how i became a "loofrin" a true story

*an aside* this is the only place i'm "known" as "the disgruntled world citizen" but my usual screenname is "loofrin." i've been "loofrin" for almost 10 years. its an identity, much like to other i am known as "pnut." here is the story of the birth of "loofrinism"

i've only been to new orleans once when i was in high school. it was the summer after graduation and before college. i was 18. i was there for a, believe it or not, a lutheran youth gathering. 35,000 lutheran teenagers and chaperones. we were in the superdome, that's where we met. i stayed in a hotel that looked out over the mississippi, i think. it was in new orleans that the name "loofrin" was coined.

my group and i were walking somewhere, probably to the superdome or to our hotel, i don't remember exactly. all the participants of the youth gathering had these garish purple backpacks, so naturally we all had our purple backpacks on and suddenly this white haired old lady came over to us. i seem to remember being in the middle of the street, matter of fact i think we were in the act of crossing the street when we were "accosted." this little white haired lady, who was wearing a blue dress and pearls came over to us and started gushing: "are y'all loofrins? you gotta be loofrins! i recognize yer backpacks. my grandson is over there in the dome he'pin out. he's a loofrin...."

that was the day "loofrinism" was born in my head. it was a few years later that "loofrin" was born. loofrin came about because i needed a screen name for an aol account. i remember sitting in front of my computer thinking and contemplating. who could i be... and suddenly that little white haired lady in the blue dress and pearls popped into mind... ya'll loofrins? ya'll loofrins?

that's how i became loofrin. that's my new orleans memory.