With all the footage and posts on social media of the rescues in Louisiana, people are asking me about those with boats doing the rescue. More specifically, what is the Cajun Navy?

It's not an official branch of the armed services, but they can be the good ol' boy version of the Coast Guard at times. Quite simply, the Cajun Navy is us, the people of Louisiana.

Here's how it works: a large chunk of Louisiana's men go fishing a lot. There are more men who fish than do not fish. (Sadly, I come from a family which on my father's side did not hunt or fish, but played baseball and golf. I don't do that either. So I eat and drink booze. Such is my life.) If you're totally serious about it, you own a boat for fishing. This situation exists across the state.

Eleven years ago, Katrina and Rita hit. The call came out to anyone with a boat: they need help rescuing people in New Orleans.


Now, once again, the sportsmen and women of Louisiana are engaged again, rescuing people in Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas, many of whom never thought they'd need to be rescued.

 Heck, they've even started rescuing other creatures:

You can even buy a t-shirt (not that there's any official leadership structure of this "navy" for licensing) and it looks like you're a member! For every shirt sold, the manufacturer will donate $15 to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF) which has a relief fund that assists nonprofits responding to flooding. This is the same Foundation I wrote about in my previous posts. Click here to donate for flood relief.

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