Horse racing stories usually focus on a single horse’s feats, rivalries between horses or the relationship between a horse and its mount. But the story of 2007, centers on two Louisiana jockeys from Acadiana. On the first weekend in May,…
Northern LouisianaCAUSE TO CELEBRATEThe power of graceMissy Crain, artistic director of the highly acclaimed, Monroe-based Louisiana Delta Ballet, was sitting in a church service one day when the preacher asked the congregation, “What do you have to give in return…
By January, rural communities on southwest Louisiana’s prairies are busy preparing for their local Mardi Gras runs, or courirs de Mardi Gras. Women begin stitching baggy pants and matching shirts, adding layers of fringe and building tall hats called capuchons…
I’m standing in a concrete pit, eyeball-to-udder with a big black and white lady named No. 418. In my hand is a device resembling a robotic spider. It has a palm-sized, stainless steel body with four black rubber tubes extending…
A definition.Gumbo: Spicy, thick Creole soup composed of fish or shellfish, poultry, game, meats and vegetables in any of a great variety of combinations. Gumbo is thickened with either okra or filé powder and is served ladled over rice. The…
Not long ago, four couples were having drinks before dinner, chatting about this and that while nibbling on almonds roasted with smoked paprika and homemade bread with cheeses. As often happens, the discussion turned to food and cooking, and from…
This year, along with the usual azaleas and Spring Fiesta home tours, spring promises St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans an even greater gift. Streetcars. First, some terminology: It’s crawfish, not crayfish; parishes, not counties; neutral grounds, not medians; and…
Our favorite movie is Gone With The Wind,” says Jack Lyles, as he sits on his wicker porch swing overlooking St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, “And this is our Tara.” His wife, Pam, adds, “I grew up in New…
Spirit House,” “Circle Dance,” “Middle Passage,” “Dance for My Father,” “Spirit Gates” – all are but a few names the nationally acclaimed New Orleans artist John T. Scott gave to a remarkable lifetime of art that gained him a name…
One morning I found a crumpled sticky note on which our 7-year-old son had scribbled this ardent petition to God or Santa Claus or most likely, me – the parent perceived to be the biggest pushover:“I wish I had a…
Alexandria eyes moviesCarved from the retail vacancy of a former Alexandria Super Kmart store is a soon-to-be located film production studio and medical business incubator.The development, supported by the state through a capital outlay award of $1.7 million for renovations,…
WHAT'S HOTRoll out the barrels. Hannah Pittman, 12-year-old daughter of Matt and Jane Pittman of Bogalusa, recently won the title of 2007 National Barrel Horse Association 2-D Youth World Champion at the competition in Jackson, Miss. Pittman and her gelding,…
What surprises me is that I actually have two stories on the subject of women fighting each other in Avoyelles Parish. The first is from my youth when, so the family story goes, an uncle who was a justice of…
