Out and About

Come visit my new blog

2008-05-05T11:10:00.001-05:00

Hi, guys. I have moved my blog to shreveporttimes.com. Click here to come and see it.

Memories are made of this

2008-04-18T11:02:00.004-05:00

Memories are made of this...

Gene Haynes, who once did public relations for what was then Casino Magic — remember when? — sent this.

It is a photo of me interviewing the late singer Robert Goulet. (Gene's back is to the camera and on the other side of me, Ted Files ,who worked with Ron O'Neal in booking the entertainers.)

For a very short time a few years back I covered the casinos for a casino column. It was a great deal of fun and I met several celebrities, including Willie Nelson, B.B. King, the Beach Boys, Vince Gill!

Willie was absolutely one of the nicest. He didn't leave the stage until he walked the length of it shaking hands with every fan standing along the apron. I was also among reporters who did short interviews with Willie on his bus.

B.B. King was sick the night he made an appearance at another casino. But he didn't leave until he had signed an autograph for every fan in the long line.

It was a fun gig.

Thanks, Gene. Thanks for the memories.

Just call Pen Peery a dreamer

2008-04-15T09:25:00.003-05:00

The Rev. Meg McLaughlin of Kansas, and her brother the Rev. Pen Peery

Photo by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

"After living together three months, you are today making Pen an honest man," said the Rev. O. Benjamin Sparks of Richmond, Va., in so many words, when he started the sermon Sunday at First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport.

The comment brought a laugh from the congregation for Sparks spoke at the installation of the Rev. Pen Peery, our new minister at First Pres.

He — with wife Lindsey, son Wells — arrived in February but officially became our minister Sunday at the "Liturgy of Installation."

His sister, the Rev. Meg McLaughlin of Kansas, gave the charge to her brother.

And, she told us things that we did not know.

He is a dreamer, she told us.

"Pen is always envisioning something ... He’s ever-inclined to see that which could be possible.

And because of that, Pen stands in the company of a rich tradition of dreamers.

Think, dear readers, of Joseph in the Old Testament and Joseph in the new. The wise men, and Peter the Apostle were also dreamers.

"So I charge you, Pen Peery, to look for green grass, to see visions, to dream dreams," Meg said.

She charged him to dream dreams about our congregation, the people in it, his family and to see visions of our denomination and God’s Kingdom.

The visions of the denomination would be: "A vision of inclusiveness of all God’s Children. A vision of the body of Christ knit so tightly together that folks wonder what power is so strong to keep people of all ages, colors, classes and political persuasions together in one family."

Wow! Is that a special vision.

Welcome again, Pen. You are official!

Seeing pink

2008-04-10T17:13:00.003-05:00

Eye-catching pillows at Claire Lynn

Modeling visors in A Touch of Italy: Ora Layne Guice (left), Dollie Phillips, me and Carla Hancock

Adam Einsohn is Under Wraps.

Exquisite sterling jewelry fashioned from hand-cut china at China Baroque.

Hal and Gladys Mossberger hold court in Company's Comin' space.

Tatermash attendant shows off some of her wares.

Tatermash sign flies high over the booth.

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Trends & Traditions Chairwoman Jennifer Frierson wanted to see a sea of pink when she walked into the Pink Preview Party Wednesday night.

She was not disappointed.

Starting with her fab pink mini dress with its cutout back and hubby Tannie’s pink check shirt, there was indeed a flood of pink.

Even the vendors followed suit.

For instance, Larry Moyer of Pineapple Patch, McCool, Texas, (Isn’t that a cool town name?) wore a pink and white seersucker shirt.

Rachel Johnson paired high heel pink patent shoes with her tres chic, short black strapless dress, and Rhonda Beauvais, with hubby Ernie in tow, showed off pink toenails with her black and white wrap dress.

Although Minou Olsan was stunning in spring green, she was sipping one of the Pink Party’s Pink Pizzazz cocktails.

Speaking of vendors, I bought a cowboy hat that had the top cut out to be turned into a visor at Lynn Pardini and Cheri Hamilton’s "A Touch of Italy" of Plano, Texas. It was rimmed with turquoise. It is one cute booth peddling long knit shirts adorned with bling, unusual pink leather jackets and Italian charm bracelets and more.

Among others we want to go back to:

1. Beijo staffed by independent sales rep Angela Dore of Lafayette. These are unusually-shaped patent or patent-inspired purses with unusual shapes — one is called "half-moon." I’ve bought two at craft shows in northwest Arkansas and am going to pick up a couple more here. The prices are good.

2. "China Baroque" is a firm featuring sterling jewelry fashioned from hand-cut china brought to you by Christie Gunter and Erica Northcutt of Houston. I coveted the brown English china turned into silver-encased belt buckles, but they are pricey.

3. Claire Lynn’s pillows, with "Drama Queen," "Best Friend," and "Sassy Girl" and other fun labels appliqued on them is worth checking out for great gifts. The company is headquartered in Midlothian, Texas.

4. "Just Ask Designs" being shown by locals Lauri Wallace, Noreen Dockendorf and Vicki Gorham. They hand-string wonderful jewelry and they also have some eye-catching purses.

A few more: Skip 2 My Lou, artist Janet L. Waldrop of Bullard, Texas, creates funky, fun jewelry out of vintage pieces and pins them to vintage photographs, with a story hand-written on back.

The popular "Under Wraps" from Dallas, featuring tulle, raffia and paper is back, and so is "Company's Comin" of Magnolia, Ark., selling dips and soups and other things.

Ms. Annette's & Dave's Vintage Tins owned by Dave and Annette Moore of Wisner, are wall pieces created from old wood and ceiling tins.

Shreveporter Linda McGehee, author of "The Perfect Bag," has an assortment of interesting things, including purses and patterns.

Have you been to Trends & Traditions? Have any fave booths to share with us?

By the way, Trends continues through tomorrow.

Hangin' out at Mabry House

2008-04-09T16:02:00.007-05:00

Flaming Baked Alaska prepared tableside at Mabry House

Paul L. Schuetze celebrates his 67th birthday

Celebrating Billy and Patti Guin's 10th wedding anniversary at the Chef's Table: John Frazier (left) Marti and Jim McMichael, Patti and Billy, Claude and Jan Bookter, Alice Frazier and me.

Ben and Stephanie James toast their second wedding anniversary.

Happy Birthday, Paul, Happy Birthday to you!

So we celebrated Paul’s 67th birthday Friday at The Mabry House.

For dessert, a flaming Baked Alaska prepared tableside! Very dramatic. Very good. (I always judge baked Alaskas by one I had at a French restaurant on the courtyard in Monterrey, Mexico!)

It was a celebratory evening, this Friday at Mabry House. (I’ve posted some pictures that record it.)

At a table back of us, Ben and Stephanie James were toasting their second wedding anniversary.

At the Chef’s Table in the kitchen, Billy and Patti Guin observed their 10th wedding anniversary.

At their table were Jim and Marti McMichael, Claude and Jan Bookter and John and Alice

Frazier.

And, in another room, Minden resident Jane Rogers, surrounded by her family, turned 60. With her: hubby James Rogers and children Dr. Doug and Amy Talley of Shreveport, Matthew and Tafta Rogers of Bossier City and Blake Rogers of Minden. (Doug is our dentist and sent Paul a bottle of wine! Thank you, Doug. It made the evening memorable.)

So people were table hopping and toasting. Even strangers were wishing people "Happy! Happy!"

Where are my keys?

2008-04-07T16:37:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I think I can handle anything and I usually do.

But, when I lock my keys in the car. With the motor running. With my cell phone in it.

Well, I lose it. Or lost it Thursday at the funeral of my good and wonderful friend Hazel Harris.

I was sitting at the end of second pew in Winnfield Funeral Home. beside mutual pal, Caddo School Board member Dottie Bell.

As the service started, I realized that I didn’t have my keys with me.

Out to the parking lot I ran.

That, of course, is when I realized that the keys were in the ignition.

And, to my horror, the car was running. (Thank, God, of course, that the brake was on and Randi, my RAV4, was in park.)

And, I kept thinking that the car would be ruined as it sat there and roared, calmed down, made clicking noises.)

I knew then that I just couldn’t leave the car out in the parking lot. I knew I would be missing Hazel’s funeral. (More about her and our friendship later.)

I went back inside, retrieved my sunglasses, told Dottie what had happened and borrowed her cell phone.

"You cannot leave," said the attendant at the exit door."

I sat back down.

Briefly.

But, remembering that my car was running, I got up again.

"You cannot leave," said the man, this time a little more forcefully.

Well, I abhor violence and I always bow to authority.

However, this time, I considered pushing the man aside or making a run toward the door.

This time, he added: "You cannot leave while Scripture is being read."

Well, I could accept and respect that.

So I sat.

Finally. Finally. I returned to the parking lot and Randi.

I couldn’t reach Paul.

So, I called my neighbors — who have been through this sort of thing before with me. Bob and Lucile Meredith, rescued me.

Bob found Paul outside weeding the Contemplative Garden.

Lucile calmed me down through the airwaves — or whatever runs cell phones.

When I hung up, I paced the lot — getting as far away from the roaring car as I possibly could and still see it.

Hazel’s friend Edwina T. Drakes stopped to talk.

Paul arrived.

Reassured me that the car was not ruined.

Reminded me that I needed to keep an extra key with me at all times.

Suggested gently I carry my cell phone, with the batteries charged, with me wherever I am. If there was an emergency, I would need it.

As I said, more about Hazel later. But as she looks down from heaven — and I just know she is there — I can see her smiling and shaking her head.

And, maybe she would even say, "Well, Margaret, you handled that pretty well."

But, as sweet as she was — and as organized and unflappable — I am sure she would never understand how in the world something like this could happen!

I don’t really understand it either!

But, it was an adventure...not unusual for me!

The New York Times takes a look at us

2008-04-04T14:36:00.003-05:00

The New York Times has been nosying around Northwest Louisiana.

Thanks to Natchitoches pal Tommy Whitehead, who sent it via e-mail, I found out about it.

The lead photo is of of Oakland Planation house in Natchitoches, part of the Cane River Creole National Historical Park.

"Louisiana’s Creole Country Colorfully Preserved" is about the beauty of Kisatchie National Forest. "Deep in the Kisatchie National forest, wild azaleas blaze trails with pinkish-white clusters, sassafras trees glow brilliant green and hikers stride through glades dotted with the lavender blossoms of blazing star," is the lead. (Now doesn’t that make you want to wonder down there and hike around.)

Here are some other things the newspaper found out about us and told the world:

1. Mama D’s Country Kitchen in Winnfield, where you can sample fried catfish filet, beets and okra and pickled green tomatoes. (I’ve been there doing a travel story; the food is fab and so are those Winnfield shops.)

2. Briarwood, home of Caroline Dormon, and now called Caroline Dormon Nature Preserve. (If you haven’t visited, Briarwood, shame on you. It is wonderful. You will be fascinated with Richard and Jessie Johnson, who care for and love this wild place.)

Note: In the April Nature Preserve newsletter, Johnson wrote that the travel writer Keith Mulvihill of The New York Times called at the last minute and asked for 30 minutes because a friend told him not to leave Louisiana without seeing Briarwood.
"...but stayed over three hours until it was getting dark and promised to return another year," wrote Richard.

3. Cane River National Heritage Area, the heart of which is a 35 mile swath that starts in Natchitoches and runs southeast along both sides of Cane River Lake.

4. Oakland and Magnolia Plantations which make up the Cane River Creole National Historical Park. (If you haven’t visited this park that is so new it is still under development, why you have missed something.)

5. Melrose Planation, which we all know was the home of John and Cammie Henry and artist Clementine Hunter.

6. And, there is mention of the Filling Station, a drive-through liquor store housed in a purple barn, which serves such frozen drinks as "Electric Slide" and "Oumpa."

For a more complete read, check out the The New York Times Web site, www.nytimes.com.

Engaging celebration

2008-04-03T16:05:00.005-05:00

Food and flowers at the cocktail reception

Centerpiece for the formal dining room table filled with goodies from the Petroleum Club

Roses brought beauty to a side food table.

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Kith and kin arrived from all over Shreveport and the South March 29 to the gorgeous home of Bobby and Kay Redstone for a cocktail reception honoring the engagement of her daughter, former Shreveporter Claire Ellen Cooper of New Orleans, and Jonathan C. Stephens of Baton Rouge.

The two marry May 31 in Point Clear, Ala., with the reception at the home of Claire Ellen’s father, Angus Royal Cooper II.

Flickering lights outside and candles inside lit the grounds and home for the festive affair. Kay tossed vintage quilts on wicker furniture on the front porch and a seating area on the lawn — and, yes, people were taking advantage of the beautiful night air to sit and chat awhile.

Food was catered by the Petroleum Club — which seems to be here, there and everywhere on the party circuit these days — and flowers by Design to a T.

