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Back on April 11, as LSU baseball euphoria was building, I wrote this warning: “Baseball is a funny game — it can lift you up and then break your heart.” Sometimes the truth hurts … Jackie’s game Speaking of baseball, George Lacour, of New Roads, was one of several folks …
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Back on April 11, as LSU baseball euphoria was building, I wrote this warning: “Baseball is a funny game — it can lift you up and then break your heart.” Sometimes the truth hurts … Speaking of baseball, George Lacour, of New Roads, was one of several … Continue reading →
In 1959, Gov. Earl K. Long gave a sometimes incoherent speech about race in the Louisiana Legislature. He was criticizing the efforts of state Sen. Willie Rainach, a Claiborne Parish Democrat, to purge voter registration rolls of black people. Long’s family used the speech to stick him in a Mandeville mental hospital. From the … Continue reading →
Opinions may vary on whether age really brings wisdom, although the proposition does seem to make more sense as the years go by. Not enough legislators agree, however, to pass a constitutional amendment scrapping mandatory retirement for judges when they reach 70. The Senate was in favor, with only two dissents, but the House put … Continue reading →
Qualifying for New Orleans’ municipal offices is less than six months away, but the average voter wouldn’t necessarily be able to tell by what he or she is hearing. Sure, names are being floated and waters are being tested, but despite the big electoral prizes up for grabs Feb. 1, many contests have yet to develop. At … Continue reading →
When I started school in the mid-1950s the accents of my classmates and teachers seemed strange. The prayers that came over the intercom each morning were as foreign as some of the food in the cafeteria. Though only about 60 miles from Baton Rouge, where I was born, parts of living in Labadieville were … Continue reading →
As another Father’s Day arrives, I’ve been thinking about my friend Marvin Berteau, of Ponchatoula, who died last month at age 87. Marvin, a retired office manager for an auto parts store, was a smart man who was curious about many things, including philosophy and law, literature and politics, history and baseball. “To a great extent, … Continue reading →
If the issue of red snapper and the recreational fisherman has sparked something near anarchy across the five Gulf States, then the continued raid on the Louisiana Artificial Reef Fund is that same issue on the state level. The background here is that Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration put enough pressure on the … Continue reading →
Lucy Danziger, editor-in-chief of SELF Magazine, along with Beth Janes and the magazine’s editors, has written a cooking companion to last year’s “The Drop 10 Diet,” which featured a five-week diet plan. Didn’t get the earlier book? Don’t worry. The introduction to “The Drop 10 Diet Cookbook: More Than 100 Tasty, Easy Superfood … Continue reading →
U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, predicted a win before the game and then promptly backed up his words with a pitching shutout to yet again star in the annual Congressional Baseball Game. The Democrats beat the Republicans for the fourth straight year and did so in overwhelming fashion with a 22-0 victory — the … Continue reading →
You’re walking down the street in a downtown shopping area and you come upon someone who claims to be homeless. (You never really know.) What do you do? A. Look away as if they are invisible? B. Look and shake your head? C. Walk clear of them? D. Nervously … Continue reading →
Downtown Baton Rouge was buzzing the night of June 8 as several hundred partygoers turned out for the Capitol Park Museum’s annual fundraiser. It was one of several fun events both here and in New Orleans that filled my social calendar last week. “Night at the Museum” … Continue reading →
If your Bible reading is a bit stale, add some strawberry. Or watermelon. Or grape. Or a list of the “Fruits of the Spirit.” Zondervan combined its popular New International Version of the Bible with art inspired by Galatians 5:22-23: “The fruit of the Spirit … Continue reading →
A.V. is a VIP. Baton Rouge’s Michael “A.V.” Mitchell is using his speaking talents and rising notoriety as a musican to share his faith, particularily among young people. Mitchell, 30, said he has overcome various challenges — including coming from a single-parent home and the influences of difficult neighborhoods — to become a college graduate, motivational … Continue reading →
On Thursday, we officially begin the summer season, while in the Southern Hemisphere and Australia, winter begins. The Climate Information Service at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne reported the climatological results of summer, which runs from December through February. Sydney and Hobart set daily heat records with an average daytime high of 85 degrees. … Continue reading →
Newspaper columnists don’t retire. We “leave the paper.” That makes retirement conform to our dramatic and romantic natures. This is my last column in the People section. I’m retiring Friday. Deciding to retire was the easiest decision I’ve ever made. It felt right. After 41 years at The Advocate, I awoke one morning and … Continue reading →