Louie was about
The same age as dad.
Louie was one of the
Best friends I ever had.
Louie was a
Shoe cobbler by trade.
He gave me my first job
Shining shoes
On Saturday night.
He charged fifteen
Cents for a shine,
Of that a nickel
Was mine.
Most people thought
'Ol Louie was tight
But I liked 'ol Louie,
Tho some thought him bad
'Ol Louie was one
Of the best friends
I ever had.

His younger son Don
Was also my pal
A star basketball player,
While I sat the bench.
I liked to hang out
At the shoe shop,
We'd listen to
Spike Jone
And catch flies
And feed 'em to
Spiders that lived
Under the bench

 

I'd watch 'ol Louie
As he did his job.
Putting soles on shoes
And making them
look like new again,
He was good at his work.

Louie liked fishing
As much as I did
On Thursday afternoon
When he closed his store
I was there to go fishing
With him once more
Louie had almost
Lost his sight
From holding nails
In his mouth
While tacking
Soles on shoes
For so many years.
I had to help him
Tie on his hook
And lead him to a
Spot that might look
Like a place where
A bullhead might lurk
But I didn't mind
'Cause Louie's my friend

Since I was too young
And Louie too blind
We had to find someone
To give us a ride
To Flat Branch
'Bout three miles outside
Of our small town
On the prairie ridge.
We usually went
To the same place,
By Campbellite bridge
Where there was a hole
Under a huge maple tree
That most always held bullheads
For Louie and me.

Sometimes I like
To play tricks on him
So I would say
"I'm going to swim
In the next hole down
From his maple tree spot
I'd sneak up the creek
Staying under the water
And grab Louie's line
And give it a tug
And Louie always acted
In the same way
He'd yank on his pole
But the fish got away
Later he'd tell me all about
The BIG one he had
Almost yanked out.
I don't think he knew
To his dieing day
That it was me who
Had done him that way.

Louie took me on my
First long trip away
From our small town to a lake
Way up at the top of the State
We stayed with some friend
Of his family
They showed us where we
Could fish from the dam
They got us some minnies
To use as our bait
And told us that Crappies
Often came by that place
I tied on a spinner
Above Louie's hook
And put on a minnie
That wiggled and shook
That spinner, and sure enough
Along came some Crappie
That bit Louie's hook
You never saw a man
So excited as he
When he pulled in
Those Crappie
To put on the string.
While Louie caught Crappie
One after another
I left him there to see
What other place
By the dam might bring.
I found a hole
At the base of the dam
That held some bass,
Tho not very big.
So I took Louie down
At the base of the dam
To the hole that I'd foun'
He dropped in his line
Where those basses
Were swimming
And sure enough
He caught one
You should have
Seen him grin'n
Louie had never
Caught a bass in his life
'Til I found that hole
Where the basses
Was swimmng

Later one time
His son went along
To Flat Branch
By the big maple tree
We caught a whole bucketfull
Of bullheads that day.
When we got home
To his house
I grabbed that bucket
And I ran away
With Louie behind me
Hollerin' "them fishes is mine"!
I kept a runnin'
Headed for home
With Louie, not far behind.
His son came along
At a slower pace
He was laughing and laughing
At me 'n Louie in a race.
Oh Louie was mad
As an old wet hen.
He'd almost catch me
Then I'd run again.
I finally stopped
Before I got home,
And Louie asked
"Do you know
What you done?
"You've cooked your goose"
He said in a roar
Y'll never go fishin
With me anymore!
'Ol Louie had a temper
But he soon forgot
He didn't stay sore,
'cause I'd stollen his fish
right from under his face
When I gave them back
And said "Hey Louie"
That was quite a race!
I never intended
To keep the fish
E'n tho I helped
Catch every one,
I took them from you
Just for some fun.

'Ol Louie is gone now
Those nails finally got 'im
In the end,
Lead poision
Ruined his heart.
But I'll never forget him
'Cause O'l Louie
Was always my friend.