TheThe floral arrangements on the formal dining room table were the talk of the event and beyond. (I have included photos. See what you think.)

Among those in the crowd: Maura Pugh, who was regaling other guests with tales about her adventures at a cooking school at the King Arthur Baking Education Center in Norwich, Vt. ("You smush it down..." she said as she described one techinque.)

Dr. Tobin Grigsby, was talking about a recent Colorado skiing jaunt. You might want to ask him what was the highlight. (He also said that after we wrote a story on his downtown town house and it ran in Saturday Home & Garden page, he heard from friends from all over the country.)

Also visiting were Allen and Amy Williams, who will host April 10, "Spring Fling" in the garden of their Pierremont area home.

It is the $1,000-a-person Circle of Angels Donor Society Charter Member Party. (The Petroleum Club is catering and what sounds best to me is the Brazilian grilled lobster tails, being grilled by Chef Eddie Mars at one of the food stations. More menu items: Quesadilla Station; country pate, handmade by Mars; and carved roast tenderloin of beef with rosemary biscuits and tarragon mayo.)

Shaken...Not Stirred!

2008-04-02T12:45:00.007-05:00

2008 Sky Chair Waynette and Co-Chair Victoria Rios.

Faces in the crowd: Linda Goldsberry (left) , Marcy Everett and Ginger Clarke Williams.

Costumed to complement the Sky invitation: Tim Chance (left), Brown Haynie, Eric Gibson and Kenneth O'Brock

With costumes off, the quartet channel James Bond and perform a routine with a golden girl.

Sky volunteers: Jennifer Zanmiller (left), Elissa Larremore, Electra Churchill, Heidi Kallenberg, Tina Kallenberg

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

How do you like your martini?

Well, Shreveport Regional Arts Council takes it: "Shaken...Not Stirred!"

Or so it does for for Christmas in the Sky 2008.

And, it is a tribute to 100 years of Ian Fleming’s "James Bond" series.

The every-other-year-fundraiser will be held Dec. 13 at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs, with The Downs and American Eagle/American Airlines, the presenting sponsors.

Officials promise that the tribute "combines the adventurous, sexy, top secret, spy stories with the infamous Sky ‘Twist’ to deliver an event with a license to thrill!" (SRAC officials deal in hyperbole, but they always deliver, too!)

The Sky Kickoff Party rumbled Tuesday at The New Capri.

It starred SRAC Chief Pam Atchison and Sky Chair Waynette Ballengee and Co-Chair Victoria Rios.

And what a party.

Actually, the theme fooled everyone, because the red postcard invitation featured Chinese characters, so everyone thought the theme would be Oriental and many of us dressed to complement it!

Were we surprised.

But, to explain that, "Confucious say..." was part of the announcement.

It was definitely a see-and-be-seen crowd.

Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover was there as were Shreveport City Councilmen Monty Walford, Bryan Wooley, Michael Long and Joe Shyne — who wore all black, including a cowboy hat!

Also spotted in the elbow-to-elbow crowd: SRAC President Delton Harrison, SRAC Board Chair Sandi Kallenberg, artspace Chief/Sky Creative Director Linda Goldsberry; board member Bess Elder.

And Sky officials: Auction Chair Missie Soignier; Celebrity Chair Robin Covington; Design Chair Donna Poimboeuf; Auction Display Chair Heidi Kallenberg; Sponsorship Chair Karen McFerren; VIP Chair Karen Courtman.

And, many, many more.

Anyway, we’ve included some pictures, so you’ll get a feel for the gala fete.

A wild time was had by all

2008-03-31T18:33:00.010-05:00

Judy and Craig Storer were mixing and mingling at the Wild Game and Fish Dinner

Camille and Don Hathaway were among those seeing and being seen

Here I am at the gate

Shannon and Jean Medenhall (left) and Don Hathaway (at end of table) dig in.

Three hosts: Danny Logan, Steve and Berry Glassell. Logan's wife Karen was also in the crowd.

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

On Friday, Paul and I headed up to Jeems Bayou Hunting and Fishing Club near Oil City for the annual Wild Game & Fish Dinner hosted by Danny and Karen Logan and Steve and Berry Glassell. (Jeems Bayou is an old club and its members are a see-and-be-seen group and we never turn down an invitation to zip up that way.)

Everyone is asked to contribute something. So, even if you don’t hunt and fish, you can bring salad, dessert or a bottle of wine.

No one wants to miss it. And a good time is always had by all.

Steve asks everyone to introduce themselves and to tell what they have contributed.

We took a marinated salad. Marty and Melanie Johnson contributed crawfish casserole and Larry and Anne Higdon, shrimp au gratin. There was a chorus of "yeahs," when Bubba Kneipp announced the had brought crawfish and shrimp corn bread.

Anyway, you get the idea of what is served at this feast at this wonderful place in North Caddo Parish.

Some others seeing and being seen: Rob and Vicki Franks, Shreveport City Court Judge Bill Kelly, Darrel and Anna Folse, Carl and Ellen Rice, Robert and Cindy Watson, Cecil and Lou Oliver and Virginia Chastain whose hubby Merritt regretted because he was in Dallas on business. Belcher

By the way, at least two of the guests were stopped by the Oil City Police en route. We are not telling who, but the police let them off with a warning. So, if you are headed up that way, watch the speed limit.

Inspiring women

2008-03-28T10:46:00.005-05:00

Pointing out that March was Women’s History Month, an e-mail from Dottie DeHart, DeHart & Company Public Relations listed 10 women and lessons we can learn from them.

The list came from Roxanne Rivera, creator of nocryinginconstruction.com, a Web site aimed at women currently working or planning work in a male-dominated industry, said the release.

I thought the list was interesting. See what you think:

1. Eleanor Roosevelt. "Never back down from your principles."

2. Margaret Thatcher. "Never compromise your own beliefs in order to please people."

3. Mary Kay Ash. "Trust your instincts."

4. Harriet Beecher Stowe. "You’re never too busy to change the world."

5. Babe Didrikson Zaharias. "Don’t Let setbacks keep you from getting ahead."

6. Golda Meir. "Hard work pays off."

7. Oprah Winfrey. "Be open to learning from others."

8. Mother Teresa. "Accept no limitations.

9. Amelia Earhart. "Know the value of tenacity."

10. Sandra Day O’Connor. "Don’t hesitate to break down barriers."

Would you add any names to the list and why?

Are there women who have inspired you personally and why?

Have a good weekend.

We are headed out and about to cover: a Wild Game Dinner at Jeems Bayou ... a reception at First Methodist Church, Greenwood, to recognize its architect Edward Neild, the idea of Greenwood resident Mary Wark ... a glittery engagement announcement party.

I'll report back on Monday.

A toast to Easter at lunch in Natchitoches

2008-03-25T17:04:00.004-05:00

Tommy Whitehead, and Sandy and Ray Strother at Whitehead's Lake Sibley home, Natchitoches on Easter Sunday.

Photo by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Paul and I had a most special Easter...
Lunch at the art-filled Lake Sibley cottage in Natchitoches of Tommy Whitehead — a host/cook extraordinaire. He collects people from all over the world and you just never know who will be your dinner party. It just rarely gets better than a fete planned by Tommy.

This time around, the faces were mostly familiar.

The diners included: Shreveporters Dr. Ray and Jean Turner, Natchitoches residents Coley and Sharon Gahagan and their clan from points east and west, temporary Natchitoches residents Ray and Sandy Strother and Robert and Lois Rector of Clinton.

The event began with mimosas, wine or champagne and lunch with Tommy’s to-die-for corn chowder. Then: ham from Grayson’s, Spinach Madeleine, sweet potato and macaroni/ cheese, green bean casseroles, fruit salad with poppy seed dressing and trifle.

When we were in graduate school at LSU in the early 1960s, Ray Strother was one of our classmates, who particularly studied propaganda and its use in politics, a study that has gained him fame and fortune.

Though we had watched him admiringly from afar, it had been years since we ran into Strother.

He now lists home as Wise River and Bozeman, both in Montana, and Washington, D.C.

In the last six months or so, I have gotten reacquainted with Strother and met his wife Sandy through our mutual friend Tommy.

Paul and I visited with the Strothers at a gathering in Colorado in July and, of course, saw them again on Sunday.

Anyway, this past semester Strother and Sandy, hunkered down in Natchitoches where he holds the 2007-08 Erbon W. and Marie Wise Endowed Chair in Journalism.

("His class has been well received," said Tommy.)

After grad school, Strother went on to fame and fortune as a political consultant — working with such glittery politicians as President Bill Clinton — when he was running for governor of Arkansas — Gary Hart for president and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.

He was recently inducted into the American Association of Political Consultants Hall of Fame during ceremonies in Santa Monica, Calif.
Strother, by the way, attended NSU on a track scholarship that he held for two years until he was asked to leave the institution because of his political activities — a move Strother is proud to tell about!

And, yes, he did give us his take on the current presidential race, which is quite interesting, but, after all, this was a party and I was not taking notes.

He is also a fine artist, with wood his medium, and a gourmet cook!

.

Call to worship

2008-03-24T09:23:00.004-05:00

Isn't Easter a special service?

It certainly was at First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport's 11 a.m. service where our new pastor the Rev. Pen Peery presided for the first Easter. (He told us later that this was his first Easter sermon, a landmark event for a minister.) His sermon: "Seeing Beyond Our Fear."

His sermon, the music, the Scriptures. All meaningful to me. Easter and the beauty of nature signal such a renewal in our world.

But, sometimes, through no one's fault, things go awry, even when well planned.

On Sunday, somehow the "Call to Worship" was left out, so we started with that most wonderful of songs, "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" for the processional.

However, words and the the message of the "Call..." are so powerful that I wanted to share them:

"Among the poor, among the proud,
"Among the persecuted and the privileged."

Congregation: "Christ is risen to make all things new."

"In the private house, in the public place,
"At the wedding feast and in the court of justice.

Cong.: "Christ is risen to make all things new."

"In Beijing, Baghad, and Belfast,
"In Washington, London and Shreveport,

Cong.: "Christ is risen to make all things new."

"That the Kingdom will come, that the world might believe."

"Christ is risen to make all things new.
"Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!"

Do you agree that it is a powerful statement?

Do you have news to share about your own church's Easter service?

What's cookin'?

2008-03-21T11:08:00.001-05:00

For those of us who use and love the Service League of Natchitoches cookbooks, "Cane River Cuisine" and "Louisiana Living," we can look forward to another one in the future.

Eliza Brittain Behrendsen e-mails us that both of those books are almost out of print, yet still in high demand from the public. (I can certainly understand why for they are, indeed, wonderful.)

"Both cookbooks were printed using antiquated typeset and with today’s technology cannot be reproduced for less than it will take to produce a whole new cookbook. Our publisher has agreed to absorb the costs of digitizing the older ones if we produced a new one," e-mailed Behrendsen.

Was that an offer they could not refuse or what.

Anyway, the League is working on "Steel magnolias in the Kitchen: A Journey Through Cane River’s Heritage and the Mystery of Southern Charm."

"Steel Magnolias" author and Natchitoches native son has been generous in his support of allowing the group to use this title," said Behrendsen. "His mother, Margaret Harling, will be one of the ladies featured in this cookbook."
Others: Behrendsen’s mom — and my friend — the late Ann Williams Brittain, Marie-Therese of Melrose Plantation, artist Clementine Hunter and author Kate Chopin.

The group also seeks stories of people, events and memories of special meals shared with family and friends and special memories or anecdotes to share that relate to either of the previous cookbooks.

"We ask that you try to incorporate the food served, the setting and/or conversations as it relates to our community’s heritage and the Southern charm of the women who bring it all together," said Behrendsen.

Oh, yes, and they are looking for cookbook sponsors.

Information or questions: e-mail gbehrendsen@yahoo.com.

For a Fifties fix we head to Danny's Place

2008-03-20T10:36:00.002-05:00

I grew up in the 1940s and 1950s eating Triple XXX hamburgers and Greco’s Grecoburgers, so every hamburger I ever eat is measured by them.

When I bit Wednesday into the one-fourth pound hamburger at Danny’s Place, it measured up.
Chef Danny Beavers and wife Carrie. took over the 1950s-themed Danny’s Place, 9006 Mansfield Road, in January. On Wednesday, Chef Tim Cullen, a former student of Danny’s, who has been at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs, was working his first day at the place.

They are proud to say that it is a family oriented eatery. And the southwest Shreveport neighborhood is embracing it.

Danny, as you might know, was chef instructor at Louisiana Technical College — which everyone still calls Vo-Tech — for 10 years. Before that, he was executive chef at the Petroleum Club.

Through the years, I’ve covered a lot of things Danny has been involved in and he is also a neighbor, so it was fun visiting with him and Carrie.

