Reaction to our Tuesday story on Mr. P., the Carrollton peacock, shows he is as popular a neighborhood symbol in that New Orleans community as the pink flamingo in my Baton Rouge neighborhood, Spanish Town. And unlike ours, he's not made of wood or plastic.

One Mr. P memory:

Jeanette Ray, of Birmingham, Alabama, says, "I didn’t know what I was hearing the first time I heard Mr. P.

"He was sitting on my window air-conditioning unit, and I was trying to talk on the phone to my husband, who was still living in Alpharetta, Georgia.

"The singing was so loud! I soon discovered Mr. P was a resident in the Carrollton neighborhood to which we were moving.

"We lived on Spruce Street for 9 years. What a character; I really do miss him.

"One of the best memories was his seeing his own reflection in car chrome bumpers. He would attack what he was seeing — thinking, perhaps, it was another peacock.

"He owns the neighborhood, and doesn’t want to have to compete for attention!"

False alarm

Ronnie Stutes, of Baton Rouge, says, "I knew the national debt limit situation was getting serious, but I was really shocked when an item in the 'crawl' on the bottom of the screen on a news channel stated the United States Treasury had only $38.88 in cash!

"I was somewhat relieved when, after scrolling back, I realized the final '8' was actually a 'B' and the total was $38.8B(illion)."

Barbed wire days

After I mentioned that Walter and Sumi Imahara, of Baton Rouge, celebrated their 60th anniversary Tuesday, May 30, I received this note reminding us of a shameful event in American history:

"Walter, as a youth during World War II, was interned in a 'relocation camp' in Arkansas for Japanese Americans.

"He spent 3½ years behind barbed wire. Sumi spent 3½ years in Camp Poston, Arizona.

"In 1963, when Walter and Sumi were married, he was in the Army (during the Berlin crisis) stationed at Camp Dachau, Germany, the notorious Nazi concentration camp. 

"Total time for Walter and Sumi behind barbed wire is 7 years each. They are great Americans."

Special People Dept.

— Sam King and Linda Kay Fair King, of St. Gabriel, celebrate their 65th anniversary Thursday, June 1. Sam was sports editor of the Baton Rouge State-Times from 1984 to 1991, and assistant sports editor of The Advocate from 1991 until his retirement in January 2001.

— David and Nancy McLemore, of Baton Rouge, celebrate 60 years of marriage Thursday, June 1.

— Louis and Sally Guidry, of Plaquemine, celebrate their 60th anniversary Thursday, June 1.

— Ed and Norma Walters, of Baton Rouge, celebrate their 55th anniversary Thursday, June 1. They are from New Orleans, but met at LSU. He is an attorney with the firm of Walters Papillion Thomas Cullens LLC.

(Audrey G. Monceret, whose 93rd birthday was mentioned Wednesday, lives in Walker, not Baton Rouge.)

Chatting with celebrities

It seems Mariano Hinojosa, of Baton Rouge, and I have had the same type of conversation with famous folks:

He says, "I had the honor of meeting Gov. Edwin Edwards two times.

"In 1995, I was the first person to greet him at a Desk and Derrick Mardi Gras Ball. The second time was when he arrived at the Baton Rouge Hilton for a campaign speech.

"Both times he asked me the same question: 'Which way to the men's room?'"

In my case it was the singer Petula Clark. As I was entering Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Petula, swathed in fur, bumped into me as she dashed out the door.

"Oh, pardon me," she said in her British accent.

"That's OK," I replied.

Who says Mariano and I don't know how to talk to celebrities?

Write Smiley at Smiley@theadvocate.com. He can also be reached by mail at P.O. Box 2304, Baton Rouge, LA 70821. Follow Smiley Anders on Twitter, @SmileyAndersAdv.