History that should NOT be forgotten

Another Trailhead for the Tammany Trace

Seventeen years after its first segment was opened, the Tammany Trace continues to evolve.

A handful of St. Tammany Parish officials gathered in the stifling late-morning heat Monday to mark the latest amenity on the iconic recreational trail that cuts across the parish: the new trailhead at Bayou Lacombe.

The trailhead, which features public restrooms, water fountains and a platform to view the bayou and surrounding marsh, also includes a new bridge tender's office. The office is staffed from sunrise to sunset seven days a week with a Tammany Trace employee who raises and lowers the drawbridge for marine traffic on Bayou Lacombe. The bridge stays in the up position overnight.

The new trailhead, just a block or so west of South Oaklawn Drive, cost $255,657 and was completed in July. It was built by McDonald Construction of Slidell.

The state Department of Transportation and Development covered 90 percent of the cost through a grant. The parish footed the other 10 percent.

The trailhead will provide another location "where citizens can rest and view the beauty of our parish," St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis said before snipping the ceremonial ribbon.

Davis said the new trailhead is part of the continuous growth of the Tammany Trace, which opened its first 8.5-mile segment between Mandeville and Abita Springs 17 years ago.

"It will continue to change," Davis said of the trace, which last year had more than 300,000 runners, walkers and horseback riders. "We have big dreams of inter-connecting to a lot of locations."

Davis said the parish has cobbled money from a variety of sources -- including grants, franchise fees and funds raised by the Tammany Trace Foundation -- to underwrite the improvements. He said routine maintenance of the asphalt trail is handled by the parish's Public Works Department.

The next phase of the trace will be connecting the Slidell trailhead to Camp Salmen and to Heritage Park. Those phases should open soon, Davis said, completing the 31-mile trace that stretches from Slidell to Mandeville and then north through Abita Springs and into downtown Covington.

For more information, visit the Tammany Trace's website at www.tammanytrace.org.

 

This is your life!

Louisiana's Natural and Political History

Less than a mile down the road from Fountainbleu State Park toward Mandeville is the Northlake Nature Center , a four-hundred acre park that is absolutely beautiful.

(click on the pictures below to see the full sized version)




This park offers the opportunity to witness four different ecosystems AND a first hand look at an historic example of crooked Louisiana politicians. A recent archaeological survey revealed the Center site as home to ancient peoples more than 500 years ago.

At the end of the initial boardwalk, you will come to an unfinished "hideaway" club house



As stated in the photo below, this exclusive hideaway golf course initially was the idea of Louisiana Governor Leche in the late 1930's for his political cronies. This governor has the unique distinction of being the first Louisiana governor sentenced to prison.




Leche and several of his political pasls were indicted in what were termed the "Louisiana Scandals"



The hideaway was destroyed by fire in March 2010 and is not accessible. However, hubby and I took a trip into the park before the fire and got some of the following shots.








Beyond this piece of history is lush, serene swampland and forest.


There are several trails to choose from, all of them pretty primitive, so be prepared to watch where you step!





The boardwalk crosses what is purported to be an active beaver pond



But on this day we only spotted friendly turtles


Lots of turtles!


There are several benches along the boardwalks and paths through the woods.






This area seems to be where they hold nature seminars and is probably used for the annual Great Louisiana Birdfest that happens here.



We spotted this cypress at the edge of the pond.


Notice how the lower branches are bent down as a result of Katrina's winds.


There are several overlooks constructed throughout the park where you can take in all that this little environmental gem has to offer.





These pictures were taken in February of this year, thus the reason that everything looks muted. If August weren't so darned steamy, I'd love to be out there right now with my camera.


This photo whispers about the circle of life to me. You can see the victims of Katrina being used to nourish the new growth.


Amidst all that gray stood this proud little tree, all decked out in new green leaves.





Throughout the park are bridges which cross Bayou Castine







I'm not an avid hiker, but I managed to walk around the park for several hours and didn't feel the least bit tired (with the exception of my bursitis, but that's a sign of my age :) ).

If you ever want to get away from it all and just listen to the sounds of the woods and waterways, make your way to the Nothlake Nature Center to unwind.

Danziger Trial Ends

5 NOPD officers guilty in post-Katrina Danziger Bridge shootings, cover-up


Danziger victims James Brissette and Ronald Madison


Justice. Not for Lance Madison's brother: Police chased down Ronald and Lance Madison, who had been walking toward the Gentilly side of the bridge, a ways ahead of the Bartholomew family. Hearing the gunfire, the Madisons began to run. Ronald Madison, 40, was injured. Eventually, Faulcon killed him with a shotgun blast to the back as he ran away.

Lance Madison, who was unhurt, was arrested and accused of firing a weapon at police.


I can understand that they weren't convicted of murder, but the fact that these cops acted like they did is - in my opinion - unexcusable. But at least they were convicted on other charges.

To refresh your memory on what went down on September 4, 2005, click here.

Let Them Talk

On my predawn commute through the swamps and bayous of Southeast Louisiana I chose to listen to one of my newest acquisitions,
the Hugh Laurie CD entitled "Let Them Talk".

Hugh Laurie is the star of the TV show, "House", one of the few programs I
enjoy watching.

Some recordings were done in NOLA at Piety Street Recording .
Guest appearances include Irma Thomas, Doctor John and Tom Jones. Allen Toussaint conducted and arranged the horns.

While his voice is not spectacular, it grows on you. Also, Hugh Laurie is a hell of a piano player.

I found this CD the perfect companion for driving through a steamy August morning. The selections made me feel like August, if you get my drift.