Commenting on the hamburger, Danny said, "We want the hamburgers to be a cross between Triple XXX and Tic Toc Grill and the onion rings to be close to Ko Ko Mo. We are almost there!"

"We want our blue plates to be based on Wiseman’s. When I was a kid, we went every Friday for turnip greens, black-eyed peas and fried catfish. Remember they were the first to have catfish steaks, rather than whole steaks," said Danny. (Talking about goin’ down memory lane!)

I chose as a "side" for my hamburger, turnips and greens. Ummm. "These are not greasy and they are perfectly cook," I commented.

"They are not greasy, because we use a ham hock for flavoring and we don’t cook them mushy. I don’t like overcooked vegetable," said Danny.

Anyway, Danny’s Place is styled after a ‘50s cafe. It is done up in Coca-Cola-inspired decor. Everything is red and white, black and white checked floors.

There is a Bel Air Chevy mock up on a wall and standing statues of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean.
The menu is extensive — from chili and sandwiches to a blue plate special every day. And, an unusual touch — a greens special daily. That might also be cabbage or mustard greens.

The regular veggies: black-eyed peas, white rice, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and buttered whole kernel corn. Wednesday’s special was chicken fried steak.

There are ice cream, shakes and malts, sundaes and floats.

And, we didn’t try any, but the oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies from the eatery’s bakery looked absolutely delicious.

For "Kiddie’s Kravings," there are such goodies as "grilled peanut butter and banana sammitch" and "Frito pie."

There is also live entertainment Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and people get up and dance! (I want to go back for that.)

Anyway, it was fun seeing Danny and Carrie and what they are up to.

Hollywood loves 'em and leaves 'em

2008-03-19T11:38:00.003-05:00

It is not everyday that a local receives a phone call from the New York Times.

But Natchitoches resident Tommy Whitehead did and he is quoted in today’s Times about location movie making in "A Premiere Far From Hollywood."

"I got a one line quote about ‘Steel Magnolias’ way down in it," he wrote.

Whitehead was an extra in the movie shot 20 years ago and got to know a lot of the players in that long hot summer when Hollywood came calling and shot the movie in Natchitoches.

The story deals with movie making outside of California and New York.

"Hollywood loves the heartland, but only to a point. Movie crews perennially drop in, dazzle the locals, then pack up their stars and head back to Los Angeles or New York when they’ve soaked up enough color," said the story.

"But the local folks can find it hard to end the affair," the story continues.

However, the story continues: "Sometimes, of course, a movie comes to town and never really goes away."

"We had a re-enactment of the cemetery scene last year," said Tom Whitehead, a retired journalism professor in Natchitoches.

He spoke of the town’s enduring attachment to the movie.

"Visitors to a local bed-and-breakfast can still sleep in Shelby Eatenton Latcherie’s room, just as pink as when Julia Roberts, as Shelby, inhabited it in the film," said the story.

What do you think about this view?

Does Hollywood come in and dazzle us, return to dazzle us again and then leave when they’ve soaked up enough color?

Military Ball gets brass and locals out and about

2008-03-18T14:26:00.012-05:00

Gen. Bruce Carlson makes a move to leave the stage.

Darlin' Debra Cordell, wife of Senior Airman Michael Cordell, snaps a photo of a Strolling String.

Power crowd: Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover, Horseshoe exec Helen Black, Glover's wife, Veronica, Adele Walker and hubby Bossier City Mayor Lo Walker.

Here we are being serenaded by a member of the Strolling Strings, who move around the floor. Senior Airman Michael Cordell is right behind me.

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Holiday in Dixie Military Ball.

Paul and I were part of a sold out crowd of over 500 at this spectacular event Saturday at Horseshoe Riverdome — held there to accommodate a larger crowd. Locals clamor for tickets to this event.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen Bob Elder, head of the 8th U.S. Air Force, played drums with the 531st Air Force Band Texas Air National Guard Band of the Gulf Coast.

The Strolling Strings from Bolling Air Force Base surrounded us with sound on the party floor.
Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover and Bossier City Mayor Lo Walker held court.

Four Star Gen. Bruce Carlson, formerly based here as head of the 8th U.S. Air Force, was seeing and being seen. He is now based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where he is commander of Air Force Materiel Command.

Gale Odom delivered a stirring rendition of "Star Spangled Banner."

Attorney/Ball chair John Odom starred as master of ceremonies.

There was playing of all the service songs, parade of guidons or company pennants and commanders.

And, there was dancin’ the night away until the midnight hour.

And there was dinner. The menu ranged from cold and hot selections to desserts. Let’s see, there was pasta salad; broccoli, bell peppers, red onions. olives pepperoncini tossed in fresh herb/garlic vinaigrette; beef stroganoff; buttered wide noddles; and, my fave, baked salmon with lemon/thyme beurre blanc. Desserts included: chocolate meringue pie and white chocolate mousse tarts with mixed berries.

Ah, it was festive and patriotic and a lot of fun.

Or as A-lister Linda Biernacki put it, "This is a great party. BAFB does put on a party. I never miss a Barksdale event."

The 2008 Holiday in Dixie Cotillion King Dr. Charles Sale was there with wife Katherine, and so were: Robert and Kim Poindexter, Murray and Pat Viser, Col. Robert Wheeler and wife Rachel, Lt. Quincy Rhinehart and Tamika Davis, Elder’s wife, Bess, who works the crowd with aplomb.
Centenary College Prez Ken Schwab was mixing and mingling and so were Tech. Sgt. Andrenow Dunklin, Tech Sgt. Presha Zarcariaous, Tem and Maggie McElroy, Col. Mike and Elaine Shoults, Richard and Linda Biernacki. Senior Airman April Schlichtenmyer and Master Sgt. Tina Martinez.

Check out the photos above and more on Military Ball gallery on www.shreveporttimes.com.

Places to call home.

2008-03-13T15:41:00.005-05:00

During the last two weeks, I've interviewed, visited and written stories on two very different places that people call home. (Royalty live in both of them.)

On Saturday, I take you to the condo of very eligible bachelor/2008 Krewe of Gemini King Dr. Tobin H. Grigsby. A popular man in town, his condo is in the old Crystal Oil Building at Milam and Market. He and Stewart Madison are developing it for offices and condos.

"Mr. Brooks" was filmed here and there are pictures of Tobin with actor Kevin Costner.

His parties are legend.

And, he loves downtown living.

I love his condo. You'll read about: His round bed. (Where in the world do you get one?) We tell you. And the sheets and the bed cover? We'll reveal that two.

And the fact that he has nine up-to-date televisions. A kitchen with a seven-foot granite bar. A regulation pool table.

Read all about it Saturday on the Home & Garden Page.

... On March 22, I'll take you to the historic Davis Homeplace at 804 Wilkinson in the heart of Highland, where Terry Gill and wife Marsha Millican-Gill and their daughter, Ashley, hang their hats. (Millican-Gill is a former Krewe of Highland queen.)

The house was built circa 1916 and, until the family bought it in 2002 years ago, it had been in the same family since that time.

You'll read about the house's ghosts, the pieces that came from a very prominent local family whose roots reach back to the first rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, a most unusual desk and such Shreveport memorabilia as a 1943 Shreveport telephone directory.

See more photos from both of these on separate galleries at http://www.shreveporttimes.com/ before they are printed.

Do you have ideas for houses that I might write about. Send 'em my way.

If you want some fine food, head to Grand Cane.

2008-03-12T18:05:00.005-05:00

"Come on down to Grand Cane and have lunch at our new restaurant," invited Grand Cane A-lister Edith Herring.

Having lunch with Edith is a happening I can never turn down. Not only does she know everyone in North DeSoto Parish, but she knows everything going on and all the gossip. Besides, she is great company.

And, I rarely say "no" to an invitation to head to a country place.

So, on an absolutely beautiful, clear sunshiny today, I skimmed down Interstate-49, and onto a country lane before I headed south on 171.

I met Edith at Grand Cane Food Co., Restaurant and Catering, at the south end of the cluster of vintage buildings right in the middle of the town.

It is a real find for a foodie.

Chef Cal Smith has been cooking for 50 years, mostly for family and church events, until he opened the Food Co. Aug. 15.

"My mama was a wonderful cook. I was raised by the stove and I learned to cook," said Smith, who worked 30 years as an administrator, before turning his talents to cookin’ full time.

And, he wanted to serve a better hamburger. So, he found jalapeno cheese buns at a bakery in Houston that he grills before filling them with Angus beef and sauteed onions. (His bread comes from Gambino’s in New Orleans.) It is absolutely a divine hamburger.

Each day, there is a different special and everything is cooked to perfection. Today, he offered meat loaf, mashed potatoes, field peas and corn bread.

I am not sure how I resisted that meal made up of all the things I love, but I selected the hamburger.

Tomorrow, there will be pork loin, rice and gravy, sweet potatoes and yeast rolls.

Thursday is steak night, but there will also be grilled shrimp and chicken/beef kabob.

The Food Co. special — and popular— au gratin potatoes and a veggie, such as steamed asparagus, are part of the order.

Friday is seafood night and will feature seafood gumbo.

And Sunday? "Whatever I get up and decide to do," said Smith.

In the past, that has been traditional baked chicken or pot roast, but also cornish game hen, which was much talked about.

But dinners are more intricate and might be grilled tenderloin with pork reduction sauce and for dessert, grilled bananas in Bourbon sauce with ice cream or a chocolate souffle.

The staff includes Dana Gilbeau, who helps with the cooking and Pam Kennedy who works the front. Justin Kennedy, who has just received a scholarship to be in the Centenary College choir, is the matrie ‘d.

If you stop by, you are likely to be in the midst of the DeSoto power crowd. Grand Cane Alderman Bill Cook walked in as we walked out.

Also spotted at other times: DeSoto Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle, Grand Cane Mayor Clayton Davis, Mansfield Mayor Curtis McCoy and DeSoto School Supt. Walter Lee.

The eatery is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Thursday and Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and "after church" on Sunday, though they will be closed Easter.

Note: Next door is Village Creations, owned by Suzanne Brossette and housed in a building with a ribbed metal ceiling, unfinished concrete floors and exposed ceilings and duct work. It is wonderful and with fine gift items, including local very good art, jewelry, and mosaics, such as garden steps, plus urns, unusual guest towels and antiques.

We hope to go back and have plenty of time to browse.

If you know of some country places, send 'em my way. I'll visit and write about them.

Henry Goodrich and Laurice Rountree are engaged

2008-03-07T15:31:00.003-06:00

Henry Goodrich and Laurice Rountree with his dog Lily at the Poodle Party

Photo by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

News flash!

Oil man/artist Henry Goodrich and Laurice Rountree are engaged to be married. Plans are not finalized yet, but they are thinking September for the ceremony.

Goodrich presented the solitaire in a Tiffany setting — purchased from Sid Potts — to Rountree Wednesday. Goodrich, Rountree and Goodrich’s dog, a Havanese named Lily, stopped by the Poodle Party at the home of Bill and Ruth Atkins late that afternoon, shared their special news and received "best wishes" to Rountree and "congratulations" to Goodrich. (It wasn't officially, but it turned into an engagement announcement party for them as word spread through the crowd.)

"I told her she was too old to be a ‘trophy wife,’ but she is my trophy!" quipped Goodrich, in a later interview.

Lily received the "best exotic dog" award.

More news about Goodrich, "I am painting up a storm."

Dr. Charles Sale — the 2008 Holiday in Dixie Cotillion king — and wife Katherine were also hosts for Poodle Party, a popular early spring gathering.

Dogs are guests of honor and receive treats as party favors.

Cirque du Soleil comes calling

2008-03-06T10:38:00.008-06:00

Cirque du soleil of Saltimbanco enter artspace Saturday for the Fiesta

More Cirque du Soleilers

Ciorque du Soleil bus

Ciorque du Soleil performers at the Fiesta

Scott Soignier and his wife, Fiesta chairwoman Missie.

Lauren Humphrey (left) and Dr. Lauren Wallace dressed alike at the Fiesta.

Times Photos by Paul L. Schuetze

Cirque du Soleil of Saltimbanco street performers were all over town last week.

Dressed in black and white and standing almost ceiling high on stilts, they burst into The Times newsroom Thursday, handing out press releases to Kathie Rowell and Stephanie Netherton and others. It was a dramatic moment, catching all of us totally off guard.

They wheeled Ashley Northington around the newsroom, planting a red clown’s nose on her.
They generally created whimsical mayhem.

Which is to say that we loved the interruption — just prior to a staff meeting — and applauded as they stilted out.

I ran into them again Friday night when they joined the crowd for the Sci-Port Discovery Center Mad Scientist Ball at the center and made their way around that event — just missing the mayor and his wife who had left for a friend’s birthday party.

And, they made quite a grand entrance Saturday night at St. Mark’s Cathedral School Fiesta at Shreveport Regional Arts Council artspace. Earlier in the day, they had reconnoitered there to be sure everyone know what would be going on.

