Columns

I recently attended an interesting program about a vanishing community on an island at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico. This island is Isle de Jean Charles, which is probably no more than 20 miles southeast of Houma in Terrebonne Parish. It is named after a Frenchman who first settled there. The presenter of this much appreciated program was Heather Stone, associate professor of the college of Education and Human Development at UL. Professor Stone had an excellent PowerPoint program with plenty of photos of the island community.

What’s inside you influences your perception. A common misconception is that you feel good in response to good things happening. In reality, you will have more favorable experiences when you are happy and content. The following story illustrates the essence of this concept.
Aaron, a 98-year-old man recently lost his wife, Alice. They had been married 70 years and lived independently in their own home. Aaron was legally blind and depended a lot on Alice. Together, they had a rewarding and happy life. After Alice’s passing, Aaron decided to move into an adult care home.

It was not universally popular when five-digit postal ZIP codes went into effect 60 years ago, on July 1, 1963. And that’s probably an understatement.
Newspapers across south Louisiana — and everywhere else — had dutifully run near-identical press releases about what the Post Office people called a “revolutionary new system of improved mail dispatch and delivery.”