He could’ve jumped from an airplane. 

He could’ve met his favorite celebrity. 

None of that would suffice. The Louisiana native had a pretty simple request: one last crawfish boil. 

As part of being a Never Too Late program participant, Doris “T” Gallet of Greenfield was able to make any sort of rational request to fulfill his “wish.” 

Yet, with crawfish season in full swing, he opted to partake in the Louisiana tradition, which is somewhat of rarity here in the Midwest. 

That is, except in Mooresville, where crawfish boils have been occurring every weekend since February. 

It all started when Gallet’s hospice provider nominated him as a Never Too Late candidate. 

As a WWII veteran who served twice, once in the U.S. Army and once as a Marine, during the conflict, Gallet racked up six battle stars and made for a compelling candidate for the program, Never Too Late founder Bob Haverstick said. 

“He was in the thick of things,” he said. 

Haverstick said Gallet, who is originally from Lafayette, La., wanted a crawfish boil, but he was in no condition to travel by plane. So the process began. 

He said some “wishes” can take up to six months to coordinate. Gallet’s took a few simple phone calls. 

After learning that a Cajun restaurant in Indianapolis didn’t import live crawfish, Haverstick found out that Zydeco’s did. 

So he contacted restaurant co-owner Deb Hutchinson. 

“She jumped all over it,” he said. 

The next thing Haverstick knew, a band had donated its time for the event, the crawfish order was under control and the only funding necessary would be to cover any drinks purchased at Zydeco’s. And the Indianapolis chapter of the Military Officers Association of America was donating $250 for those drinks. 

Gallet’s relatives from Louisiana are prepared to fly to Indiana, Haverstick said, and the 88-year-old’s family in Greenfield will be in attendance as well. But the atmosphere at the private party should resemble that of the Pelican State. 

“It’ll be like everybody did a ‘Beam me up, Scotty’ transport to Lafayette,” the non-profit founder said. 

Zydeco’s certainly intends to make that as realistic as possible. Zydeco’s co-owner Carter Hutchinson, a New Orleans native, said the first step is to import the right warm-water crawfish, those that are bred in a spillway. Second, when they arrive, the crustacea should be severely aggravated, he said. 

The chef was cooking up a batch for the Mardi Gras Block Party Thursday. He said he first makes “the soup,” which consists of a mixture of cayenne pepper, onions, lemons, bell peppers, celery, black pepper, salt, an entire bottle of Tabasco, bay leaf, oranges, garlic and more. 

Carter Hutchinson said he lets the soup boil for one hour, then he pitches its contents and drops in the crawfish. They boil for 15 minutes and then are allowed to soak for approximately one hour while being cooled, he said. Finally, the crawfish are put into a separate pot with the addition of corn and potatoes, Carter Hutchinson said. 

He said he understands why a Louisiana native would request a crawfish boil for such a wish. 

“If it were me .... I’d want the same thing,” the chef said. 

Mojo Gumbo will provide the Cajun music, Deb Hutchinson said, and if weather permits, there will be seating outside with issues of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. 

Gallet’s son, Larry Gallet, said his family is very appreciative of the event, which will also allow the entire family to celebrate Father’s Day together. He said the event should pay a proper homage to the WWII veteran. 

“I think it’s a wonderful tribute, and it would have never happened without (Never Too Late),” Larry Gallet said. 

He said his father suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and that the family had quite a scare at the beginning of the week, when they couldn’t manage to wake him up. The veterans hospital couldn’t find a reason for this and released him on Tuesday, Larry Gallet said. He said his father just acquired two good days of rest, “building up his strength for this weekend.”