At the Fiesta, they swirled their capes, danced about and charmed all.

Their green bus was parked outside. (Paul captured them at the Fiesta. See photos above.)

With its elaborate likeness of a Cirque performer, it is quite eye-catching.

Did you run into the performers anywhere else?

Let me know.

JUST A NOTE...

Great pals Lauren Humphrey and Dr. Lauren Wallace showed up in the same retro-print dress at the Fiesta. Humphrey paired hers with high heel sandals and teamed boots with here. (See photo above.)

Star Watch

2008-03-05T12:45:00.001-06:00

The Cambridge Club bustled Friday night with movie stars.

Regular diners looked up surprised to see star Michael Douglas walking through the club en route to the Oak Room where some 13 members of cast and production members of "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" was having a cast party.

Also sighted: Jesse Metcalfe, yard boy from "Desperate Housewives," and Amber Tamblyn, of "Joan of Arcadia" plus the film’s producer. (Diners seen and being seen included John and Mimi Hussey and Hank and Frances Anderson.)

The Hollywood types ordered from the menu, with entrees including snapper and steaks.

The club will also be the location for filming a restaurant scene Friday and the wait staff will be extras in that scene! For instance, maitre ‘d Bill Boston will play himself.

The script also calls for female wait staffers, so Patti Carey, a Cambridge owner, and bookkeeper/event planner Shelly Ezell will suit up to represent female ones. There will be 45 extras for the shoot and they include Cambridge members Dr. Tom and Tracy Pressly.

The club will also prepare the food for the scene.

The mayor has big shoes to fill

2008-03-04T09:50:00.008-06:00

Mayor Cedric Glover's size 17 shoes painted for Mad Scientist Ball auction item

Veronica Glover and hubby his honor Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

You would have to wear a Size 17 to fill Mayor Cedric Glover’s shoes.

That is his shoe size, he said proudly at the Sci-Port Discovery Center Mad Scientist Ball held Friday at the center.

He was among those who contributed well decorated soles to the silent auction. "Patients from Feist-Weiller Cancer Center Arts in Medicine painted the shoes," said the Mayor.

The two are Kelnesha Odom, 5, and Kamryn Chauncy, 8. The two also painted two very different portraits of Glover which were framed, presented to him at a Shreveport City Council meeting and hang in his office. When the presentation was made, Glover asked the two to help him out and paint his tennis shoes for the Mad Scientist Ball! And, they did.

We haven’t found out yet who bought them, but if you see a pair of high tops with a flag-inspired scene on one and a more whimsical sport motif on the other, they are the mayor’s.

The dress for the benefit was "tuxedoes and tennis shoes" and Glover wore a pair of olive green tennies with his black accented with a yellow tie.

The mayor and wife Veronica made a mad dash into the party but left early to attend a friend’s birthday party high in the sky at Independence Stadium. (A great place, by the way, to have a gathering.)

At the benefit, Vicki Franks’ shoes were the talk of the event for they lit up.

Lt. Gen. Bob Elder, head of the 8th U.S. Air Force, wore faux leather athletic soles, with his mess dress, while tuxedoed attorney Jim Hill painted white tennies gold and purple — for LSU, of course.

Sci-Port chief Ann Fumarolo laced up white-accented, tangerine-hued ones to pair with her black-seamed hose and short black dress.

Tem McElroy’s were traditional athletic shoes, white and silver, but Carl Bantle wore attention-getting red-and-white check slip-ons.

More social musings:

... Friend Nancy Canson e-mails us from Marshall, Texas, that Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker, a star of "The Great Debaters," attended a rally for Presidential hopeful Barack Obama Sunday at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas.

What's for dinner? And lunch?

2008-02-29T16:44:00.001-06:00

Foodie Norman Kinsey caught up with us at Brookshire’s on Line Avenue.

He had in hand a story from The Dallas Morning News, "Shreveport-Bossier City new destination for foodies." (Isn’t that impressive?)

The headline writer called it "a nearby melting pot of culinary originality." (More impressing.)

The writer talked about King Cakes sampled at Julie Anne’s Bakery & Cafe. ("For me, raisin bread on the side offsets the sweetness of the gold, purple and green Mardi Gras icing.")

At Lila’s Cakes & Chocolate, vegetable soup was an attraction. (".... fresh vegetable soup brimming with cabbage, squash, potatoes, carrots and beans, plus chicken salad, made with watermelon instead of pickle relish.")

When she stopped by Ristorante Giuseppe, she saw the kitchen viewed from a nearby table. ("Watch the pastry chef shape yeast rolls as the butter melts on the one in your hand.")

And she found "incredible" chocolate at The Chocolate Crocodile on the Louisiana Boardwalk.

Share with me some of your own favorite eateries and why you like them.

Sheriff Prator turns Hollywood down

2008-02-28T15:13:00.003-06:00

Hollywood offered to make Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator a star — or at least give him a part — in a forthcoming film.

He turned ‘em down.

But he did give them permission to film scenes at Caddo Correctional Center and they will flim exterior shots of Caddo Courthouse for the forthcoming "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" starring Michael Douglas, according to Prator and department spokeswoman Cindy Chadwick.

We chatted with the two Thursday after the Junior League of Shreveport-Bossier 75th Anniversary Luncheon at East Ridge Country Club. The League presented Prator a check for $75,000 for Safety Town, its 75th Anniversary Gift.

It is Chadwick’s understanding that the movie is a remake of a 1950s movie.

The story line will deal with a crooked Caddo Parish district attorney, said Chadwick, who has read the script. (Before you ask, no, it is not based on any local character nor law enforcement officer.)

Exterior scenes will be shot outside the Caddo Courthouse and interior, inside the Bossier Courthouse and at CCC.

A lot of our people will be in scenes at the center," said Chadwick.

"They will play roles at the center," added Prator.

The company has also borrowed uniforms from the department.

"They already have them," said Chadwick.

Filming is expected to start locally Sunday and specifically in Caddo, March 6 and 7.

Hee Haw Heaven

2008-02-27T14:28:00.003-06:00

There is going to be dancin til the cows come home at Southfield Parents Association 2008 edition of the highly popular "Auction & Alibis."

It is always a benefit to see and be seen at.

Info ... invitation ... just in on brown stock with dark brown printing.

Anyway, it is March 15 at DiamondJacks Casino Ballroom.

The theme: "Hee Haw Heaven" and it is sponsored by Sid Potts, Inc.

Become a patron and you'll get to attend the 6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m, Private Patron's Preview, with cocktails and hors 'doeuvres and early bidding on the Silent Auction.

7 p.m. . General admission ticket holders get in at 7 p.m and 7:30 p.m., dinner.

The cows come home at midnight.

Dress: country couture, farmhouse fashion, redneck runway ... "or, jes as you are!"

Admission: $75, individual; $125, patron; and $1,200, VIP seating for eight.

Want to know more? Go to www.southfield-school.org.

But hurry up. Deadline for reservations is Friday, as in Feb. 29.

March 15 is going to be one busy night.
Let's see.

There is the Military Ball at Horseshoe Riverdome...Shreveport Symphony Concert at Riverview Hall...Shreveport Little Theater Gala, A Reel Southern Affair, at the Pierremont area home of community volunteer Delton Harrison.

What are the socials to do? Hop, skip and jump around town? Or just settle in on one?

We'll see you there ... somewhere.

z

2008-02-27T14:27:00.001-06:00

Denzel Washington comes calling

2008-02-26T17:12:00.006-06:00

Cindy and Marshall Jones were hosts for Denzel Washington and other Hollywood celebs while they filmed "The Great Debaters" on the property.

.
Actor Denzel Washington felt right at home at the Jones Lake House. It is owned by Marshall Jones and members of his family.

Step through the gate and you travel from Texas into Louisiana

Times photos by Paul L. Schuetze

Remember the opening scene of "The Great Debaters?

"The "juke joint" that seemed about to fall down?

Star debater Henry Lowe’s house, looking like a shack on the outside, but filled with classics inside?

The emotionally-charged and riveting lynch scene that had a lot of reviewers talking?

They were all shot during 10 days of filming on the Caddo Lake property owned by oilman/lawyer Marshall Jones and other members of his family. (Interesting note: you drive through Texas to get there, but as you approach the gate, there is a green-and-white sign, "Tex-La State Line." You step through the gate. You are in Louisiana.)

Jones talked about the filming Saturday during a party at The Jones Lake House and in an interview Monday.

The Jones property has been in the family many years, but the house, built recently over two and a half years, was inspired by Western architect and looks like something out of the mountains of Montana or Colorado, not a camp house on Caddo Lake. (See photos above.)

The road to Washington all started with a phone call from David J. Bomba, "The Great Debaters" production designer, who told Jones they had heard how pretty the property was.

Subsequently, Jones chatted with Washington a couple of times who then came up and spent several hours with the Shreveporter in a boat paddling around the lake.

"He got a list of 20 possible scenes. He was always asking questions. He was very polite and the nicest, smartest man I have ever met," said Jones.

"Several of the really emotional scenes, like the lynch mob scene, were filmed up here," said Jones.

The movie company built a shabby, campy building for "the juke joint" on the edge of the lake and the cabin elsewhere for lead debater Henry Lowe, played by Nate Parker.

"It looks like a one-room shack, but inside is filled with classic books and copies of classic art work," said Jones of Lowe’s place.

Washington also filmed the lynch scene here. The film was produced by Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and some of her representatives were there for those takes.

"It was (considered) a secret project because it was very controversial during the shooting. He didn’t want anyone else to see it. It was very politically/racially charged scene about a lynching in the 1930s," said Jones.

Washington brought Jones and some others "inside the ropes" to look over his shoulder while he watched cameras. "He went out of his way to show us what was going on," said Jones.

"There must have been 125 to 150 brought in from California and he filmed here over about 10 days," said Jones.

Although the lake house was not featured in the movie, Washington and others felt right at home there.

Marshall hosted several social gatherings for them, including Academy Award winning actor Forest Whitaker.

(Which is unusual among the Hollywood types, who ordinarily don’t socialize with those whose houses they rent, according to some of those involved in other films.)

"I hosted several meals for them," said Jones.

And, Jones was able to introduce his new friends to some local pals. They included: Al and Melinda Jones, Jimmy and Ann Marston and Judge James Stewart of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

"At one time, there were five Academy Award winners sitting in the living room!" said Jimmy Marston.

If the glove fits, wear it

2008-02-22T18:04:00.005-06:00

Photo: Special to The Times

Have you ever wondered when and why phyisicians started wearing gloves?

Leave it to Anil Nanda to come up with such an unusual topic to deliver to a brainy group — a room filled with hundreds of neurosurgeons.

Nanda is a neurosurgeon and head of the department of neurosurgery at LSU Health Sciences center.

He discussed "Surgical Gloves and the Confederacy" at the Southern Neurosurgical Society’s annual meeting in Puerto Rico earlier this month. (That is Nanda on the far right in the photo above, shown with Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Ford (left), his wife Christine Ford and Nanda’s wife, Laura, at the session.)

In the talk, he outlined the history and development of the surgical glove, illustrating it's beginning by one of the father's of American Neurosurgery, Dr. William Halsted.

To cut to the chase of the speech, apparently, the use of gloves were helped along by a woman.

A surgical nurse and head of the surgical division of Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1889, Caroline Hampton, was from a family of prominent Southerners. She was also Halsted's wife.

Anyway, surgeon Harvey Cushing wrote that Hampton wore "a masculine garb of the plainest sort...She was one of the early nurses at J.H.H."

But here is how the gloves got started. Halsted talking: "In the winter of 1889 and 1890 the nurse (Caroline Hampton) in charge of my operating room complained that the solutions of mercuric chloride produced a dermatitis on her arms and hands. As she was an unusually efficient woman, I gave the matter my consideration, and one day in New York requested Goodyear Rubber Co., to make as an experiment two pair of thin rubber gloves with gauntlets."

Hampton inspired the gloves and was the first to wear them, according to Nanda's power point presentation.

And, as J.M.T. Finney put it: "Venus came to the aid of Aesculapius," said Nanda, in his talk.

So, if you were wondering, now you know!

Mustard greens, egg pie and more...

2008-02-15T17:11:00.003-06:00

There are few things I enjoy more than discovering new places to eat in out-of-the-way places.

Not only do I like to try the food, but I love the local color you encounter.

In the last few weeks, I found P&J Restaurant in Marshall, Texas.

And enjoyed once again the familiar, Gibsland Grill in Gibsland.

I was in Marshall Jan. 30 doing a story on the Buard Historic Trail, a feature that runs Sunday on the front of the living section.

I grew up in the era of segregation of the 1940s and 1950s and covered integration as it crept into our community.

