Sid’s Monument Towering over countless graves in the Old City Cemetery of Monroe, LA stands the stately statue of Sidney W. “Sid” Saunders. Assuming the manner of a lecturer, the stern face statue with the thick...
What can the United States learn from Japan? While it is difficult to make meaningful comparisons between two countries as diverse as the United States and Japan, it is not impossible.
Focus on a single commonality. What will emerge is at onc...
Death is lurking in the Garden of "Eaten" Two round eyes stare up at me from the grass. Ears are focused like radar. Body motionless and poised for flight or attack. Short striped fur smooth over a gymnast’s taut body. It’s a young felis ...
A look at e. e. cummings, the man and his work Soon, I will start my fifth year of writing this column. I’d like to try a different approach.
Sometimes I am asked how I find something to write about. This is my secret.
I’m a dreamer. I relax my...
Gardening with Pythagoras and Cayenne Pepper There was grass where I grew up in Kansas, but it was less aggressive than here. If you were rich, you could have blue grass. But if you were poor like me, two other varieties confronted you, ber...
Of Hebert and Perrin’s unique “Iberia Parish” Last year, I had the privilege of reviewing Warren A. Perrin’s “Vermilion Parish,” in the “Images of America” series. Now he and his coauthor Nelwyn Hebert have another, “Iberia Parish.”
To those w...
Thomas Kinkade, the "Painter of Light" How often we hear, “I don’t know much about art.” Or music. Or poetry. “I just know what I like.”
Defensive. Waiting for some “expert” to pounce, someone unaware that what matters is not what we kn...
Rolled into one: vocation, avocation and recreation Almost eight years ago, I (and a Cajun spouse) made Abbeville our home. Gradually, I adapted to the local citizens’ love of genealogy. Boutwell’s are scattered. We aren’t close. But in time I learn...
Remembering a "Perfect Storm" that wasn't perfect A song I remember from some musical asks whether there is anything fair about farewell, or good in goodbye. I forgot the rest. The remembered part sticks like peanut butter on the roof of your mout...
About the urge to fix broken things, broken people We multifaceted humans are identified by our dominant drives. When we kill for pleasure, crave power and territory or turn others into slaves, we are bad. But when we excel in art or literature or ...
A Monarch butterfly teaches me about faith An encounter with a Monarch butterfly taught me something about faith. Anyone fortunate enough to have a century plant growing in their yard knows how spectacularly ferocious they look, with four-f...
Atlantis: mythical land,poor choice of names On July 21st, 2011, the evening news reported our space shuttle program had ended at Kennedy Space Center in Florida with the completion of Mission STS 135 by (Orbital Vehicle) OV-104, named Atlant...
