I don't think I've ever told this story online, but all my friends know it.
Right after college (LSU) in the mid-90's, I worked for Kinko's as a graphic designer and Dr. John was a regular customer of mine. Keep in mind that I worked in the Kinko's Graphics department and that the Copy Center was a completely different section of the store. This will be important later on...

Dr. John always came in with a entourage of strange sycophants in tow. He was always a gentleman with a bit of a rough edge, drowning in interesting affectations; but his people were a random assortment of weirdo's and crazies that were clearly obsessed with him. He always had two or three of them with him, from an assortment of a half-dozen. This would be weird in other towns, but not completely unusual in Louisiana.

Anyway, Dr. John would always come in for the initial design consultation or copy job, but he'd leave the pick-up for his "people". Although he was always nice in all his interactions, his sycophants could be incredibly demanding during pickup. One day, I notice a commotion from the Copy Center, it seems that the sycophants were in an uproar over a job that wasn't ready. As one argued, the other went outside to their car to get something. A moment later she walks in with a lit candle and some other do-dads that I couldn't quite see from my spot. She drips hot wax all over the counter and proceeds to put a "Voodoo" curse on the employees and immediately stomps out. The Copy Center erupts into chaos as they peel away.

Of course I'm sure she didn't know Voodoo from Santeria and was just wanting to freak people out... but I sure am glad that Graphics was a completely separate department from the Copy Center and totally free of curses.

Anyway, God's speed to you Dr. John, you were one strange cat and the world is less interesting because of your passing!

Years ago, I practiced law in Miami and at least once a week you would the maintenance staff at the court house complaining about the dead chickens at the door and the blood everywhere. I never was sure if they were performing sacrifices to sway the outcome or just trying to intimidate the court.

My girlfriend used to study sea turtle nesting sites in the Miami/Ft Lauderdale area and would find severed goat heads on the beach surrounded by ritual accoutrements frequently enough that it might not always be the first thing she'd mention when talking about how her day had gone.

Seems like a waste of good chickens if no one ate them.

Miami is primarily gonna be santeria. I practice a mix of voodoo and hoodoo with a mish mosh of plain old witchery
But im gonna go with it was prob a combination of both

I love this so much

Thank you sir!
I also had Johnnie Cochran and one of the producers of Snooks Eaglin as customers... all dead now, maybe there was something to that curse!

If you've never heard Snooks, I can't recommend him enough as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXV6FieqbKY

I've lived in Louisiana for the past 10 years, and while I generally think of the natives as "like dogs, only with strong opinions about college sports instead of all the attributes that make dogs awesome," I do think that "strange sycophants" is also an apt description. Except most of them don't even have a Doctor John to suck up to, so they have to make do with sucking up to the sportsball team from the local college they didn't even go to, the bullshit version of history they learned in the 49th best education system in the country, or, you know, Jesus or whatever.

Also, voodoo "curses" are just shit that practitioners made up to profit off the preconceptions of tourists and clueless local white people, and even if they were real, no one capable of casting them would have bothered to travel north of I-10 to do so, at least before Katrina.

I lived there for 17 years and moved away in 1997. Sounds like things have gotten considerably worse... that's too bad. It was always a fucked up place but it had its good and interesting sides as well. Damn, do I miss the food. Especially beignet's, seems no one can make them right outside the state!

You might appreciate this... a map I made of New Orleans in the 1920's for a Call of Cthulhu game I ran.
PDF: https://www.yog-sothoth.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=6446
Jpg: https://imgur.com/gallery/Z9FCZe4

Ok so one time i met kermit ruffins

He comes into the adult store i worked at. I had only been in nola for a short time so i had no clue who he was.
Hes super nice btw. So he wants a stripper pole. We have none instore so i jot down his info and tell him well order it.
Later im laughing about it with the store manager "lol no one is named kermit"
"Disco...that was kermit ruffins"
"Who? Is he famous or something?"

So the pole comes in and when he comes to get it i give him the usual warning these poles are NOT DESIGNED FOR INVERSION etc etc they arent made for any real weight to be put on them. He assures me that he understands and leaves

Guess who came back a few days later with a completely bent pole?


Apparently mr ruffins likes his woman a little on the luscious side