Columns

Take our daughters and sons to grandma’s

“Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” is on April 25th, and I think we should try something different this year: Let’s take our daughters and sons to grandma’s. The Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day Foundation says that April 25th is designed to be more than just a career day — more than...

Would Mamou tea kill or cure you?

There was at least a minor hullabaloo in the spring of 1941 when health officials in Washington made the claim that the Mamou plant widely used in south Louisiana to make a herbal tea could kill you.

Ready for the bathroom of tomorrow?

Bathroom floor tiles that weigh you, analyze your gait and evaluate your fall risk. Bathroom mirrors that initiate telehealth conferences based on your complexion or facial tics. Toilet seats that check your vitals (temperature, heart rate, oxygenation).

OJ’s death is an opportunity for us all

I’m pretty sure that the number of people who are mourning the death of OJ Simpson can fit into the trunk of the smallest car Hertz ever rented. He was a man who killed his wife Nicole, as well as innocent stranger Ron Goldman, and was acquitted because he played the race card.

The saga of O.J. Simpson exposed a divided nation

O.J. Simpson died last week. Many younger people will just say “So?” To anyone over 50, his life and his actions created riveting news, and poised him, both good and bad, as one of the most recognizable personalities in American history. O. J. was a little of everything.

A good month to prevent distracted driving

“It wasn’t my fault the car in front of me hit me. I glanced at my text message for only a second when our bumpers collided.” “How could the car in front of you hit you?” “The idiot stopped to let a deer cross the street — and dented my front bumper with his rear bumper.

Dust cloud darkened skies, dirtied homes

April 14, 1935, is still referred to as Black Sunday in the American Midwest because that was the worst day of one of the worst dust storms in U.S. history. More than 300,000 tons of topsoil were blown away during that storm, some of it landing in south Louisiana.

Will you still need me, will you still feed me?

During my career as a late-in-life columnist, I have been blessed with the opportunity to chronicle three birthdays ending in zero. (My so-called “good” cholesterol has not exactly overperformed in helping me reach these milestones.

A perspective of Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem turned 90 years old last month. She is the oldest living feminist from an era when this was a sign of being a “serious woman.” The thinking goes that unless you call yourself a feminist, people will send you back to the kitchen, forcibly impregnate you and hide your shoes.

Tread cautiously for a new Louisiana constitution

There has been a lot of chatter in recent months about the need to rewrite Louisiana’s constitution. And for good reason. This original slim document has now blossomed into the nation’s seventh longest state charter with over 83,000 words.