Photo by Cheryl Gerber
Gambit Weekly:
Everyone who knew Ruthie the Duck Lady, born Ruth Grace Moulon, and those who only saw her on the streets of the French Quarter will be saddened to know she died on Sept. 6 after evacuating to Baton Rouge because of Hurricane Gustav. She was 74.
Not only did I know Ruthie, I've partied with her. Serious bummer.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Ruth Grace Moulon, RIP
2 comments:
She stomped on my foot once after I made a bunch of people laugh. Not at her, she just wasn't getting the attention and she was going to teach me a lesson. She used to frequent my favorite watering hole in the Quarter. It's sad to lose a fixture like her.
By the way, the dancing guy with the Bible and the rainbow umbrella hat was still in rapture at the corner of Canal and St. Peter last time I was down that way.
I believe that I was there when that happened.
I first encountered her in 1986. She used to hang at a bar that I worked at in the Quarter.
Later, in the early '90s, she was always in tow with a group that I hung with. She was always in her own world and thrived on the attention. Occasionally, she would surprise you by saying something lucid or making eye contact, but that was rare.
Everybody still looked out for her and it was hard not to like her, even though she was nuts. Although she wasn't quite as lost as the Lucky Bean Lady or the "Hep Me" Lady.
I remember one day I was at the Balcony Bar on Magazine and we saw the "Hep Me" Lady run into the "Fuck You" Guy. They stood there, facing each other saying "Hep Me" "Fuck You" back and forth over and over again. I thought the universe was going to explode. I almost crapped my pants laughing.
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