Columns

Chenieres have romantic history

The word cheniere is unique to the Cajun coast, as are the little islands it describes. The word comes from the Acadian word chene, meaning “oak,” and describes groves of live oak trees bent by Gulf winds along a series of ridges rising from south Louisiana wetlands.

Defining who’s a victim – and who isn’t

I speak four languages fluently, read a fifth and am learning a sixth. I taught Spanish, French and Italian, and use all three languages on a daily basis in my immigration practice. I say this not to brag as much as to display how important language and its correct usage is to me.

Never forget our veterans

My dad’s hearing was damaged more than half a century ago when, as a young man, he trained to be an Army military policeman during the war in Korea. MPs were required to qualify for every weapon, including the exceptionally loud .50 caliber machine gun.

Is there detention in Sunday school?

If you ever want to test the limits of your patience, your sanity and your ability to avoid bursting your gizzard from laughing out loud at exactly the wrong moment – in church – try teaching a junior high boys’ Sunday school class sometime. You’ll thank me or hunt me down to kill me ...

Are veterans the heroes who keep on giving?

I’m not complaining, but after 23 years of column writing, it becomes increasingly challenging to find new angles for recurring events such as Mother’s Day or Memorial Day.

St. Landry soldier one of last to die

We celebrate Veterans Day on or about November 11, because World War I ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. If it had ended on the 10th day, a young man from south Louisiana would not have died far from home.

Braves return to World Series with memories of 1957

The Atlanta Braves, once Milwaukee’s pride and joy and who earlier called Boston home, take on the Houston Astros in the 2021 World Series. The Braves have a rich history that’s largely lost in baseball’s sands of time. In his book “Boston Braves,” author Richard A.

Do you hate intersections too?

When my high school classmates obtained a driver’s license, it was not uncommon to hear a teacher opine, “Oh, they must be having a sale at Sears.” Judging by the deplorable examples of road etiquette I’ve witnessed, maybe the teachers weren’t so far off about the low bar set by testers.

Fortune still awaiting a brave soul?

Fabacher Road, which runs west for several miles from Hwy. 91 near Iota is one of the few reminders of the settlement founded in 1871 by the man some claim to be the pioneer of the modern rice industry.

Washington speaks with forked tongue on debt ceiling

The Federal Reserve doesn’t finance the U.S. debt directly but do so indirectly in huge ways—and then lies about it.