From Scarlett O'Hara to Dolly Parton, the women of the south are strong, creative, loyal, faithful, and often larger than life. I am proud to be part of that tradition. I was raised in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana in the part of the state referred to as the Florida Parishes.
For those interested in geography, that is the part of the "boot"
that points toward the Florida panhandle. History records that it was
originally part of the Florida territory, and not part of the Louisiana
Purchase. It was annexed later and became part of the Territory of
Orleans about 1810.
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| Map of Louisiana--I don't know what they did with Lake Pontchartrain. It's missing! | | | | |
From the earliest days we were different.I
think this contributes to the schizophrenic identity those of us from
the "Northshore" enjoy. We are an extension of the New Orleans area, but
are separated by Lake Pontchartrain.We are not truly a part of the
Cajun Southwest Louisiana, but you will find jambalaya and gumbo on our
tables whenever family gathers. We are not a part of the Northern area
of the state which is more classically Southern. Heck, we don't
even have an accent of our own.
For the New Orleans accent: think of the
musician Harry Connick Jr. There is almost a Bronx tone from the mix of French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Irish immigrants that came through the port of New Orleans.
For
the striking Cajun accent: think of the famous comedian Justin Wilson
or those guys on Swamp People. It is laced with Acadian French, and it
is a slurring of "Acadian" that gave rise to the term Cajun.
For
the North Loozyana accent: think former NFL football star and now
commentator Terry Bradshaw, or better yet, the Robertson family of Duck
Dynasty fame. Redneck and proud, yes, that is North Louisiana.
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| Waldheim United Methodist Church where I first learned that Jesus love me. |
St. Tammany Parish after Hurricane Katrina is now home to so many
who relocated from the devastated areas of Orleans and Jefferson
parishes. It is sadly more suburban and rife with "bedroom communities"
where the "come here's" have congregated. But when I grew up there, we
were country folk. We lived north of Covington in a dip in the road called Waldheim where our German ancestors settled in the 1860s. We raised our vegetables in our own fields, and canned them during the hottest days of the summer.
We walked to the neighbors' pond with our fishing poles and brought home
supper. Momma didn't like us to ride our bikes on the "blacktop highway"
because the gravel trucks drove too fast, but we could follow the ditch
up the hill to visit friends. Daddy kept a tab at the local Waldheim
Store where he picked up bread and milk almost every day on his way home fromwork. He would bring
us there on Saturday afternoons when he would settle up with Mr. Harold
and treat the five of us kids to 10 cents of candy. And Sundays we would go to church in the little white clapboard church, with paneling and pews crafted from local wood, and a real bell in the steeple that is still rung by hand before every service.
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| Daughter Elaine and her husband Carlos. | |
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My life has changed so much
since those days. I lived outside of Chicago for almost 15 years, and am now living in Houston. I've married (twice--the second one took--22 years and counting), had two kids (a girl and a boy twelve years apart!), changed careers and hairstyles too often to count. But my roots are still there. It's who I am and who I aspire to be. Like Scarlett and Dolly, I want to be brave in the face of struggles, creative when "making do" is required and even when it's not, loyal to my family and friends even though they drive me crazy, and faithful to Jesus who loves me in spite of my failings. Above all, I want to do it with flair--even if that means a crazy hat or two, a tattoo that the world can see, and something in a leopard print that's not too tight.
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| Son Dylan-Thomas --Don't that innocent face fool you! |
Join me if you like, and I will share some stories, recipes, crafts, some thoughts on faith, feminism, and fashion, maybe some politics if I can keep it toned down, and Dylan stories. God bless him, I've got loads of Dylan stories!!
See ya'll soon.
