Posts Tagged ‘report from louisiana’

Report from Louisiana: The Pre-Christmas Roundup

Posted: December 20, 2021 by Pat Austin in Uncategorized
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SHREVEPORT – Some random observations from around the Web:

  • Perhaps I am a luddite, but the New York Times list of the best books of 2021 is bizarre to me. I would be hard pressed to find one or two that I would read.
  • Speaking of books, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has a curious reading list to occupy his time over the Christmas break.
  • I love Christmas time in Louisiana! The levee bonfires, cancelled because of Covid last year, are back! The tradition serves to light the way for Papa Noel on Christmas Eve.
  • I went to see Spider-Man No Way Home this weekend; loved it. It was the first time I’ve been to a movie theater in a couple of years, but I’m glad I went. Great movie!
  • In the saddest news I’ve heard in a long time, this couple from Iowa died this past week within hours of each other from Covid. They ran a beautiful bed and breakfast called The Peppermill out of their lovingly restored Victorian home. Belle was an excellent cook, a DIY queen, creative, fun, and such a warm person. Her husband Dan was equally welcoming. This is devastating news to the community and of course to their daughter.
  • I loved Adrienne’s post on decluttering. The struggle is real.
  • The Democrats are coming after your gas stoves. Now let me tell you, one thing I CAN do is cook, and I refuse to cook on an electric stove. I know, you have one, you love it. Fine. That’s your choice. But when I’m making a gumbo, when I am cooking the roux, I want to see exactly how high that flame is. It’s an art. And no electric stove is going to do that for me. Besides, the key word there was CHOICE. I have a 1940s Chambers range in my kitchen, and it runs on gas. I’m keeping it.
  • Our church held the annual Nativity Pageant last night, and y’all, it was so dang cute. Little mice crawling up the aisle, at one point one of the sheep abandoned the stable and fled to his mother in the congregation, and little tiny angels. It was precious. Take a look!
  • I hope you all have a wonderful holiday! Eat as much fruitcake as you like, enjoy your families, read a good book, and remember the reason for the season. Merry Christmas from Shreveport.

Pat Austin blogs at And So it Goes in Shreveport and at Medium. She is the author of Cane River Bohemia: Cammie Henry and her Circle at Melrose Plantation (LSU Press).

Report from Louisiana: A Cantankerous Mood

Posted: December 6, 2021 by Pat Austin in Uncategorized
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By:  Pat Austin

SHREVEPORT – Perhaps I just woke up in a contrary mood this morning, or perhaps my Community Coffee hasn’t yet kicked in, but in scanning the headlines in The Advocate (Baton Rouge), I find myself bristling at every story.

The lead story announces that Governor John Bel Edwards will add the Covid vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for school children in order for them to attend public school. Personally, I think the Covid vaccine should be like the flu shot: optional. I got the vaccine (and the booster) but it was my choice. I admit, I do struggle with this somewhat. I mean, yes, I firmly believe we shout require polio vaccines and the standard MMR and so forth. Maybe the coronavirus is on par with those diseases, but maybe it isn’t. But this is the thing: in Louisiana any parent can “opt out” of any vaccine with a simple signature. So…. isn’t it just empty casting to “require” this vaccine? Politicking? 

The second story that puffed me up this morning was one which explained that the Baton Rouge school superintendent, who has been on the job since January 2021, will get a $10,000 bonus if he meets nine goals (raising ACT scores, submitting a balanced budget, growing LEAP scores, increasing graduation rate, etc.). Admittedly, these are worth goals, but where, I ask, is the bonus for the teachers? The superintendent already makes a $255,000 base salary. Where is the bonus for the teachers on the front lines? This is one of the reasons I never looked back when I retired from teaching: teachers are supposed to be happy with a Starbucks gift card or a Sonic breakfast burrito. “Good job, here’s a jeans day pass!” Bah! This makes me insane.

And then there was the OpEd guy who is trying to say that shortages, rising gas prices, and higher grocery bills have nothing to do with Joe Biden’s policies.  Say what?!

I suspect it is time for me to get another cup of coffee and quit looking at The Advocate. Maybe I’ll go bake some Christmas cookies or something.

Pat Austin blogs at And So it Goes in Shreveport and at Medium. She is the author of Cane River Bohemia: Cammie Henry and her Circle at Melrose Plantation (LSU Press).

Report From Louisiana: Loose Thoughts

Posted: November 15, 2021 by Pat Austin in Uncategorized
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By:  Pat Austin

SHREVEPORT – Random thoughts this morning….

