Fall in Southeastern Louisiana

The cloud under which LSU resides.
Normally a university under a cloud implies scandal, but fortunately for Louisiana State University, it really is clouds that are affecting their football program.

Earlier this fall, LSU had scheduled one of those games all of the big schools put on the calendar. If the game didn't count in the standings, it would kindly be referred to as a scrimmage. Unfortunately, it does count.

Like all of the big powerful teams, LSU was granted the privilege of getting drubbed by their team, which is spoken about as a possible National Champion and a Heisman Trophy candidate at running back, to McNeese State. The shadowy benefit to our sacrificial lamb is "national" exposure.

Coach in Visitor's Locker room

The steam rolls in from the shower room. The overhead lights flicker seemingly in time with the muffled chants of the LSU fans screaming for blood.

"Gentlemen, I know that we did not play our best half of football today. Let's not dwell on the fact that we given up 70 points and went scoreless ourselves. Let's celebrate that a hell of lot more people know about McNeese State now than they did before we played this game on national television."

As it happens, the teams were in the stadium, on the field, warmed up, and ready to go when no less a formative force than Mother Nature intervened. First, it was rain. Nobody calls a game because of rain unless the field conditions present themselves as dangerous as to possibly lead to injury. This is kinda funny when you consider what happens on a football field during the game. But the field conditions didn't present a problem. Lightning, however, does.

The league requires that if there is lightning in the area, the game must be stopped, fans and players must leave the stadium, and there has to be no lightning for 30 minutes before the game can resume. Long story short, they ended up with playable conditions late in the evening. Since most of the fans had left the stadium and beyond the TV market's endurance, they canceled the game.

This weekend, LSU will play South Carolina, at LSU's home stadium, in Baton Rouge. They will do this as the visiting team in their own stadium because South Carolina cannot host the game, as originally scheduled, because of the historic level of flooding in their state. Because of this horrendous event, they lack the ability to provide the services necessary to assure the safety of the guests. It makes sense that people that need to travel to the game need passable roads and bridges, hotel and restaurant availability, and some modicum of police protection, all of which South Carolina it currently doesn't have.

Therefore in the spirit of cooperation and a great deal of empathy, the schools agreed that South Carolina would play their home game at LSU.

Update: LSU beat South Carolina 45 -24 
(Now people can feel sorry for South Carolina for more reasons than the flood)

I have to admit my attention and TV controller strayed to the Wisconsin v Nebraska game, which was being played simultaneously as the LSU game. Wisconsin won 23- 21 by hitting a field goal as the clock ticked to 00:00. I will admit this betrayal of my supposed newfound allegiance to LSU, but only if pressed.

I did this with the full knowledge that I would not normally have the opportunity to watch all of that football. Yes, the Major Income Provider was in the Napa Valley sipping wine and communing with her daughter, Miss Stacy, and Daughter-in-law, Miss Anne, in the light of the California sun. However, I had mowed the front lawn, cleaned up the backyard of the waste from the bamboo harvest, and cleaned the house, so watching football is something I could do without feeling like I had let the household down.

Life with Lucy

Lucy slept while the Badger's uncharacteristically passed their way up and down the Nebraska home field and slithered away from defeat. Lucy slept while I baked bread. Lucy slept while I microwaved myself some chili for dinner. I checked with Lucy to make sure she was breathing. Good news! She is breathing, but she resented being awakened.

Moving into the Community

I noticed this week that I am a member of BAPAC (Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee). This group is a citizens advisory group to the City of Mandeville, Committee of Planning & Zoning.
I liken this to my time spent with the TSAC (Transit Services Advisory Committee). We did on TSAC to bring a citizen's perspective to the Milwaukee County Committee on Transit, Public Works & Transportation regarding bus service in Milwaukee County. The BAPAC group is intended to do the same thing but with bicycle and pedestrian right of mind. In this, a typical automobile-centric, suburban community, the issue has a lot of built-in obstacles. Watch this space for further news.

Until next week, that's all from Camp Jeff, now located at the edge of the shores of Lake Ponchartrain in Louisiana.