So . . . this is exciting news . . .

Not much going on at South Park this past week!

The Early Learning Center is finally opening tomorrow! That means I can go back to helping out with the preschoolers Thursday's and Friday's. I'm thrilled because it's more than difficult to get people down here to let a new person do anything! I was speaking to a southern friend and she said that you must know someone to get in to anything here in Louisiana. It's who you know not what you know and she is right about that. I can't believe how insular and narrow minded many people serving the public are - this southern hospitality is for show, I think! But whatever the case may be I did know someone and managed to be accepted at least in the preschool and religious ed classes! Wow, it's a pretty steep learning hill and I'm definitely still at the bottom. It's a good thing I'm not asking to get paid!

Another really cool thing happened at church - besides the singing. Father said that the parish has given Denham Springs permission to use the south side of the church property to set up an elementary school because right now the kids are being bussed to three different schools for half day classes shared with other schools and it's a nightmare. It will be at least two years before some of the Denham Springs schools will be fully recovered from the great flood of 2016. I am still in shock when I see the damage here. Truly don't know what the new normal will be. We've spoken with so many people who have lost everything, people of all ages and they are exhausted but not completely disgusted with their situations. They keep soldiering on. Of course there are not any great choices - so they simplify and make the best of horrid conditions. There is still so much of peoples' lives sitting on the curbs; it is heartbreaking. Our neighbor still has her Mom, brother, his wife, who is extremely heavy and wheelchair bound and a four year old little boy who pees on the floor if he feels like it and an eight year old girl living with her. Neighbor's husband works for LSU and is off training first responders all over the country for weeks at a time; her daughter is a freshman at LSU and her son is a senior in the LSU high school program. Neighbor does everything for everybody and also works. She is very discouraged but keeps on pushing herself. The brother, wife and kids never washed their towels since they've been there - just let them pile up. I think my patience would be so tried I might resort to throwing them out if they didn't clean their messes. She's such a patient, christian good daughter and sister. I would have lost my cool and thrown them all out. I don't know what their situation is but I think her Mom will now live with her forever and she has no car, it flooded, and smokes!

Not sure why I spilled all that on the blog. It could be that I still can't believe what a disaster means to peoples' lives. They are completely uprooted even if they didn't flood. There are no families who have lived here all their lives who have not been caught in terrible circumstances and living conditions. Many of the people I've met are sharing their homes with up to eight extra people, working full time and fighting bureaucracy to get proper paperwork filled out so they can rebuild, tear down or raise the the homes of the flooded family. It is mind boggling.

Didn't expect to go off on a rant! But there it is. P&D's Pop and I will vote this week. At least that will be done. We had such a pleasant day with his flying buddy and wife this week. They took us to Centreville, MI for lunch at Vine Brothers, renowned for their meats. Southerners do know how to prepare food and every type of wild game imaginable. Daughter-in-law and I will also be heading east to Pass Christian, MI to check out a campground and see if I can win a LSU golf cart! I'm in the drawing. Just a freak card I filled out when we were at Camping World when I picked up my outdoor rocker!

Quote:  Nothing is more disgraceful than insincerity.  ____Cicero