I remember "colored" and "white" signs on water fountains and restrooms. I rode the trolley for several years and I always thought it wrong — even as a child — that blacks had to go to the back of the bus when I could ride in front. And, that they headed to the balcony in The Strand, while I sat downstairs.

Perhaps, it was the humanistic beliefs of my mother, the late Sabra B. Martin, who treated everyone as a human being, but something about all that always bothered me.

Anyway, the trail addresses the Civil Rights era.

P&J is not on the trail, but is a sidebar to my story.

It was founded in the late sixties by owner Jackie Franklin’s mom, the late Pearl Franklin. "It is down home cooking. Soul food," said Franklin.

The eatery is in a house on a hill and the five tables are set with blue and white check tablecloths.

The menu features each day one menu.
There are such entrees as liver and onion, pork chops, chicken and spaghetti, such veggies as mustard creans, lima beans or cream style corn. Dessert: how about peach cobbler?
Former Shreveporters Charlie and Marsha Andrews own the grill in Gibsland and we dined there previously, but it is always fun to return.

We ate there Wednesday with J.R. and Jan Johnson after interviewing them about Cedar Ridge Cabin, their retreat in the woods. It will be on the March 1 Jonquil Jubilee Home and Garden Tour, Gibsland.

The story runs Feb. 23.

We were going to order a hamburger, but just could not resist the chicken dressing, stewed okra, corn and hot water corn bread.

Oh, yes, and sweet tea accompanied both lunches.

I recommend J&R’s and Gibsland Grill without reservations...for the food and the local color.

Rats! Another year is here!

2008-02-14T16:53:00.007-06:00

A dancin' dragon

Maura Pugh poses with decoration

The Walls, Simeon Jr. and wife Holly Casey, Connie Wall and hubby, Simeon Sr.

Maggie, Dr. Simeon Wall Sr. and Kon Tiki owner Check Wing Joe

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Happy New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year 4706! (That is a lot of years.)

It is the Year of the Rat!

We helped the Walls celebrate Sunday at a party at Kon Tiki.

They are Dr. Simeon Wall Jr. and wife Dr. Holly Casey Wall, and Dr. Simeon Wall Sr. and wife Connie Wall.

...and a delightful time was had by all.

I was thrilled to see former Fair Park High School classmate Check Wing Joe and his wife Katherine, who were overseeing the delicious array of food — that included a clever centerpiece with a pink rat carved from a vegetable.

More faces in the crowd: Doctors to the stars ... and stars themselves ... Drs. Jim and Stephanie Barnes, Russ Friedrich and wife, Dr. Marsha Friedrich, Dr. David and Donna Cavanaugh, who just jetted in from Colorado, Dr. Joe and Frances Washburne, Dr. Charles and Joey Black.

We are including some images form the party. Check http://www.shreveporttimes.com/ for the Chinese New Year Gallery.

More social news:

..A nugget of news gleaned from Libby Siskron at the Women of Community Renewal Annual Luncheon today at East Ridge Country Club:

Siskron's son, Trent, who is in commercial real estate in Houston, is marrying Sarah Elizabeth Todd, Nov. 1 at St. Martin's Episcoal Church in Houston.

"She is part of the family of Mary Todd Lincoln," said Siskron.

Mayor Cedric Glover heads to Hollywood

2008-02-11T10:44:00.000-06:00

Mamie Love Wallace at the African American Awards Banquet. She was among those who walked with Martin Luther King Jr.

Photo by Maggie Martin/The Times

Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover is mixing and mingling with the glittery Hollywood stars, producers and directors ... and whoever will listen to his plea to come to Shreveport and make movies.

Glover jetted out late last week to Los Angeles with Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu to attend the Grammys, but also to woo producers and directors to come to Shreveport and make more movies, said mayor’s assistant Gwen Campbell, executive assistant to Glover, during the African American Awards Banquet on Saturday.

"He is out at the Grammys on a hard business trip. He is out wooing folks to come to Shreveport!" said Campbell.

Campbell, dressed in glittery silver, introduced Shreveport Police Chief Henry Whitehorn, who won an award and gave the keynote talk. Campbell is really out and about these days. She also attended the A-List Goodwill Black Tie Bingo Friday at Sam’s Town.

No chance yet to speak to the mayor because he is still in Los Angeles.

I have a call in, though, and as soon as I talk to him, I’ll post.

... Speaking of the Grammys, they didn’t win, but Lisa Haley & The Zydekats were nominated for "Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album," a new category. Anyway, The Zydekats, based in California, played last week at the Krewe of Highland Masque Grand Bal at Randle T. Moore Center and they wowed the crowd!

... On a more serious note, Whitehorn’s speech, was powerful.

He reminded listeners that this year marks the 53rd anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the event that introduced Martin Luther King Jr. to the world when he was only 26.

Some highlights — punctuated by applause from the audience:

"King (and others) did not live and die to create a world in which people kill each other with reckless abandon."

"Something as simple as pulling up our pants and standing with our head high could make the biggest difference in the world’s perception of us."

"Our young men are failing academically, professionally and morally. They don’t understand honor, respect, and duty."

"I tell our youth that they need to remember — all eyes are on them as young black men. All eyes are on them as young black women."

"We have let not only the media, but the government and the world taint the pure essence of us. They have stripped our culture down to the point where we only believe we can become rappers and athletes.

"We are so much more."

And, he reminded them: "I would not be the Chief of police had it not been for the efforts and courage of so many ... ordinary people who were willing to sweat and bleed so that you and I could have a better life."

He discussed the importance of every child equipped to graduate from school; getting drugs and guns off the streets; stopping destruction of the innercities; and the sadness of parents and grandparents being prisoners in their own homes.

And, he added, one voice can make a difference.

Welcome to Shreveport, Pen

2008-02-08T16:32:00.000-06:00

We are in much ado about nametags at First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport as we get ready Sunday for the appearance of our new senior minister the Rev. Pendleton Peery, who comes to Shreveport with wife Lindsey and child Wells from Richmond, Va.

On Sunday, we were asked which door we entered to get to the sanctuary.

The tags are color coded depending on where we come in and we are to wear them, so Pen — as he is called — will easily learn our names. (What happens if we step in a different door?)

We had a name tag dress rehearsal Sunday and Wednesday for the special ash Wednesday service. (Yep, a dress rehearsal for wearing nametags.) Oh, and Pen and Lindsey attended the service. He is tall, dark and handsome! (And, young! 31, I think they said.)

So, Sunday....we start a new adventure at First Pres at 900 Jordan St.

Pen preaches his first sermon and starts learning our names. (Shall we give him a test soon to see how he is doing?)

He makes a grand entrance, too, since there will be only the 11 a.m. service. The sanctuary should be full. Maybe packed? (Cannot wait to hear his first sermon.)

We will welcome him with a fried chicken lunch after the benediction.

Come join us and see what’s up!!

It should be interesting.

... Two weeks ago, we bid our adieus to interim pastor Bob Shelton.

He and wife Fran, a minister in Dallas, were given a fond farewell with a reception and a flurry of gifts — LSU hats and T-shirts to remember the rabid fans by; money for a trip; and a painting of the church for their dining room.

But, two nights before the church's sendoff, Doug and Ardis Caulkins invited us to one of their famous lasagna dinners for eight at their South Highlands home and Bob was guest of honor.

Paul and I were in the midst of Mardi Gras, so, wearing an evening attire and a tuxedo, really had to dash in, eat and dash out to Krewe de Les Femmes Mystique Ball.

When we arrived, I slipped in blowing a horn and clapping a clacker I had received as a favor at another ball and threw beads around the neck of a startled Shelton.

But, really, i think he got a kick out of it all.

And, I insisted, he wear them all night!

Spring slips in unannounced

2008-02-06T16:25:00.001-06:00

Even as the temperatures dip to the 20s and chilling rain falls over the land, spring slips in unannounced and surprises us.

It teases us with blue blossoms of native iris low to the grown in the azalea bed.

In the pink quince on a low bush. (Quince was one of my mother’s very favorite flowers. She grew a pink one at the east end of the porch and, in later years, she planted a white one that she cherished.)

And, in white narcissus that have bloomed for weeks and weeks around trees, near the gate, along the driveway. In the back by the fence that overlooks the deep glen.

And in the low-to-the-ground yellow daffodils that popped up in a faraway corner of the yard.

I picked a bouquet of the daffodils and narcissus for my desk.

The arrangement is a reminder that spring and the flowers it brings is on the way.

Soon, the tiny yellow and white wild flowers that cover our seven and a half acres will fill the landscape. Even though I do love fall better than any season of the year, it is in the spring, when these tiny wild flowers blanket our yard, that it is the most stunning.

What is blooming in your yard?

Share the springy news with me.

Spring slips in unannounced

2008-02-06T16:23:00.002-06:00

Even as the temperatures dip to the 20s and chilling rain falls over the land, spring slips in unannounced and surprises us.

It teases us with blue blossoms of native iris low to the grown in the azalea bed.

In the pink quince on a low bush. (Quince was one of my mother’s very favorite flowers. She grew a pink one at the east end of the porch and, in later years, she planted a white one that she cherished.)
And, in white narcissus that have bloomed for weeks and weeks around trees, near the gate, along the driveway. In the back by the fence that overlooks the deep glen.

And in the low-to-the-ground yellow daffodils that popped up in a faraway corner of the yard.
I picked a bouquet of the daffodils and narcissus for my desk.

The arrangement is a reminder that spring and the flowers it brings is on the way.

Soon, the tiny yellow and white wild flowers that cover our seven and a half acres will fill the landscape. Even though I do love fall better than any season of the year, it is spring, these wild cover flowers blanket our yard, that it is at its prettiest.

What is blooming in your yard?

Share the springy news with me.

Spring slips in unannounced

2008-02-06T16:23:00.001-06:00

Even as the temperatures dip to the 20s and chilling rain falls over the land, spring slips in unannounced and surprises us.

It teases us with blue blossoms of native iris low to the grown in the azalea bed.

In the pink quince on a low bush. (Quince was one of my mother’s very favorite flowers. She grew a pink one at the east end of the porch and, in later years, she planted a white one that she cherished.)
And, in white narcissus that have bloomed for weeks and weeks around trees, near the gate, along the driveway. In the back by the fence that overlooks the deep glen.

And in the low-to-the-ground yellow daffodils that popped up in a faraway corner of the yard.
I picked a bouquet of the daffodils and narcissus for my desk.

The arrangement is a reminder that spring and the flowers it brings is on the way.

Soon, the tiny yellow and white wild flowers that cover our seven and a half acres will fill the landscape. Even though I do love fall better than any season of the year, it is spring, these wild cover flowers blanket our yard, that it is at its prettiest.

What is blooming in your yard?

Share the springy news with me.

The 2008 Mardi Gras season ends

2008-02-05T17:22:00.000-06:00

Krewe of Harambee Queen Sharon Braggs stands by her man Harambee King Tymwa Dixon

Guest Roxann Johnson and LaKesha Mosley flank Krewe of Harambee Captain LeMar Flukers.
Photos byPaul L. Schuetze/The Times

Wow!

When the last note on the Michael Ward band shut down the Krewe of Harambee Ball Saturday night, the Mardi Gras ball season was over.

And, what a ball it was at Horseshoe Riverdome.

So was the Shreveport Opera Krewe of Arepo held two nights earlier and Krewe of Highland, the night before.

King Tymwa Dixon and Queen Sharon Braggs as King Ramses II and Queen Nandi and Captain LeMar Flukers as King Mansa Kankan Mussa, were among court members who honored "Great Kings and Queens of Africa."

Drums and other percussion instruments filtered through Horseshoe Riverdome on Feb. 3 and costumes reflected the royals the locals portrayed.

We heard about the great king of the Zulus, King Shaka Zulu and three women queens, two of whom I had never heard of — Queen Nzingha and Queen Tiye.

Just a glimpse of them enchanted and enthralled and made me want to head back to history class so I could learn more. They were powerful women.

Those of you who see our good friend, Chieftain VII Ron Weems, in court or on the streets should know that he is now a king, King Tutankhamun.

Other royals: High Priestesses VII Katrina Thomas, Queen Nzingha; Tenisha Thompson, Queen Tiye; and Lisa jackson, Queen Cleopatra.

Chieftains VII: Daniel Moore, King Shaka Zulu and Al Bradley, King Shamba Bolongongo.

The Orchesis Dance Company, led by Diane Maroney Grigsby traditionally performed at this ball. They are professional and flawless and I wish everyone could see them.

Intermission entertainment: Christian Dance Center.

Each royal was introduced by a dance performance. Some performed rhythmically belly dances. One literally crawled out of a box and I wondered, "How is she doing this?

A very special Harambee moment: Entrance of all the past Harambee royalty and all Harambee krewe members.

Assignment: Estate sale

2008-02-01T16:22:00.000-06:00

I love estate sales!

