Floyd "Slim" Hodges High Sherriff 31 years in Caldwell Parish Louisiana/ The man who could not read or write.    April 5, 2010

I first met Slim Hodges when I was knee high to a grasshopper at one of our first fish fries in the 1950s at our Old Sawmill Pond in Clarks Louisiana. Slim was the Caldwell Parish High Sherriff and he always reminded me of Matt Dillon James Arness of Gun Smoke in Dodge City . Slim Hodges was the tallest person I have ever seen. The worst encounter that I ever had with Slim Hodges involved Coca-Cola returnable bottles in 1963 when I was 15 years old when he caught me steeling cases of Coke Bottles and selling them at Mac's Grocery for a nickel each. He looked at the bottles and said, "Boy- you are in a heap of trouble now and you are going to get it when your Daddy gets home." He was absolutely right.

Floyd "Slim" Hodges and my momma Johnnie Claire White grew up together in Clarks Louisiana in the 1920s when Louisiana Central Lumber Company owned the town of Clarks. They owed their sole to the company store. Slim and Momma attended a one room school on the banks of the mill pond along with the Honorable Governor John J McKeithen. They all were lifelong friends.

For years and years Slim Showed up at our house for Momma's home made buttermilk biscuits every Sunday morning. I honestly thought that Slim and Momma had a thing going behind Daddy's back. Right before Momma died she told me the truth. Slim did not want his deputies to know that he could not read or write. Slim would bring all of his pink slip phone messages for the week over to Momma and she would read them to him and explain who he needed to call during the next week. Slim had a photo static memory. To this very day Slim has remained one of my fondest memories. Although he was the biggest man I ever knew, he was the most gentlest and the most honorable. I sure hope to see him again one day down by the river.