[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 15130-15131] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]A.J. JUDICE ______ HON. TED POE of texas in the house of representatives Tuesday, July 15, 2008 Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, today I come to pay tribute to a long time cultural icon in Southeast Texas. A.J. Judice was a proud ambassador of his Cajun heritage and used his life to promote and spread their culture across the area. His family started Judice's French Market 80 years ago and introduced Cajun food to the region for the first time. Known for his black beret, white moustache, red scooter, and colorful personality, Judice was truly a Southeast Texas original. Albin Joseph ``A.J'' Judice, Jr. was born in Port Arthur in 1927. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1945, the same year that his beloved Yellow Jackets played for the State championship, he so frequently bragged. He spent 2 years as a Merchant Mariner, allowing him to see the world. His heart and his future, however, belonged in Texas. He married Lois the former senior prom queen in 1948. They had two children in one year, eventually having five in all. Judice is most recognized as the mascot for the restaurants and grocery stores that have been in his family since the 1920's. His family opened Judice's French Market in 1927 in their single car garage while the family lived above. They moved in the 1930s and settled where they still operate today. A.J. and his mother, ``Maw Maw'' Judice, are credited as being the first store in Texas to sell live crawfish and hot boudain, two staples of any Cajun diet. He was always happy to announce that their seafood ``slept in the Gulf last night.'' They also own Larry's French Market in Groves. Though he passed the stores on to his sons, the caricature of Judice in his apron and beret is still used to advertise the store. Thanks to him, ``crawfish season'' is just as popular as ``football season'' in Southeast Texas. Judice was known as the ``Crazy Frenchman'' and he definitely lived up to the branding. He helped popularize the sport of Crawfish racing in Southeast Texas, a sport created to celebrate the Cajun lifestyle. In the early 1960's, Texas Governor Preston Smith appointed him as a Texas Crawfish Racing Commissioner. It was then that he coined his famous cheer, ``Hot boudain, and cold cush cush! Come on crawfish, push push push!'' A.J. and his crawfish eventually won the world championship in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. He was so well known that a 1980's USA Today article spotlighted Judice and his racing mudbugs. CBS news featured him on a cover [[Page 15131]] story after he trained two crawfish to jump out of airplanes. From the smallest local festival to the largest Mardi Gras festivities around, Judice was always visible, playing his triangle ``ding-a-ling'' or dancing to zydeco music. He was full of life and lived every second like it was his last. Madam Speaker, Mr. A.J. Judice, Jr. was a pioneer in promoting a respect of rural Louisiana history and culture. He enhanced his community of Southeast Texas for 80 years, and I am proud to celebrate his accomplishments and the legacy that he leaves behind. ____________________