I am no music critic, but I know what I like. I love this CD. Some of selections that stand out are : St. James Infirmary, After You've Gone (featuring Doctor John),
Swanee River (great boogie woogie piano and fiddle) and Police Dog Blues.

ALL of the guitar work is fantastic. Kudos to Kevin Breit and Greg Leisz.
Here are the rest of the tracks:



You can get more info here. Enjoy

Why New Orleans Matters

Please follow this link and watch the video.

The link is to Foxessa's blog and the video depicts how the grief stricken country of Norway and how they borrowed from NOLA's jazz funeral traditions to cope with the death of so many last week.

Another loss for America

I'd like to preface this post by saying that I am not a big fan
of the President. I voted for him, yes. But he has disappointed me
in many ways since he has taken office.

Where is this country going? I am sickened to my soul by the countless
"unintended faux pas" made by politicians regarding the President.

The latest supposed "misspeak" was commited by Colorado Congressman Doug Lamborn on live radio:




LAMBORN: Even if some people say ‘well, the Republicans should have done this, or should have done that,’ they will hold the President responsible. Now, I don’t even want to be associated with him, it’s like touching a, a tar baby and you get it…you know you’re stuck and you’re part of the problem and you can’t get away.



This goes beyond simple criticism. This stinks of whiny little racist babies complaining because they cannot steamroll their way through
the supposed process to run this country in the fashion that it was meant to be run according to the constitutional process.

The horrific hatred has been
simmering since Obama began his bid for the White House.

And it's not just Republicans. Here is
an instance where Harry Reid shows his ignorance.

Even in the somewhat liberal state of California people
are stooping to new lows in public, showing how low and base they can be. I find it nauseating.

True, America is a wonderful place to live because of our freedom of speech but there has got to be limits, especially
by public servants. It saddens me that America has fallen so low in the area of respect for one another.

Debt Ceiling Crisis Song

Scuzzbucket of the Week

Billy Joe Madden of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

This useless waste of oxygen drunk son of a b got so drunk while driving from Hattiesburg to Dallas that he passed out and somehow his 8 year old child was driving the pickup truck.

from msnbc.com:

State police said they received a call shortly after 6:30 a.m. Saturday about a green Chevrolet pickup truck driving erratically on the interstate in Livingston Parish. The caller told police that a child appeared to be the driver of the pickup.

Troopers stopped the vehicle, and they said a boy was driving the truck while his father, Billy Joe Madden, 28, of Hattiesburg, Miss., slept in the passenger seat.

Police said that Madden's 4-year-old daughter was riding in the backseat.

After interviewing Madden, troopers said they determined that he was intoxicated and fell asleep while his son drove from Hattiesburg en route toward Dallas.

Both children were turned over to Child Protective Services and are awaiting the arrival of a family member. There were no injuries to the children. Madden was arrested and booked into the Livingston Parish Jail on two counts of Child Desertion, Parent Allowing a Minor to Drive, Open Container, two counts of No Child Restraint and No Seatbelt. Madden’s bond is set at $1,474.00.

Where the hell is the other parent of these children?

Ch-ch-ch-Changes

I woke up today feeling very vulnerable and sad. I really can't pin down the reason for being blue. I guess it has a lot to do with what's going on in my life right now. All the thoughts and repressed emotions have bubbled up and today was the day that they reached the surface of my consciousness.

Don't take this wrong, I'm not writing a "woe is me" post, just airing out these things to try to put them in perspective.

One of the oldest issues I've been carrying around is my impending loss of employment. It's not the losing the job that bothers me as much as losing touch with people I've literally grown up with:



We will soon scatter to different parts of the country, perhaps never to meet again. Social media will help some of us keep connected, which makes it a little easier.

Actually I'm excited about my future. I have absolutley no idea what I'll end up doing and that doesn't really bother me. I've done the corporate things for more than half my life and I am over it!

My beautiful, sweet 23 year old daughter left for her last semester of school today. That makes me melancholy . While I truly enjoy my alone time, I cherish the time that she and I get to spend together. She has grown up smart and strong and I am extremely proud of her.



She will be graduating in December at a Chef/Nutritionist. She and I spend so much time talking about food, exploring grocery stores, creating recipes and eating. I miss her presence.

My husband's 86 year old mother passed away last week and the services were on July 30th. I believe the catalyst for my sadness was the memorial services. While she led a fruitful and long life, I was saddened to see her family suffering emotionally, especially her 90+ year old sisters.

Life is full of changes and we get through them any way we can. We become stronger by surviving the not so good changes. Experience is a fantastic teacher. The good changes in life also mold our character as we go through life. We experienced a good change a few weeks ago when we adopted a puppy. A huge, excitable puppy.



His name is Deuce and he is five months old. 55 pounds. He's part Lab, part Chesepeake Bay Retriever. He drove me to frustrated tears today. See, Deuce had a little sore on his leg so he had to have a the E-cone put over his head. The cone is falling apart because Deuce is such a goofball so he runs into things. I was trying to tape the cone together this morning and it was impossible to do by myself and I lost it. I am not a dog person. While Deuce is extremely smart, he's still just a puppy and I don't know where to start in calming him down. He's fine right now while I'm sitting on the sofa typing. But the minute I get up he starts wagging his tail and wants to jump. Someone tell me WHAT is a way to get a puppy's attention? It's driving me mad! He will sit on command (for a second), but his puppyness makes him have a very, very short attention span.

So yeah, life is full of changes and I'm happy to embrace them. I guess we just have to take some days off and process all the changes and regroup our emotions so we can get through life. That's what I'm doing today and that's why I posted this, it helped! Thanks.