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The Big Fix premieres this Friday as part of the New Orleans Film Festival. This documentary film details the massive government cover-up which has taken place in the wake of the BP oil spill. There will be a press conference … Continue reading
Daisy Pignetti* is participating on a panel at the Oxford Internet Institute symposium at Oxford University in England and is presenting her paper “Blogging the Unfinished Story in post-Katrina New Orleans” on Friday. Her paper features my writing from my … Continue reading
For the first time in over a month hubby and I had a Saturday where we could do some hiking and picture taking. It was a wonderful release.
A place that’s been on our”gotta visit” list is the Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in Lacombe, just 15 minutes from our house.
Upon entering the site, you’re drawn to the landscaping. The attention to detail is apparent and it reaches back over 200 years.
This site is rich in history and beauty. The August heat appeared to be too much to handle, but it really wasn’t at this site because of the abundance of trees. We arrived at 10 AM and were done by noon.
Here is a brief rundown of the history of this paradise in Lacombe, taken from one of the info boards:
Likely a portion of French or Spanish Land Grant during the Colonial Era, the earliest known owner was Louis Reggio prior to 1820. The property changed hands a number of times later that century, with the Cousin and Ducre names common today in the Lacombe area among the owners during this period into the 20th century.
The land was acquired in 1935 by Judge Wayne Borah (the youngest Federal Judge in the country at the time), who built a residence.
This structure is a Chimney Swift Tower
He and his family did extensive landscaping, laying out the foundation which is known today as the “Bayou Gardens” of Lacombe.
In 1946 the home and gardens were acquired by former (crooked) Louisiana Governor Richard Leche, who settled into the lush surroundings with his family and continued the cultivation of the Bayou Gardens.
In 1956 the land was acquired by the Redemptorist religious order and in 1960 the Holy Redeemer Seminary opened. The seminary closed in 1980, but members of the order continued to live at the site, holding religious retreats. And apparently, a cemetery was established for the priests that stayed until the end of their lives.
The rear of the residence gives way to a great lawn that faces Bayou Lacombe
This site is loaded with walking trails, as shown in the map below
There are walking trails off to each side of the great lawn that are easy to maneuver and full of small surprises if you look for them
A trail that begins at the parking lot of the Refuge leads down to a grotto
which leads to a rudimentary brick staircase:
Made with local bricks
This same trail will also bring you to a lovely little area to sit and ponder the beauty of Bayou Lacombe
If you walk it a little while longer, it brings you to another pensive sight overlooking a pond.
The visitor center is huge and loaded with information and displays.
This little girl was killed by a car in Bayou Teche and her remains were saved and brought to the headquarters
The Headquarters represents the eight of Southeast Louisiana (SELA) Refuges:
Atchafalaya (prounounced A-Cha-FaH-lie-ya)
Bayou Sauvage (through which I traverse on my daily commute)
Bayou Teche (prounounced Tesh)
Big Branch Marsh (in our backyard)
Bogue Chitto (prounounced Boog gah Chitta)
Breton – close to my heart because it’s a bird refuge
Delta National Wildlife Refuge
Mandalay – only accessible by boat, near Houma, Louisiana.
A visit to the Bayou Lacombe Center is a win-win situation any time of the year. Besides all of the hiking trails, the kids would love the Visitors Center for the displays (lots of interactive stuff there too). The best part is that admission is FREE!! You can get to the Bayou Lacombe Center by taking exit 74 on I-12. Staffed by volunteers, the visitor center is open Thursdays-Saturdays from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Volunteers are needed to help run the visitor center. Please contact the volunteer coordinator at 985-882-2024.
I had a dream last night that bats had infested my house. They were hanging from the ceiling and flying around freaking out my pets while I was trying to call my husband (who was MIA) on the phone and I, of course, was having all sorts of strange, obnoxious trouble making the call as is the norm in an anxiety dream.
Then on the noon news I saw this:
(Click to see the video.)
