Louisiana Stories

  It’s my favorite road in the world. We call it the Longville Gravel Pit Road. Folks in Longville know it as the Dry Creek Road. It’s a rough eleven mile track that connects Highway 113 and US 171. There’s so many reasons why this road is special to me. Below are several:   It’s a wildlife road:   I …

Corporal Howard Vidrine When I came to work at Dry Creek as a thirteen-year-old, one of the first people I met was Howard Vidrine. He served as the camp night watchman during my early years at camp. “Bro. Vidrine,” as we called him, lived in the Evangeline Parish town of Reddell, which is next door to the unique village of …

It’s amazing that my deepest image of Easter doesn’t come from a memorable sermon, movie, or a book. My Easter theology was shaped by a simple country woman married to a former Texas Ranger.  Her name was Lucille Mosley and she lived on Greentown Loop in Dry Creek. This is her story.     The Tomb is Still Empty From …

Today is February 7, 2016.  It’s Game Day. Super Bowl 50, and we’ll  make another string of pearls. Memories. We’re in a season of making memories. And there’s no more important people to make memories with than grandchildren. How do I know? I simply go back to Super Bowl I. I watched it with my grandfather and my dad. In …

Up to the Task I watch him run around the yard with his cousins. I have one thought: this isn’t fair. Rylan is a precocious tow-headed five-year-old. He is precocious. That’s just a fancy word for full of life. He is precious. That’s special.   Rylan has seen a great deal in his young life. He lost his father through …

East Beauregard Trojans seniors of 2007.  Back L to R:  Michael Maddox, Richie McKay, Terry Iles,  Front   Brady Glaser, Kyle Burk, Tyler Adams        They’ll bury Michael Maddox this morning.  He’ll be wearing his Atlanta Braves cap and shirt. It’s fitting. It may seem shallow talking about baseball when a young man has died. But baseball was …

“The historian tells what happened. The novelist tells how it felt.” -E.L. Doctorow     As many of you know, I’m in the midst of writing our fourth novel, As the Crow Flies. It’s the third book in the Westport Trilogy (the first books are The Wayfaring Stranger and A Good Place). Crow is currently in its third draft weighing …

    Losing a dog, leaving a cap It may not seem like a big thing. But to me it was. Dee and I had spent three years without a dog. It’s the only time in our marriage we didn’t own at least one dog. Or to put it better: the only time a dog didn’t own us. Africa is …

We’re deep into the second draft of our latest novel, As the Crow Flies. I need your help in fleshing out some of the characters, scenes, and storyline. Join our Creekbank Tribe by sharing ideas at the end of this post. Thanks in advance! Today, you’ll meet the narrator of the book, a spunky teen named Missouri. Curt Opening line …

Bo Rein to become next LSU Football Coach The Associated Press has reported that Bo Rein, current North Carolina State coach, has been picked to head up LSU’s Football Program. The LSU Athletic Department has neither confirmed or denied the report. If hired, Rein would replace long-time LSU Coach . . .   Before you get rattled, this is a …

The East Beauregard Trojans head to Oak Grove, Louisiana tonight for the state football quarterfinals.   In honor of the team, and my brother-in-law Coach Gordy Glaser, I’m dedicating this song to the Trojans:  Tony Joe White’s “Saturday Night in Oak Grove, Louisiana.” It’s one of my favorite tunes from Louisiana blues/folk singer Tony Joe White, who is a native …

Turkey Pinecones and cornbread dressing Last week I ate twice at school cafeterias. It was Thanksgiving lunch and we grandparents were invited. I don’t miss a grandchild event if I can help it. One day was with our adopted (truly) African-American granddaughter, Daizy Mae Thomas. The next day was with Luke Iles, aka Chief Wampum. Both meals featured turkey, cornbread …

    Wow. The Life Long Learning journey is the road I want to be on. I call it LLL. Will you pray that DeDe and I will hunger and thirst for learning more? More about God. More above living life. More about how to serve.       This is part of my current reading list. Soul Keeping.  I’m …

Ignore that fancy word. Juxtapositon. It simply means comparing and contrasting. How is an orange like an apple?  How is it different. It’s a big part of how my mind works as I take three steps daily: Being curious Being Amazed. Being Moved to tell a story.     Many times my stories are about these amazing things and how they …