So, I was thrilled when assigned to cover the estate sale of Susybelle Wilkinson Lyons on 7130 Gilbert Drive. Lyons was one of those delightful folks we met through our long career. We loved eating at her restaurant years ago, attending a party in her home and writing about her.

So, how perfect to be able to shop and write.

Good to see Pat Thatcher who was holding the show.

I bought a vintage green trellis for $5. A frog for arranging flowers for $4.

Just had to have chipped Haviland-Limoges oyster plate with whimsical cabbage roses on it. Now, those plates were $100 each, but the chipped one I picked up for five bucks. Who will see the chip when I display it on a shelf, I asked myself.

I also got three china plates of different sizes for $5, a large pumpkin shaped plate — I love fall — for $5 and a little glass box for $1. And a sterling silver spoon for $16 that is a gift for a friend.

Oh, and some wonderful sterling, cheap, because it was bent! I don’t care. I’ll display it so no one will know.

And did I mention, two wire plant stands.

Best of all — a large wooden turkey for decorative display outside. Five bucks! You just can’t beat that, though I am lamenting the moose figure soap dish that I just didn’t see.

I can tell you, my RAV 4 is full.

But I am not done. I have a bid on some bone dishes. And I am eyeing a huge bisque turkey, a leopard print, gold fringed stool and odd-shaped glass pitcher and maybe some more spoons for gifts. (Country Home editor Mary Emmerling says everyone needs leopard print something in their home.)

Among those I ran into working, browsing or buying: Carolyn Prator, Judy Stoer, Dru Florsheim, Maggie McElroy, Mimi Hussey, Tom Craig, Emily Mott, Lisa Hargrove, Karla Loftin, Betty Chapman, Mary O’Neal, Lola Herndon, Tiddle Florsheim Mogg.

It runs through today. Things are 25 percent off from 9 a.m. to noon and 50 percent off from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Maybe I'll see you there.

Let me know if you go and what did you buy.

Haved a grand weekend. See you Monday!

Everybody loves a parade, especially the mayor

2008-01-31T11:22:00.001-06:00

This just in from Krewe of Gemini Captain Ed Hoover: Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover will serve Saturday as Grand Marshal for Krewe of Gemini Parade.

And, if you are ever asked and want to know how to be a Grand Marshal, just ask Cedric.

He is a Parade Grand Marshal veteran.

He has served as Grand Marshal in several other parades including Krewe of Highland Parade last year and Mansfield Christmas Parade in 2006, he said in a telephone interview. And, he has also just been a rider in others, including Gemini's 2007 parade.

"I look forward to the Gemini Parade. You get a great view of the parade and a chance to see the crowd," he said. "It is great fun and a great privilege."

He will also toss beads, cups and other throws from the title float.

By the way, the mayor's wife, Veronica, rode in the Gemini Parade last year.

She declined this year to attend the Krewe of Harambe Bal because Harambee Queen Sharon Braggs is a close friend.

"I will join her after the parade," said the mayor.

Krewe de Les Femmes Mystique takes a trip

2008-01-31T10:45:00.000-06:00

Captain of Krewe de Les Femmes Mystique shows her colors

The Krewe de Les Femmes Court at the ball

Teresa and David Allen dance the night away

Here I am partying the night away at the Les Femmes Ball

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Krewe de Les Femmes Mystique was on a roll Saturday at its Grand Bal "Heat Wave" Saturday at DiamondJacks Casino & Hotel Ballroom.

And Captain Sandy Franks was at the helm having a wonderful time.

Paul and I had the ringside seat at the Captain’s Table along with Franks’ hubby Derrel.

If you haven’t been to a Mardi Gras ball, you have no idea how elaborate the tables are.

There are goodies to eat. Special throws to wear. Towering floral arrangements to admire. Goodie bags so you can tote home the beads.

For instance, Sandy wanted all the guys to be a pirate for a night, so had one hoop earring at all their places. Good sport Paul wore his as he snapped the night away, taking photos. Member Teresa Allen’s hubby also clipped one to his ear. (We have some images up that were taken at Les Femmes. See a lot of others at the Mardi Gras gallery, http://www.shreveporttimes.com/.)

The gals at the table received a hot red silk flower to slip into their hair.

By the way, Les Femmes was started in 1999 by 30 women who met in Franks’ living room — as she likes to tell the story!

More Les Femmes notes: Queen Catherine Vanderberry’s chair covers included roses that lit up, so when lights were low they emitted a soft glow that was, well, very pretty. And although you couldn’t tip toe through the roses, you could wend your way around them.

Queen Catherine, by the way, hails from Prince Edward Island Canada, the home of Anne of Green Gables. She met hubby Jim when he was stationed there with the military and they married 40 years ago.

Jim was one proud hubby as he escorted Queen Catherine to a potpourri of events. at the ball, he got down on one knee to kiss her hand as she approached her royal table for a toast.

... When she isn’t Mardi Grasing, Les Femmes Lady of Love Karen Barnes is management assistant for the City of Shreveport’s Fair Share Program. She is responsible for assisting small, minority and women-owned businesses to gain procurement opportunities with the City of Shreveport and has certified more than 250 businesses as participants with the program. And, there is no better ambassador for the city than Karen, all smiles and personality wherever she goes.

... one of the ball’s hot throws was Lady of Light Wanda Clements Oriental-inspired fans.

... Much loved Les Femmes official Stephanie Holoubek ordered orchid leis from Hawaii to hand out as souveniers and a white one for her daughter Lady of Music Kristi Begood to wear as a halo around her forehead.

Sooo...Three Mardi balls to go.

Let the good times roll!

LSU, here we come

2008-01-28T11:48:00.000-06:00

Duchess of Louisiana Martha Rennie shows off collarpiece

Krewe of Gemini 2007 Louis Townsend and Queen Doreen Dockendorf take final bows Waynette Ballengee and Maggie at the ball

Gemini Captain Ed Hoover surrounded by confetti

Kim Hoover and husband Krewe of Gemini Captain Ed Hoover

Duke of Louisiana Jerry Talley's table

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze

When the Duke of Louisiana Jerry Talley and Duchess of Louisiana Martha Rennie stepped out on stage representing LSU Tiger Stadium’s Death valley at Krewe of Gemini Grand Bal Saturday, the crowd went wild.

The theme was "Gemini’s Favorite Things" and as duke and duchess of Louisiana, Talley and Rennie, represented Tiger Stadium’s Death Valley, as one of Louisiana’s favorite things.

When the wo came out to the LSU Fight song in purple and gold costumes, with a goal post for headpieces and a sequinned tiger as the collarpieces, ... Well, the black-tie crowd of at least 1,000 did go wild and crazy.

Guests jumped up. They applauded. They filled the floor with confetti of all sizes and colors as royals made their way around the floor and the music changed from the Fight Song to pulsating marching music.

That is not to say that the other royals didn’t get their share of adulation, but everyone agreed that the lion’s share of attention went, this year, to the Death Valley royals.

Interesting note: the costumes were designed, talked about and decided upon last summer, long before LSU played one game.

Representing Barbie and Ken, Queen Gemini XIX Sally A. Graff and King Gemini XIX Dr. Tobin Grigsby reigned over the ball.

We are sharing some images from the elaborate ball. Go to www.shreveporttimes.com to see more.

Mardi Gras notes

2008-01-25T15:55:00.000-06:00

King, queen and captain of Krewe of Atlas arrive at dock of American Legion Hall on Cross Lake for a toast

Krewe of Gemini Queen Sally Graff poses with Jan Graff and Sherry Townsend at a cocktail party in her honor Sunday at the Ellerbe Road area home of Graff and hubby Larry. They and Sherry and hubby Louis hosted the fun affair.

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Paul and i let the good times roll last weekend at four Mardi Gras balls, a cocktail party and a tea.

Here are a few notes. And some images to help take you there.

Krewe of Atlas is celebrating its first year as a krewe and started its Mardi Gras voyage in an unusual way on Sunday at the Krewe of Atlas Bal at American Legion Hall on Cross Lake.

King Kevin Doerr, Queen Susan Keith and Captain Eddie Horton arrived by boat to toast the beginning of the krewe for this is its first year.

On a cold, cold night and just past dusk, spectators gathered on the dock of hall on Cross Lake.

The krewe’s first theme, appropriately, enough, "Maiden Voyage of the Krewe of Atlas," said Keith.

"By coming up on a (boast), we were simulating how the King of Rex in New Orleans would come on a barge up the Mississippi River to begin the Mardi Gras celebration in the 19th century," e-mailed Keith.

Smooth sailing, Atlas, as you begin this Mardi journey.

Among revelers Saturday at Krewe of Aesclepius Grand Bal Masque XVIII were Duchess of the Rock ‘N Roll Era Carole Markham’s sons, both of whom serve in the U.S. military.

Introduced by emcee Dr. Bob Robinson to sustained applause at Bossier Civic Center, they are:

1st Lt. Reed Markham of the U.S. Army, currently stationed at Fort Carson, Colo. He was stationed in Ramadi, Iraq from October 2006 to December 2007.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Markham of the U.S. Navy, currently stationed in Washington, D.C. He served in the Persian Gulf on a destroyer from January 2003 to June 2003 and from November 2005 to May 2006.

As Bob said, "For our special sons and all of you who have served our country, we, the people, can’t thank you enough."

An Americana moment

2008-01-24T10:55:00.000-06:00

It was a a tiny thing, but a serendipitous moment, this morning happening on the 5:30 a.m. walk with Marilyn Light and Annette Horton.

As we turned the corner onto Poleman Road, the red lights were flashing on the school bus ... as it does most mornings ... on the grounds of North Highland Elementary School.

The bus was heating up as the driver waited for all the cars to arrive with her passengers.

But, this morning was different.

As we approached the school, a man ... teacher? maintenance person? parent? ... was about to post the American flag on the tall pole in front of the school. In all our walks, we had never seen him before.

Something about the meticulous and respectful way he was readying the flag on the rope, made us stop.

And, salute as he worked. We stood there, Marilyn and Annette with their arms across their chests, hand on their hearts. I military saluted, with my right hand at the tip of my forehead.

It took him a few minutes to get the ropes untangled and the flag straight before he pulled it to the top of the pole.
When he stepped back, we applauded. Again and again.

The man never heard us. ( We were several feet away from him on the street and the pole was near the bus and its motor was running. Or, perhaps he had the flag and what it means to all of us on his mind, but he just did not respond to us.)

He finished this special duty which he performed very seriously ... similar to many others being undertaken across the land as the day begins and flags are brought out ... and strode away.

We continued our walk east towards home.

Maybe the ceremony would have been insignificent to some.

To us, who find little things happening in the neighborhood noteworthy, it was a mighty, memorable moment on the grounds of the school in the middle of North Highlands.

Everything came up gold at Justinian ball

2008-01-23T10:06:00.000-06:00

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze.

(Top two images of Steve Glassell and two LSU Golden Girls. The third: Justinian 2008 Queen Jan Bookter, Captain Steve Glassell and Justinian 2008 King Merritt Chastain. For more Justinian ball images, go to http://www.shreveporttimes.com/ and look for Krewe of Justinian Ball on the Mardi Gras gallery list.)

There can be no bigger LSU fan that attorney Steve Glassell.

He is also 2008 captain of Krewe of Justinian, so friends just knew he would incorporate LSU into the tableau of Krewe of Justinain Grand Bal on Friday night.

He didn’t disappoint. LSU was part of the theme "Louisiana Saturday Night." "The best place to be on Saturday night ... Tiger Stadium," said Glassell.

He came out on stage at Sam’s Town Casino & Hotel Ballroom wearing a black feather-backed fleur de lis towering over his head with two LSU Golden Girls on either side and the LSU Fight Song pulsating through the venue.

As you can imagine, he brought everyone to their feet with applause, ya-hoos and confetti.

The Golden Girls are: Valerie Gendron and Danielle Hardy, both of Mandeville, and part of the elite 15-member dance line, tha performs at LSU games.

Glassell’s daughter, Elizabeth Glassell, was in charge of the ball and his wife, Berry Glassell, took over the silent auction, which netted $20,000 for the Shreveport Bar Association Foundation's many, many community projects.

In the captain’s talk, Glassell paid tribute to them, saying "Berry is a golden girl every day of my life."

The other golden girls in his life: daughter Elizabeth and daughter Graceann Hoffeditz.

And, another "golden girl," Virginia Shehee, who made it possible to have the LSU Golden Girls here for she made a donation to the band.

Beverly Neilson, there with hubby John Neilson, of Colorado, are frequent visitors to Shreveport, but never been to a Mardi ball.

Beverly was mesmerized and having an absolutely delightful time.

"This deal would only happen in Louisiana," she commented.

Among those in the crowd and/or dancing thenight away to sounds of Harmon Drew Super Group ... who were in rare form: Ralph Greer of Minden, Jay and Connie Pierson, Archer and Ivy Frierson, Haller and Sue Jackson, Mike and Robin Wolvington, Merritt and Catherine Chastain of Houston, Dr. Bill and Gay Borders, John and Alice Frazier, Brian and Denise Landry.