Which all brought up thoughts of the three years I worked in an old building on the NOAH campus with mold growing all over the ceilings and walls, toilets that flushed up (that was special) and rats jumping out at unsuspecting co-workers. It amazed me that humans were expected to work under these conditions and, in fact, still do. Neither adults nor children should be subjected to such third world conditions and be expected to keep their mouths shut. The advantage these kids had in protesting their situation over the adults working in that building is that the kids don’t have to worry about retribution for speaking out. Fear of retribution will make one keep one’s mouth shut about substandard conditions when one has a family to support and bills to pay. The sad thing is, I suspect the same thing will be done at McDonogh 35 that was done at NOAH. Nothing.
Anyway, I think all this bat business and speaking out is due to the Leo full moon tonight urging us to say what needs to be said, according to Lynda Hill. (Thanks to Tammy Vitale for the link.)
“All in all, this full Moon seems to be pushing us to move, change, speak up and lay things on the line. A strong challenge is presented here between the old and the new on many levels. It’s a powerful time with all that’s going on in the world right now.”
Isn’t that the truth.
If you’re like me, you’re probably asking yourself “What is the Peace by Piece Nonviolence Youth Group?” When I received an email about this event from the Katrina Warriors Yahoo Group and read it I had to know more. After all, these kids are representing our state this summer in South Africa as Young Ambassadors for Nonviolence and will be coming back to teach non-violent techniques and skills in New Orleans schools and communities. I wanted to know more so I emailed the group organizer, Ahmane’ Glover, and she was kind enough to send me all kinds of information which I’m going to share with you here. But before I cut and paste the info (rather than trying to reword it all which wouldn’t be nearly as effective) I want to put this little bug in your ear:
The group needs to raise $1800.00 to cover to the cost of travel for 3 students and 1 chaperone. You can be a part of this by making a donation on their webpage, Peace By Piece In Action. This is the season for giving and what better way to show confidence in New Orleans’ youth than by contributing to this effort.
The students were selected based on the following criteria to participate in the “Young Ambassadors for Nonviolence” delegation from the United States to South Africa.:
The Young Ambassadors will join other high school students around the USA in the study of the struggle from Apartheid to Democracy. Ambassadors will participate in student forums in Johannesburg, Soweto, Durban and Cape Town South Africa.
New Orleans Delegation Student Profiles:
All three of these youth are working with AFSC as Nonviolence Leaders that train middle school and high school students on MLK’s principles of nonviolence using poems, skits, songs, dancing and much more. They are currently working in SciTech Middle School and St. Rita School in New Orleans.
Domonique Triggs (Male, 17)
1. Attends New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School and has a 3.5 GPA.
2. Wants to go to college to study biology pre-med and become an anesthesiologist.
3. At school he is the manager of the robotics team and is the treasurer of the school’s student government.
4. He is a member of The New Orleans Overcomers- a group of high school aged community organizers that formed after Hurricane Katrina. He has been a youth organizer for 3 years.
5. Wants to help other young men change their lives with nonviolence.
6. He believes that, “My life of nonviolence started because my brother was a local drug dealer ever since he was 16 years old. When I was young the only thing that I wanted was to be just like my oldest brother. Now I promised myself that I would never turn to drugs or violence for anything. ”
Rose Gilliam (Female, 18)
1. Recently graduated from New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School.
2. Wants to be a pediatric surgeon. Will attend Delgado Community College and study biology in Spring 2011.
3. Violence was the only relief she found before turning to nonviolence.
4. She is a youth poet that has been a member of a spoken word group called “Creative Forces.” She enjoys singing and using her talents to tell her story.
5. She is a member of The New Orleans Overcomers- a group of high school aged community organizers that formed after Hurricane Katrina.
6. She believes that, “Nonviolence plays a major part in my life because before turning to nonviolence my life was headed down the wrong path.”
