COUSIN KITTY FROM THE CRESCENT CITY- My mom said that in her day, you would scandalize the community if you didn't wear black to a funeral and, particularly, to a country funeral. Cousin Kitty left the country after high school and headed out to New Orleans, also known as the Crescent City. Conservative southerners and particularly country folk have always viewed New Orleans as the South's Sodom or Gomorra and their worst fears came true when Cousin Kitty showed up at Aunt Tillie's funeral in that scarlet red dress. My mom likes to tell the story about the man who came to the studio who was completely taken with cousin Kitty. As he paid for the print he said he couldn't wait until Cousin Kitty was on the wall in his office. "'What business are you in?" Mom asked innocently. "Oh,I run the funeral home and I'll bet my customers will get a bang out of this," the man replied. My mom later commented that she wasn't sure "getting a bang" out of Cousin Kitty was exactly what people went looking for at the funeral home.
