Looking at the Scenes in Ole New Orleans

This is LSU week.

This week is the runup (pun Intended) to the LSU - Alabama Game. Two things you have to know about this game besides the fact that it is a intense historical interleague rivalry. Nike Sabin, the highly successful coach of Alabama, used to be the Coach at LSU. Think of Green Bay Packer coach, Mike McCarthy, coaching the Vikings. Not only do LSU fans consider Sabin a traitor for leaving LSU, but going to Alabama is unforgivable.

Second, LSU undoubtedly has the premier running back in college football, Leonard Fournette. Not only is Fournette capable, (He typically runs for more yards than a suburban home development in any game he plays.) but he is from New Orleans. Fournette is on his way to becoming a Heisman trophy winner and, if local fans have their way, a member of the New Orleans Saints.

I know Wisconsin Badger fans are intense, but I have to tell you these LSU people need to think about 12 step treatment programs.  FYI: Next year Wisconsin will play LSU at Lambeau Field




Center for Traditional Louisiana Boat Building

My friend, Danny Chauvin, (show" van), and I treked down to Lockport, LA to look at the displays in the Louisiana Traditional Boat Center.

Tom, our guide, ushered us through a small but intensive history of the white man's version of the dugout canoes the native americans were using when the trappers, traders and explorers came to this area. The boat is called a Pirogue (pee row). This small boat is traditionally carved from a solid piece of Cypress. The Native Americans, The Homa's, used to burn the canoes out and then scrap them into final shape with oyster shells. The Arcadian's carved them with ax, adze and shavespokes.

This is a more modern version. It's constructed with Marine plywood. Note the ribs inserted to give more strength and higher load capacity. 

Normally this boat is paddled with one oar from the rear. Sometimes, they stood in the middle and poled the boat through the swamps and marshes. There were examples of Pirogues with small sails.

There are also models of early small working boats, flat bottom John boats, that were motorized and used for more intense fishing, oyster harvesting and moving goods.

We enjoyed our stop there and than we continued down to Homa, Danny's home town. It was interesting that like much of America, Homa has changed considerable over the years since Danny left, but it was also apparent that much had stayed the same. he recalled that he used to bike down to a meat market for his mother. The meat market is still there , a couple of blocks from his homestead, and as far as we could see, it was still operating.

Cajun - Creole, viva la difference

This area is definitely Cajun country. Acadian French refugees, driven from their first North American perch in Nova Scotia by the British, resettled in this already French inhabited area and installed traditions in almost every facet of everyday life. Everything from cooking, music, language and values the Cajun traditions survive. 

One thing you don't want to do is confuse Cajun with Creole. Creole is also a traditional lifestyle in Louisiana, but it is attributed to the mixed race population of free blacks, native American and white inhabitants of the area. It has elements from each of these groups and it's own distinct practices and traditions. Most of us know about the food. While the styles of Creole and Cajun cooking are often blended, the traditional producers will argue admaently that theirs is pure to the tradition.

Living here has challenged me. I need to be more attentive to what is going on around me and at the same time try not to be judgmental at what seems so foreign to me. There is a reason for differences I observe and I need to find out the why's instead of just looking and the what's.