great time with the baby. Ella has turned her baby into some jewelry which she proudly wears; a pair of earrings, one gold and one purple, a necklace and a bracelet with the help of some older babies I had from previous years of fun.

Ella plans to take her Mom and Dad to dinner with her gift certificate. This is a fun little girl, with great manners and a pleasant smile. It was a pleasure to share her first King cake experience and I hope she has many more. Thanks Ella and good luck with your sports AND your math! (laughter)