King Justinian Merritt Chastain and Queen Jan Bookter reigned over the festivities.

A Mardi Gras weekend

2008-01-14T18:40:00.000-06:00

Although it is frantic all year, the social beat really heats up during Mardi Gras season.

Here’s a look at last weekend:

Thursday: Krewe of Gemini Royalty Banquet at Shreveport Club.

Friday: Krewe of Sobek and Krewe des Ambassadeurs grand balls, the first at Riverview Hall, the second at DiamondJacks.

Saturday. Krewe of Centaur Ball at Riverview Hall. (They must have been catching themselves coming and going at Riverview.)

Sunday. Krewe of Barkus and Meoux Jazz Brunch at Barksdale Officers Club.

And... Sunday afternoon Mary Catherine Boogaerts’ Art Show opening at Columbia Cafe.

Some weekend tidbits: Krewe of Barkus and Meoux Captain Michelle Christian is sporting an engagement ring she received Christmas Day from Churck Sartori, who was at the Barkus brunch. on Sunday
"Christmas Morning he and his two children, Taylor, 6, and Julia, 3, came to my house, got down on their knees and said, 'Will you marry us ?'" said Christian. Sartori is an owner of Shaver's Catering ... Christian's choice for "Captain's Award?" Her dad, Bob Lindsay for his help in the krewe and support of her.

Among the people at Krewe of Centaur Grand Bal on Saturday was Sid Weaver, 84, step-father of Centaur Queen Barbara Zerrahn, who had come home from the hospital the day before after suffering a stroke on Dec. 8. Weaver and Zerrahn's mom lost their home in Hurricane Katrina, so lived in a FEMA trailer before moving here, said Zerrahn's hubby, Greg.
After Weaver got home from the hospital, he said, "I am going to be there," said Greg.
And, he was!

... Speaking of the Krewe of Centaur, King Centaur David Johnson of Natchitoches, is a king veteran, serving as a top royal for the second time in eight years! He is also a former king of Krewe of Dionysos, Natchitoches.

District Attorney party patter

2008-01-11T15:32:00.000-06:00

I just never know what I am going to hear at a party, but I keep my ears and eyes open.

Last night at the Krewe of Justinian Royal Banquet at Shreveport Club, over steak and red wine, I was stunned to hear that Caddo Dist. Atty Paul Carmouche might retire.

So, I got up, walked across the room to where Paul was sitting with wife Marti, knelt down and whispered in his ear, "Are you going to retire?"

He smiled, but wouldn't confirm nor deny: "I am going to make an annoucement the middle of next month."

Marti, however, said: "Yes."

Paul kept smiling.

He was 33 in 1978 when he first won a hotly contested race against a candidate everyone thought was a cinch to take over the post being vacated by long time ... and popular ... Caddo DA John Richardson.

If you are wondering who might run? Well, Caddo Dist. Judge Scott Crichton said he is "seriously considering" running. " If Paul does not."

Well. Well.

By the way, Justinian XVI King Merritt Chastain, there with wife Virginia, and Justinian Queen XVI Jan Bookter, there with hubby Claude, hosted the formal, seated dinner.

It is a see-and-be-seen event for the lawyers.

Special Mardi moments

2008-01-11T15:26:00.000-06:00

Seven years ago, John Manno Jr. gave the Mardi Gras in the Ark-La-Tex krewes a wonderful and very special gift — the Twelfth Night Mass. Krewe members affectionately refer to it as "Mardi Gras Mass."

It is held at St. Pius Catholic Church in North Shreveport.

It is one of my favorite parts of the Mardi season.

Manno and wife Lynne and his parents John A. and Angelina Manno arrange for the service and host a King Cake reception afternoon in a church reception area. Manno said the Knights of Columbus and the Ladies Guild also assist in the endeavor.

Catholics and non-Catholic krewe members arrived in their decorated jackets, and all of us received beads given out by Knights of Columbus members as we stepped into the church.

The presiding priest, Msgr. Earl Provenza — explained that only Catholics can take communion, but anyone is welcome to approach the priest. So, for communion we non-Catholics then crossed our arms in front of our chests, bowed our heads and received a blessing.

This year also, Provenza asked all those in Mardi jackets to gather outside, walk down the aisle two-by-two and stand behind the altar.

Later, as Provenza later went through the consecration of the water and the wine for communion, he asked everyone to join him in the altar area.

Krewe members are made up of a very diverse individuals. So there they — and I joined them — were: Professionals and blue collar workers ... Rich and poor and in between ... Believers from a wide range of religious disclipines — and those who didn’t believe at all. Very conservative to very liberal ... Very young to much older ... Full-time workers to retired ones.

Mardi Gras events can get pretty rambunctious, but no one moved behind that altar and you could have heard a pin drop.

But, the most moving moment of all came when Provenza asked all of us to recite the Lord’s Prayer. In a spontaneous move almost as one, we all took each other’s hands.

And, there was more than one eye filled with tears when it was over.
The thoughts, of course, were private, but those moments probably gave rise to some powerful musings.

Mannos, St. Pius, Knights and laides: What a gift you give us.

I thank you!

Merry Mardi Gras moments

2008-01-08T17:59:00.000-06:00

Krewe of Elders Co-Captain Celia Frazier (left), King Joe Cascio, Queen Gail Cascio and Captain Jay Prudhomme take center stage the the krewe's bal.

Richard Cook paid "A Tribute to Elvis."

Krewe of Elders Duchess of Wisdom Karen Bagley portrayed Princess Golden Eagle.

Krewe of Barkus & Meoux Captain Michelle Christian and Barkus and Meoux Duchess Ginger Paul take in the Krewe of Elders Grande Bal X.

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

The Krewe of Elders Grande Bal X was done Saturday in a two part tableau.

The theme was "A Tale of Two Cities" — no not that "Tale of Two Cities" — but the cities of Shreveport/Bossier City.

In the first part of the program at Municipal Auditorium, costumed actors for an evening portrayed such historical characters as Capt. Henry Mille Shreve and the Shreveport madam Annie McCune, who the late historian Goodloe Stuck made famous in a book. (This was a tableau done with much imagination, not your usual stodgy history play.)

But the highlight of the evening for us was Duchess of Wisdom Karen Bagley’s portrayal of Indian Princess Golden Eagle. Using the accordion gold pleated cape of her costume as wings, she ran and she whirled around the floor of the Municipal Auditorium.

Why she did it so well that you could almost imagine that she was truly flying.

For the formal introduction, court members changed into evening gowns and black tie and made very elegant bows.

Other members of the court: King Joe Cascio and Queen Gail Cascio; Duke and Duchess of Longevity, Jim and Wanda Smith and Duke of Wisdom Bobby Griffie.

Jay Prudhomme is krewe captain.

Much applause, too, to Richard Cook who wore a gold lame coat to pay "A Tribute to Elvis," "Hound Dog" getting my favorite vote.

Guests included Justinian Captain Steve Glassell and wife Berry left early for they had just bought LSU-Ohio State University tickets and were leaving early the next morning.

Check out the attached images to get a glimpse of the ball and go to www.shreveporttimes.com for the entire gala.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Lettin' the good times roll...again!

2008-01-07T12:10:00.000-06:00

Captain of Captains Doug Wolvington

Krewe of Akewa Queen IV Gail Wolvington

Krewe of Harambee Sharon Braggs and King Harambee Tymwa Dixon

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

With the formal season, coronations, fund raisers and other parties, Mardi Gras in the Ark-La-Tex has become a year long event.

And since it all began, I have been there telling the story of Mardi Gras.

This year’s season started early with Dec. 29 Twelfth Night Party at Bossier Civic Center and ends Feb. 5 on Fat Tuesday. (Mardi Gras precedes Lent which starts Feb. 6 with Ash Wednesday and continues until Easter Sunday. This year is just about as early as Easter can be and Easter determines when Lent begins.)

The 2008 Mardi Gras formal ball season kicked off Friday with the Krewe of Akewa
Grand Bal IV at Holiday Inn, Bossier City.

To give you an idea about the costumes, I am including some images from the gala fete.

A joyous Akewa Queen IV Gail Wolvington of Bossier City reigned with aplomb, shedding tears as she made her way in. She wore red and gold — her elaborate mantel created in layers of petal-shaped pieces and embellished with rhinestones and pearl. The lengthy train was embellished with tufts of red feathers.

Akewa’s court is made up of goddesses and they come from all over North Louisiana. They are: Goddess of Spring Pat Satterberg of Minden ... Summer Rhonda Long of Haughton ...Autumn Rachel Thornton of Sibley ...and Winter Brook Foster of Homer.

Wolvington’s hubby is Doug Wolvington, captain of captains for Mardi Gras in the Ark-La-Tex.
The couple is much loved and respected by other krewe members.

Have any Mardi news? Send it my way.

Icy art

2007-12-27T11:05:00.000-06:00

As The Times sometimes travel writer, I receive all kinds of interesting press releases from around the world.

One that arrived in my box this morning from Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley was especially intriguing.

It touts Canadian artist Gordon Halloran’s ground-breaking artwork "Museum of Modern Ice: "Paintings Below Zero."

Halloran, the release says, first developed his idea of painting on ice in the early ’90s. "I’ve always loved the way ice freezes, moves and forms," the artist said.

The paintings in Chicago’s Millennium Park are installed on an ice wall measuring 95-feet by 12 feet.

One side, visible from Michigan Avenue, echoes the city’s skyline.

The other is full of color, complexity and variety.

"... suggesting the living, natural world: mysterious and sensuous — is meant to be interactive and seen in close proximity. Its surface lit at night becomes an ornament against the winter sky. Halloran’s enormous ice wall evokes ‘a glacial wall in its final stages of movement towards collapse into the ocean,’" says the press release.

We must regret, but if you in the Chicago area and have a chance check it out, share your experience with us.

For more info: www.choosechicago.com/ice.

I'll be home for Christmas

2007-12-24T12:14:00.000-06:00

Husband Paul L. Schuetze’s white lighted angles are flying from the trunks of the oak trees that march like soldiers down our driveway on the Old Mooringsport Road, that I affectionately refer to in this blog as "The Road."

The angels and the other displays are his installation and I must say are spectacular. (Traditionally, he puts it all out, the day after Thanksgiving.)

They welcome me with flair all of December as I turn in that driveway usually well after sunset. (He has a nativity scene on the lawn, Santa and his reindeer taking off from the roof and cascading lights dripping from the roof line.)

Even when I am feeling droopy after a long day at my desk, the angels remind me what the season is all about. They cheer me and give me a warm feeling.

Paul and I took a ride last night around the North Highland neighborhood where I walk every morning.
Many homeowners in that area have brightened the streets with lighted displays.

The resident at the northwest corner of Old Mooringsport and Poleman Road sets the pace, with galloping reindeer, a snow globe, a chorus of angels and lights all over his house. (We always look forward to his elaborate displays that light up The Road.)

Here, there and yonder down that street are an assortment of outdoor scenes, including one right across the street, that touts a manger scene and a cross and a banner proclaiming, "Peace on earth."

At one home, there is a blow-up tiger, grinch and a Santa peeking out a door.

One home, has sections "roped off" with multicolored lights and bears singing Christmas carols.
Interesting note: this year, several houses used all blue lights, rather than multi or white.

At Dodd and Cornell, a corner lawn is alive with lights. With a nativity scene, angles trumpeting. Three trees on a corner feature off and one, blue, red and green lights, but all over the lawn, are traditionally-lighted trees.

And, so it goes on The Road ... and beyond.

I hope your home is lit with lights, yes, but also with love, warmth and many family traditions.

Happy Holidays!

Christmas time in the city

2007-12-20T12:13:00.000-06:00

I love John and Katie Koellen’s Earthereal Restaurant & Bakery for its delicious vegetarian dishes, with the home-made soup and gazpacho among the very short list of my favorite things in this world. (Everything is prepared fresh from scratch here, so the salads are crisp and fresh, the soup good and hot, the specials unusual ... like the black eye pea soup I sampled on my last trip.)

It is so warm in there and cozy and such a retreat on a busy street and in a busy world. I like that it is local. And that you see such a diverse group of diners.

But always, it is fun to stop by during the holidays as I did one day last week.

It is filled with the most whimsical and quaint gingerbread houses that Katie creates and people can’t resist buying and taking home.

They look wonderfully hme-made as though my mom or your mom made them. I guess that I am saying they don't have a "don't-touch-me-perfect" stance.
I love to see them.

And, the heart healthy cookies, bread and breakfast confections all packaged up in the most creative way for gift giving.

Regular customers receive a present as they depart out the back or front door. This year, it is a ruler made from recycled polystyrene. "The polystyrene in this ruler equals the weight of 3.6 foam coffee cups. Please help us recycle!" it said.