  • I just saw in The Advocate that former NOLA mayor Mitch Landrieu has been appointed by Biden to oversee the $1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure bill. My first thought was “WTH?!”  Mitch Landrieu who was the ramrod for destroyed NOLA’s monuments, who thought “equity circles” would help solve crime in the city, the gun-control advocate…I mean, what could go wrong?  In trying to find some kind of positive spin on this, I can only hope he will perhaps do something with this new power to help coastal erosion issues in Louisiana.
  • Beto O’Rourke has thrown his hat in the ring for Texas governor.  Now I remember why I burned out of political blogging. I hate them all.  Hate.
  • On that note, I have just finished reading a book I thoroughly enjoyed: Hondo Crouch’s daughter, Becky, has written her third book and it’s a treasure. Luckenbach: The Center of the Universe, is a joyful look into the life of Hondo and the good times had by all at Luckenbach. If we could all only approach life as Hondo did, the world would be better. The man who fired a cannon full of chicken feathers during festivals at Luckenbach and awarded “purple hearts” to those “who fell down the best” obviously has a joyful outlook on life. The man who led a parade from the Alamo to Luckenbach, TX while playing a pea-trap with a kazoo hidden inside is someone I wish I had known. I laughed out loud on nearly every page and read every other page aloud to my husband. So much fun!
  • Speaking of books, I’m happy to be able to get back out on the speaking circuit again. The Covid shutdowns pretty much halted any book appearances I was doing after Cane River Bohemia came out. That, and time – those things taper off after your book has been out for a year or so. But I do have an appearance tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it. It is fun to get out, meet people, and talk about a project so close to my heart. This book has taken me all over the state of Louisiana and it’s been a fun ride.
  • Holidays? I’m feeling a bit of Christmas spirit this year; sometimes it’s more of a struggle, but this year, since so many things were shut down last year, I am a little excited. That being said, I am a one holiday at a time girl, and I’m not going to put up any tree until after Thanksgiving. Plus, we put up a live tree, and it will be quite dead by Christmas if I put it up too early. One holiday at a time. No tree. Yet.
  • Closing arguments today in the Rittenhouse trial. Predictions?

Report from Louisiana: a trip to Fredericksburg, TX

Posted: November 7, 2021 by Pat Austin in Uncategorized
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By:  Pat Austin

SHREVEPORT – I was on the road last week and so missed posting here. We travelled to Fredericksburg, Texas, the Hill Country, which has been a bucket list trip for my husband for several years. It’s only about a seven-hour drive from where we live, so we took the opportunity last week to go.

It was a wonderful trip, but we are exhausted! We had three days to cram in as much as we possibly could; Monday and Friday were driving days. We had to be back home Saturday for other obligations.

Tuesday was a highlight for me: we went to Luckenbach, Texas (if you know, you know.). My husband calls Luckenbach “the Grand Old Opry of Outlaw Country Music,” and I guess it is. The song made it famous, but the musicians made history and if you’ve never read about Hondo Crouch, do yourself a favor and “meet” this man.  If only we all move through this life with the grace, love, and humor of Hondo, we would all be so much better off.

Hondo’s daughter, Becky, has written one book about her father and now has another called Luckenbach, The Center of the Universe, which I bought on my trip there and it’s one of those laugh out loud books that you want to read aloud to someone. Hysterical.

Anyway, the trip to Luckenbach was a sort of pilgrimage for me and was a highlight.

The other super cool thing we did was visit the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg. I have read a lot of books and memoirs of the Pacific War and so I was excited about this outing; however, that being said, I can not express how exhausted I was at the end of our visit! I’m one of those people who wants to see it all, read it all, touch all the interactive stuff, watch all the videos, at a museum. You just can’t do it, here. I really needed two days to see this museum the way it should be done. We started in the Nimitz Gallery and learned so much about Chester Nimitz – what a fascinating man! Then we moved on into the timeline of the War, then the various exhibits for each stage. We got to 1943 and had to stop for lunch.

After lunch, my brain was like a sponge that had soaked up all it could hold. Nothing was sinking in. We finished, and man, the finish was fabulous! There is a video display of a submerged airplane while a video takes you through the treaties of surrender and the celebrations. You never forget the price of war.

The exhibits in this museum are awesome and it is so well done. There are exhibits outside as well and most impressive is the Japanese Garden of Peace which was a gift from the people of Japan. It is beautiful and impressive.  There is a specially trained gardener to maintain the space.

We did several other things like tour the Texas Ranger Heritage Center in Fredericksburg (not to be confused with the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco), which was cool, and we visited Fort Martin Scott, an Army frontier post.

The landscape in the Hill Country is beautiful and has proven itself perfect for vineyards and so now there are at least forty wineries in the immediate area. Not being a wine-girl myself, we stuck to the German restaurants and breweries, but groups of people go there just to get on trollies and visit the wineries.

It was a fun trip and now I’m trying to get back into my routines, pack up the Halloween decorations, and think about the holiday season ahead.

Pat Austin blogs at And So it Goes in Shreveport and at Medium; she is the author of Cane River Bohemia: Cammie Henry and her Circle at Melrose Plantation. Follow her on Instagram @patbecker25 and Twitter @paustin110.

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