Columns

If I had to nominate one sound that epitomized the history of south Louisiana, I would be mightily tempted to suggest the chuff-chuff, chuff-chuff, chuff-chuff-chuff of a steam locomotive leaning into its load as it pulled out of a depot or freight yard.
The railroad opened the prairies to new settlements and brought modern times to old towns, and steam locomotives made it happen. They are inexorably linked with who we are and how we got (sometimes literally) to be where we are. They were the engines of commerce for more than a century.

You have an inner voice which is always speaking to you. Your voice may offer encouragement or it could be disheartening. Not only are you free to choose which one you listen to, you also determine, either consciously or subconsciously, what is being said. So, you decide what your voice says and whether or not to listen to it.

Charles Langlinais, who over decades of public service led the transformation of the quiet village of Broussard into a dynamic city, quite often sought my opinion. Most of the time it was on some version of the question, “Have you absolutely lost your mind?”
He didn’t mince words when he disagreed with you.
Neither did I in the days when we first met. I was still young enough to be absolutely sure that the views I expressed in a regular political column were sound, well-reasoned, astute, and undeniable.