Louis Roney: The extra mile

I came from a family where giving people a little more than they asked for was a moral duty.

In World War II, I was sent back from the South Pacific to a Navy Hospital in New Orleans where the word “lagniappe” is part of the patois, the colloquial language. The good things one is endowed with, and can give away, never run out — they replace themselves, and both the receiver and the giver are enriched in the transaction.

A very handy way of seeing this deal in action is to be kind and attentive to a dog, and see how he repays you tenfold with the kind of love that is all a dog can give.

In New Orleans, my mother used to buy from a local bakery where a dozen rolls included a 13th roll as “lagniappe.”

Lagniappe carries an unspoken expression of good wishes that reach their mark in ways that make people come back for more. It’s not the extra item that does it, but the item combined with the spirit behind it.

A great many people of French ancestry and with French names live in Louisiana. I have lived and sung in Paris for extended periods, but I never experienced the Louisiana French spirit in France. It’s not that the French do anything especially wrong, it’s just that they don’t have the habit of throwing in an extra bit of themselves, as do Louisianans.

Teachers throw in lagniappe as a matter of habit — there is no fence around the field of knowledge that they are spreading. Generosity of spirit is, of course, the moral dynamo that generates lagniappe, and carrying this spirit into one’s daily doings makes life brighter for all.

Lagniappe brings forth smiles and strong handshakes, and says things that word-shy individuals can never bring themselves to express. “Going an extra mile” makes all human endeavors gain a dimension beyond expectation.

The child’s story of “The Little Engine That Could” perfectly illustrates to a young mind the hidden potential in a human being. This hidden potential results in home runs, in touchdowns, in straight A’s, in world records and in intellectual triumphs.

The person who accomplishes a major feat may say afterward, “I didn’t think I could do it ” — but he is wrong. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought he could do it, or he couldn’t have traversed the extra mile to make it come true.

All of us certainly have within ourselves the potential to reach more goals than we have ever reached, an extra reserve of imagination and mentality that hold the promise of new successes.

The kids who sit in the stands today are watching the kids on the field who are “going the extra mile.” During the majority of our days, no one is going to sit over us and force us to reach our goals. Just as the little train thought, “I think I can,” the human being with will to win thinks, “I can do it if I want it enough.” Before we surprise anyone else, we must surprise ourselves — we must try hard and see what our own possibilities are! There are no prizes for “could have” or “would have.” There are only prizes for “did” and “reached.” The record books do not list “missed chances” or “also rans.” We all lose sometimes — but do we try hard enough to be winners?

About Roney:

Harvard’42—Distinguished Prof, Em.—UCF

2004 Fla. Alliance for the Arts award

(Assisted by beautiful wife Joy Roney)