Briana O’Neal (Female, 20)
1. She has just won “Youth Change Maker Award” from Operation REACH on Oct. 16, 2010.
2. She is a member of FYRE Youth Squad and Young Adults Striving for Success (YASS).
3. Delivers speeches about the inequities of life in New Orleans.
4. She has been in trouble in the pass for fighting and having a violent lifestyle.
5. She believes that, “Living in the city of New Orleans, that rates number 3 in the highest number of murder rates, we must educate our peers about nonviolence. I hope that one day our city can reach its’ full potential where every young person will have the chance to live past their eighteenth birthday, graduate from high school on time and where most of the jail cells will be empty of our youth and closed for good. “
Ahmane’ Glover (Female, 24) Group Organizer & Trip Chaperone
1. She is a community activist with the American Friends Service Committee, a human rights non-profit, working with the youth peace building program.
2. She graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a B.A. in Communications. She received a community service and academic scholarship.
3. She believes that, “after my cousin was murdered for his jacket and my best friend’s brother was murdered for less than $30, the fight for the lives of our youth became real to me. Nonviolence is a saving grace and it transforms lives.”
Cocktails For A Cause is the first of 10 planned events leading up to the South Africa trip. Watch this space for continuing information.
“Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”
~~~Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Stockholm, Sweden, December 11, 1964.
I’m doing a 10K in 10 days.
If you know me well, I suspect you may have just fallen out of your chair. I apologize. Let me clarify: I’ve been training for a 10K which will happen in 10 days.
If you’ve known me for a few years, you’ll not be surprised at why I’m doing this. I’m signed up for the Crescent City Classic, a run/walk through the streets of New Orleans, to support Abeona House — the much-loved non-profit Reggio Emilia-inspired early childhood education center that my husband, Paul, and I helped open almost 4 years ago.
When our childcare center did not open after Katrina-related damages and weeks of closure forced it to fold, together, with other working parents, we founded a pre-school. Opening in September 2006, Abeona House was the first new school to open after Katrina.
I tried to go through my old blog posts and find some to mention here to show how special Abeona is — not only to us, and not only to all of the families, teachers, and children within — but to the community around it.
I had volumes to choose from… you could start at the beginning and read some of the logistics of opening and sustaining. Like about that darn ramp we had to build (written by Paul) or when we finally got the 501c3 or the day we got the sign or teacher appreciation or about walks to the levee.
You could find the letter that we put in our holiday cards in 2007 or the article in the local paper. You could see how we came together in tragedy. And then how excited we were when Starbucks employees flew in from Seattle to lead a hand.
You could watch the fun in the kids’ exploration of Oak Street through tricks-or-treats or a visiting a senior center or riding the streetcar to the zoo. You could see how Abeona teaches kids to give back. And sets the example.
You could laugh at pictures from our first annual Krewe of Abeona Mardi Gras parade down Oak Street — or the second annual parade when our son was king.
You could go elsewhere, too. Founding families wrote about their experiences here and here. (Both are wonderfully written.) A new family writes about Abeona here.
But no matter where you learn about our school, I hope that you’ll support us.
I’m asking everyone I know for $5.
I’m at about $300 right now in my fundraising (enough to send a teacher to a professional development training!) and I’d like to see this grow. It’s as easy as can be… just visit the Abeona House website and click on the “donate” button. Sure, we’d love you to give whatever you can, but I know times are tight so I’m asking for 5.
Abeona House is a wonderful organization worthy of donation — but even so, I consider your donations to be equally supportive of me, personally.
If you do, please let me know so that I can send a personal thank-you. (You can make a note that it’s to support me — Holly — in the Reggio Run when you donate online!) THANK YOU!!
THE DINERRAL SHAVERS EDUCATIONAL FUND Presents
2nd Annual Scholarship Essay Contest
For All New Orleans High School Students
Start Date- December 1, 2009
Deadline Date- December 28, 2009
Essay Topic: “If you were elected as Mayor of New Orleans what would be your priorities your 1st week in office? What would you do to aid in the rebuilding of the city?”
Essays must be 250- 500 words typed and mailed to P.O. Box 6832 New Orleans, La 70174
1st Prize $500
2nd Prize $250
3rd Prize $100
~~~
One week left to enter!
