Happy Anniversary to Me (and Sarah!) Thursday, May 31 2007

When you’ve been married thirty years, you ought to do something special, like get away with the one you love for a few days at a beachside condo. This is the couple of us, celebrating our anniversary this past week at just such a place–Navarre Beach, Florida, to be exact–along the northern Gulf Coast known for the sugar-white dunes and beaches. We brought the high school graduate and one of her buddies along to make it partly a senior trip, too.

So bring on the long, hot summer. We’re vacated and recreated!

More blogs on this and related subjects later, perhaps.

One Response »

 

Copperhead, Be damned! Sunday, May 27 2007

Since four years ago when we went through two Copperhead snakebite episodes within three weeks with our Rat Terrier, I have not felt comfortable with the snake situation in this edge-of-town subdivision where we live.

The reason for that discomfort was confirmed this afternoon late when I went to gather up some scraps of lumber left over for the trash pile from my house repairs (I’m painting and refreshing.)  When I gathered up the pile of one-by-two’s, along the front sidewalk leading by the garage to the front door, lo and behold, curled up underneath in hideout was a juvenile Copperhead–about a foot long, maybe, but not much more.

He/she (whatever) wasn’t happy to be uncovered, but the very scrap one-by-two pieces I was gathering made good weapons, and in short order, the devil had a fatal headache.

I am glad I found the beast and killed  it before one of the dogs might have found it (or its cousin), but I’m still disturbed that those devils are still so common in our neighborhood.  Seems they should be relegated to the woods or somewhere appropriately isolated and primitive.   We live in town!

One Response »

 

A Dump Truck “Afar” Thursday, May 24 2007

If you’ve never seen a dump truck burning on the roadside, feast your eyes! My brother got this fascinating shot today of a dump truck on fire alongside the Interstate 12 in St. Tammany Parish. Having nothing else to blog, I decided, “Why not a dump truck “afar?”

Come to think of it, I’ve never in all my born days of nearly 55 years on the face of the earth ever seen a dump truck on fire. This scene is unique to my experience. Had I been there in person, as Nathan my brother was, this scene would have added to my experience in reality. But through the picture, I can experience the phenomenon vicariously!

Thus, o’ dumptruck, in praise of the vicarious, I thee post!

(Would somebody please call the St. Tammany Parish Fire Department?)

2 Responses »

 

The Graduate Tuesday, May 22 2007

The high school principal called this morning to let me know that a candid shot of our high school graduate from last Friday night made it in the Opelousas Daily World’s Eunice High School graduation photo gallery.  That’s just too easy to blog.  Ann’s right in the middle on the front row.   To her left is softball teammate Gretchen. 

This graduation is the first ceremony I noted where the graduates were seated according to height–tallest in back, shortest in front–rather than alphabetically.   Since the diplomas they give them are blank dummy sheets of paper rolled up with a ribbon around it,  the only things that matters is having the seating charts filled out accurately for the name caller to announce each graduate as she walks across the stage.  New ways of doing things– Who knows what they’ll think of next?

One Response »

 

Logos Thursday, May 17 2007

Logos
By David L. Pulling
1994

Logos
with God,
knowing God,
being God,
creating all things
in the beginning
when there was nothing
in the beginning when
I wasn’t.
After the beginning,
before the end,
in the middle
I am
with a head full of Logos.
My hope is in Logos
because Logos is lifelight
shining in darkness
after the beginning
before the end
in the middle
where I am.

One Response »

 

The Family Get-Together Sunday, May 13 2007

Here we are, the family gathering at my house in Eunice, celebrating Mother’s Day and granddaughter’s graduation.    The rest of the crowd traveled from various parts of extreme Southeast Louisiana.  We got together Saturday before Mother’s Day (and the week before graduation) because the date worked best for most of these folks.

Yes, these are the people of whom we’re made and the occasions for which we’re made.

Thanks be to God!

One Response »

 

The finality of finals: C’est fini! Monday, May 7 2007

Congratulations to me on grading all of my final exams from two sections of English 1001 before bedtime on the night the papers were due!
What a feat of grading!
What good essays the students wrote!
What a relief!
(To them and to me.)
What peace of mind!
(For them and for me.)

Now what will I find to do with myself between now and summer school?

No more Blackboard postings,
No more stacks of papers patiently waiting to be graded until the eleventh hour,
No more emailed questions about what to do after “the dog peed on my essay.”

Maybe I’ll blog more!
(Ever heard of that Louisiana community in Catahoula Parish called “Frogmore?” I’ll rename Eunice “Blogmore!”)
Maybe I’ll be a better Daddy and husband!
Maybe I’ll grow a garden!
Maybe I’ll take up a hobby!

Ah, sweet release! May the next three weeks until summer school pass real slooooooooooooooooooooowly!

And then comes hurricane season!

One Response »

 

The Little Ballerina Friday, May 4 2007

The little ballerina on the left directly facing the camera at ballet dress rehearsal at the Civic Center in Panama City Beach, Florida, is my great niece Ashley Moffett.  (Or is that grand niece?  Anyway, even though I’m not old enough yet to have grandkids, I do have a passel of grand nephews and nieces.)

Now where did this child get the genes for ballet?  (Certainly not from anything connected to this old uncle!  If he were out there on that floor, folks would call the show Mary “Poopins” instead of Mary Poppins.

But anyway, it’s refreshing to see the younger branch of the family adding to the family lore with such gentility and grace. 

Hey, Ashley–You go, girl!

One Response »

 

Au Blue Moon Saloon (Or, it pays to arrive early!) Wednesday, May 2 2007

Au Blue Moon Saloon (Or, It Pays to Arrive Early)
By David Pulling
May 2007
I met some of my Writing Project team leaders for our monthly meeting this afternoon at the Blue Moon Saloon (the “coolest sleep in town”) in Lafayette, LA.  The place is not as much a saloon as it is a wayfarer’s inn with a strong Cajun French motif.  It’s situated near the University of Louisiana-Lafayette (L’universite de Cajuns) and seems to cater to the university types.  It’s nothing more than a rambling, rustic frame house—cerca 1920’s—with appending yards and courtyards adapted to hospitable purposes.  But since I arrived early, I sat on the front porch and just kind of drank in the atmosphere of this quaint residential ‘hood.  The setting inspired me to play around with some French verse, so here’s how it happened.  (Excuse the missing French phonetic and linguistic marks unfamiliar to the American keyboard!  Also, this piece expresses a few Cajunisms that may be a little strange to standard French speakers.)

J’ai arrive de bonheur,
Je m’assis sur le gallerie –
“Qu’il fait beaucoup jolie
Cet après-midi
Ici
Au Blue Moon Saloon”
(a Lafayette).
J’espere mes amis
Pour se rejoindre
Et jongler
Et discuter
Et bavarder
Et conduire le beezneese.
Mais ce qu’est le plus important
A ce moment?
C’est qu’il fait beaucoup beau!
Dans l’apres midi,
Dan le printemps,
En Louisiane
Au Blue Moon Saloon.
Ah, mais oui, cher, c’est bon d’arriver de bonne heure!

One Response »