Funny little girl . . .

Church bulletin

We went to Frank's for a great breakfast this fine Sunday. I had the New Orleans French Toast. I have no idea what they use for bread but it was soft yet grilled or fried perfectly and covered with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Delicious - didn't need syrup of any kind. I like it when I find something new to eat. Even God may not know when IHOP will be able to reopen. It doesn't take us long to get to Frank's early on a Sunday morning. When we got home I put a Louisiana Roast in the crock pot and went off to Mass. More and more people are making it back to church. There was a little girl about three years old with a blond couette on the top of her head, just the way Ma used to do our hair when we were little. She was turned around, kneeling on her seat and had a book. She was making sure the book was in proper position for the lady kneeling facing her and the altar so she could show the woman the different words and photos in the book as if she were a teacher reading to her class of little ones. It was perfect and amused all of the people sitting behind them. The church properties are still in flood remediation and this is the last week that the church will serve free lunches as they try to get back into some kind of normal routine. The schooling whether religious or early learning will not start again until the buildings are functional and Livingston Parish starts school around September 12. A few more large restaurants have reopened such as Walk On's which was jam packed for the ignominious LSU loss to the Wisconsin Badgers. Don's Seafood and the Longhorn are also open. Construction is still going on at the newest building at Juban Crossing and also on the medical center near us. It seems that the smells and garbage piles just get larger and stronger each time we go out.

I was taking some photos of a sorry looking sunset last evening when a open air jeep looking vehicle piled with people came driving down the street. They stopped and told me that they just wanted to see what an unflooded neighborhood looked like. They only lived further down on a road off of Juban. About 20 years ago they had looked at our subdivision and almost bought a property here to build their home but went further away. They had never flooded and as they had the highest property in their neighborhood all the neighbors had brought their lawnmowers and parked them in their yard. All flooded. They had two feet of water in their home. They also explained how many air boats were launched off of the flooded lower part of Juban to rescue people who had never seen water in their yards before. My impression was that they did have flood insurance because the man explained that Louisiana means water! He also said that the builders were already gouging people. I find it so hard to drive anywhere near here and see all of the putrid piles along the roads. Even when the huge dumpsters and grappling hooks get finished with what they are hauling away the land is terrible, torn up and covered with crumpled drywall and smells. Not sure people will be allowed to rebuild their homes because of the regulations that say that after a flood your home must be built a foot higher up than where the flood waters damaged your home - or some such regulation. There may be a lot of tearing down of homes or homes left to rot. Government does not seem to have any clue about what needs to be done immediately and quickly. Red tape is holding up much of the drying out and rebuilding.

Quote:  Defer not time; delays have dangerous ends.    ____Shakespeare