Eudora Welty in Jackson, Mississippi and Revelation
When I drove to Jackson, Mississippi to meet with several members of the Writer’s Guild for lunch, I discovered the answer to a question that I’d been asking myself for a long time. I didn’t realize I had found the answer until several days later. You see, on the way to the appointed lunch spot, […]
The Morgue, the Merrier
Satchmo, of course; the Marsalis family, naturally, even Ann Rice, and her vampirish underground. But me living in Louisiana? You’ve got to be kidding! I got here on subways and BART trains, sidewalks, public parks, and noise made by people, not insects whining for hours in the summer heat loud enough to drown out a […]
Hazardous Turnips: 5
The continuing story from Duck Dynasty country about a paper mill and the people caught in its hopper.
Orientation in Ruston with Shakespeare
I saw gangs of young people coming at me from every direction wearing blue shirts that said “Wear, Live, Think, Dream.” Luckily, they were friendly. One of the groups helped me to find the bathroom, which I sorely needed following my drive from Sterlington. I was there to attend a student play that was being […]
Mosquitoes Create Jobs
It’s been a year since I arrived in the northeastern portion of Louisiana, a wilderness and a wonderland to a northerner who has never lived south before. I’ve been introduced to crawfish or “mudbugs” and the proper way to eat them. This involves grasping the outside shell of the tail joint firmly with a thumb […]
Hazardous Turnips: 4
“…she was short on sleep and in no mood for bad news.” There was no other way to tell her except for straight out. “Was the whole crew laid off?” “They said they needed a more experienced operator.” “Who said?” Since the baby had arrived, Judy was short on sleep and in no mood for […]
Hazardous Turnips: 3
“There you are. I thought maybe you went home to plant watermelons.” Mark climbed out of a truck. “What’s bugging you? You told me to check the readings. I did.” “Great. So what does it look like at the ponds today?” “Slime and black pockets of water. It stinks to high heaven.” Rotten eggs. The […]
Hazardous Turnips: 2
Jay hurried to the finishing area, glad it was getting warmer and that he didn’t need to freeze his buns off working outside. Over these last six months, he’d watched Bryan change from a cheery guy who was always excited about his daughter, to a man who looked like his mother had died in a […]
Hazardous Turnips:1
At the end of July, the turnips were lush. They grew alongside the entrance to the plant, bright green fronds waving in the afternoon heat like feathers of a peacock’s tail. Bryan Thurmond had seen dozens of peacocks in the parking lot of the zoo where he drove Jenny, his daughter, to volunteer—peacocks strutting like […]
Afikomen in Sterlington, Louisiana
Daffodils sprouting in bright yellow bunches always have always signaled for me spring and Passover. Matzah plays a big role here, the unleavened bread symbolic of the Jewish exodus from enslavement in Egypt about 3,300 years ago. (“Hurry up, Sadie. We don’t have time for the bread to rise. Grab your hat and let’s go!”) […]