But what we relish was the bookmark tucked into the envelope. On ivory paper with black print, it says: "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul. And sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all." Emily Dickinson.

Words to help us live by. It goes up on my desk!

... We also like artist Susan Branch’s e-mail advice:

"The Best Gifts are tied with Heartstrings:"

"The gift of Enthusiasm: "When you go out shopping, wear something festive for the season — a pin or a bright scarf or hat. Smile at everyone, spread sunshine, do you part — be an elf!

"The Gift of Fun: ... Come in cold & frosty to something hot from the stove.

"The Gift of Yourself: Your time can be a most precious gift — a phone call or letter — cook a lovely dinner, set a pretty table, & invite good friends.

"The Gift of Faith: Before you go to bed on Dec. 31, join hands, say a prayer & make a wish for the coming year."

Happy holidays to all of you, too!

If you have any special holiday memories to share, please send them my way.

Flowery talk

2007-12-19T09:19:00.000-06:00

Photos by Maggie Martin/The Times

Beautiful flowers, great food and an eclectic crowd of friends and family who just have a joyous time. (Guests also have responsibilities!)

Those are the ingredients for a successful party any time, anywhere.

And, Stafford and Marianne Comegys' holiday celebration is always the perfect combination.

They host it in their Line Avenue home, the outside glittering with lights, the inside warm with conversation, food by Cotton Boll and Bella Fresca and flowers by Prentis Brown. And, always, Alex Harris and Alex Jr., serving the drinks.

The Comegys are such congenial hosts, and on Saturday, guests ... several just back from fabulous trips around the world ... visited in the dining room, down the halls and in the formal living room, where harpist was adding soft music to the mix.

As always, Brown's creative arrangements ... different each year ... turn the home into a garden. This years edition were a little more contemporary and stunning.

So I am sharing photos of the flowers on the buffet table in the formal dining room.

To see more, including beribboned presents of flowers, go to http://www.shreveporttimes.com/ and click on the photo galleries.

... The John Knight Christmas Party for First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport members was bittersweet this year.

For as long as we can remember in our 38 years of marriage , husband Paul L. Schuetze, and I have attended the pot luck gathering at the South Highlands home of the late John Knight and his wife, Annette. It is a wonderful Christmas memory for us.

John died in the fall after a short bout, with an aggressive bout with cancer.

While he was dying, John remembered the party and how very special it is to all of us. He asked Annette to host it one last time.

She and their daughter, Julia Knight, did. In memory of John.

So we gathered there on Sunday, bringing lasagna, salads, and desserts.

We visited. We sipped wine and cold drinks.

We ate.

And, following a long time tradition, we sang Christmas carols, ending with "Silent Night," as we have always done.

We departed with special memories. (Paul remembered that one holiday season, we picked up Paul's parents who flew in from Washington, D.C., skimming over from the airport to the party.

And, sad, too, because, really another tradition has come to an end.

Thanks, Annette and Julia ... and John. Thanks for memories that can never be bought. They can only be given to us.

The envelope, please

2007-12-10T10:04:00.001-06:00

There was sustained applause ... and then singing of "Jesus Loves Me" ... Sunday when the ballots were counted and beloved interim minister Bob Shelton announced that the congregation at First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport had accepted the call for a new minister.

Search committee chairman, attorney Frank Dodson, initially revealed his name.

The envelope, please: the Rev. Pen Peery, now associate pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Va.

And the shocker: Pen is 30 years old. For someone old enough to be at least his grandmother, that sounds awfully young to me.

But not to be alarmed. Although one Presbyterian seminary official said as much when he told Dodson that the age might be a stretch for the congregation of First Pres, he did go on to highly recommend that the committee consider him.

Theodore J. Wardlaw, president of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminar called Pen "absolutely one of the finest young pastors in the Presbyterian Church in the USA, with a maturity that belies his youth."

"He ... will bring new energy and inspiration to your congregation, to Shreveport, and the greater church which we all seek to serve," promised Wardlaw.

Pen and wife Lindsey have one son, Wells, one-year-old.

The two met as undergraduates at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where Pen graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science!

Among Pen's comments on the church and how it worships Jesus Christ: "It is exceedingly important to remember to whom we belong and to whom the church belongs — not to a particular ideology, or issue, or manifestation of fear — but to Jesus Christ, who claims us through the power of the cross."

Pen’s first official day at First Pres is the first Sunday of Lent — Feb. 10.

Welcome, Pen, to First Pres and to Shreveport.

We look forward to hearing you preach and to seeing you out and about.

See ya!

2007-12-03T16:45:00.000-06:00

Well, guys, I am off for a few days...until Monday.

Off to clean my house and get ready for the holidays.

... to decorate my Christmas tree with ornaments collected from my childhood through today.

... to put out on the gate the welcome sign that Dr. Harry Pinkofsky and his wife/my friend, Barbara Ruane, who died last year, gave me so many holidays ago.

...to find a spot for the wonderful folk art nativity scene on pink burlap that my mother, the late Sabra B. Martin, stitched up and that brings back so many special memories of her. She had very little money, but always made the season special for me, my dad, the late Robert C. Martin Jr. and my sister, the late Deborah J. Martin Cole

... and to place the many nativity scenes. I don't know how I wound up with so many, but they include: The very special family one that mother pulled together for us via layaway... the more unusual one a Revel artist who stayed in our home sold to Paul and me ... The very small, but exquisite one I bought from a local artist. Each has a traditional spot in our country home.

... and to arrange a wonderful Victorian Christmas book that my grandmother gave me. And that is the centerpiece on a Texas primitive in the entry.

... and to marvel over all the Santas husband Paul L. Schuetze has bought for me at Arkansas craft fairs.

Goodness, is Christmas made of many memories or what.

See you on this blog Monday.

Or at one of the many holiday parties that fill the social calendar from Wednesday through Sunday.

Surely, I will see you at some of them.

"Souful Santa" opens at museum

2007-12-03T11:25:00.000-06:00

Maggie Martin/The Times

Dr. Daryl Mitchell’s "Soulful Santa" collection began 14 years ago.

It all started when son Scott, now 19, came in and saw him with a pair of black papier mache Santa Clauses.

Scott was very upset.

"He said, "Santa Claus is not black. He is white,’" recalled Mitchell.

"He was very upset," added Mitchell.

Even as his father tried to explain to him that Santa was a symbol, that he can be any color, Scott said, "No. No. No."

So, Mitchell went about righting the misconception.

Today he has 500 pieces in his collection of ornaments, figurines, wall hangings, animated objects, Christmas trees and stocking hangers. (Where in the world does he store all this?)

An exhibit of the collection opened Thursday at Southern Univeristy Museum-Metro Center, 610 Texas St., with a reception presided over by museum chief Carolyn Coatney. It will be up through Dec. 21.

"This is the third time we have shown the collection," said Coatney. "We have more patrons when it is up than at any other time."

It is spectacular. And spectacularly displayed.

These Santas will delight people of all ages. They dance, swim, fish, ride, rock, snooze, snow ski and water ski. There is even a telephone Santa that Mitchell is particularly proud of.

A giant blow-up Santa greets you at the museum entrance.

With Mitchell at the opening was son Scott who started it all, son Jordan and wife Yvonne. (They are, in the photo above: Scott, Jordan Yvonne and Daryl Mitchell.)

As part of the program, Mitchell read a poem dealing with whether or not there is a black Santa.

In it, the author "talks" to Santa, and finds that Santa is everywhere and makes himself available in all colors and sizes. He even visits homes without a chimney. He can fit himself in keyholes.

Why, after all, he is Santa to all of us.

To see more "Soulful Santa" opening photos go to http://www.shreveporttimes.com/ and check out the "Black Santa Claus Collection Opening."

Loveliest night of the year

2007-11-26T11:26:00.000-06:00

"The Loveliest Night of the Year."

This year it was Saturday when 13 Demoiselle Club debutantes made formal bows to society at Shreveport Country Club. They were presented by their fathers and escorted by brothers, cousins or a good friend.

Yes, indeed, they really did curtsey magnificently in their white ball gowns. A lesson learned earlier in the week stands them in good stead for the bow.

But, before the ball began, the 13 posed for a picture for us downstairs in the women’s locker room. Some of them wore more casual shirts so they could grab a bit to eat, put on more makeup or apply one more coat of hairs pray to their formal hairdos.

Also pictured: Ball chair Cathy Campbell in a stunning Chanel evening ensemble bought in Atlanta, her hubby Chris Campbell and daughter Caroline, one of the serving girls selected by each deb — an addition to the ball.

Work force

2007-11-20T09:19:00.000-06:00

Are you happy with your career?

If you are a member of the clergy, a firefighter, an architect or actor/director, the answer is probably yes, according to a "happiness index" that illustrated "One Day in America" in the most recent issue of Time magazine.

Actually, the article said statistics show that Americans are remarkably satisfied with what they do.

"For the most part, happiness isn’t about money, Priests and firefighters are the most joyful, and they’re pretty close to the middle of U.S. earners," the article said.

The least happy? Gas-station attendants, roofers, molding-machine operators and construction workers.

Journalists fall about in the middle along with plumbers, mail carriers, hairdressers, physical therapists, soldiers and pharmacists.

For me, the career has been satisfying. It is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. (Inspired, in part, by feature stories I read in The Times and Journal when I was growing up in Queensborough.)

In 43 years, done everything from intense investigative work to the more genial though, at times, no less complex — society beat.

The career has been enabled me to tell the stories of so many. I always thank people for letting me invade their privacy to relate their journeys of love and loss, success and failure, fun and frolic and despair.

Among my favorites: Meeting people who live down country roads, who taught many lessons as I interviewed them.

Just a sampling: the woman who lived in the woods and told the photographer and I that when you were hungry, an eight-foot rattlesnake tastes mighty good... The late W.R. Henry who owned a country story in the crossroads of two country roads near Marsalis and with whom I was a regular correspondent until he died recently ... The two women on Lake Kepler, who garden side-by-side, their yards filled with the most unusual plants ... The rice farmer who said that riding through the fields at first light was never lonely for him ... The folk artist who lived on the banks of the Red River near Coushatta and whose outsider art inspired by flags drew people from all over the country to him.

What is your career? Are you happy? Why? Unhappy? Why?

Share your stories with me.

Les Boutiques de Noel

2007-11-15T16:12:00.000-06:00

Byron and Bobbie Trust (far left) and a passel of pals arrive in a LSU-inspired limo

Maggie covers Les Boutiques

Tom Williams shows off hot liquid cups

Marjorie bought a bag of baubles for gifts

Jan Hudson of Hudson House shoes off shoes

AWB Promotions’ pulsating massage pillows were the hot hits at Les Boutiques de Noel Gala Wednesday and Thursday.

Kathy Smith and Tracy Pressly were among those walking out of the Les Boutiques with armloads.

"I’m giving them to everybody said," Pressly.

She and hubby Dr. Tom Pressly were among those trying them out at the gala. "Isn’t it fabulous?" asked Tracy.

Why, you had to stand in line just to see what all the fuss was about. (Hubby Paul Schuetze and I were among them. And, wow, do they make your back feel good.)

Perfect, just perfect gifts for that person who has everything.

Another unusual item at Les Boutiques are DRG Specialty cups that change images and/or light up with color when you pour hot coffee, tea or even water into them.

There are scenes of hummingbirds, birds of North America, angels, golfing and a fat cross and pink pigs. They are really neat.

"I love it," said Judy Russo.

"My wife ramrods the business. I just pour hot water," quipped Tom Williams, hubby of Sue.

LSU Health Sciences Center is selling its Bill Joyce cards and the Junior League, cookbooks.

Jan Hudson of Hudson House is thrilled with her glittery "Dancing with the Stars" shoes.

Noreen Dockendorf of Spoiled Rotten, who has the new cropped jackets and evening tops, has been selling coming and going.

Among the things in the King Hardware area are Christmas-themed toilet paper and "Under Wraps" from Dallas is back with its tulle, raffia and paper. New this year: Burgundy matte-inspired paper.

Les Boutiques is sponsored by Shreveport Opera Guild and runs through Saturday at Bossier Civic Center.

We’ve posted some scenes from the gala shot by Paul.

See more gala pictures in a http://www.shreveporttimes.com/ gallery.

A samaritan sermon

2007-11-14T13:14:00.000-06:00

The Rev. Uelyss Reed, Roy and Nelva Griggs and Don McDuffy

Samaritan Award Banquet Guest Hazel Harris

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze

When McDonald’s owner/community contributor Roy Griggs received the Samaritan of the Year 2007 Award Thursday, he preached all of us a sermon.

It is the small things we do that make the world a better place, Griggs said.

Things like a smile and a kind word.

"We don’t know how far that will go in someone’s life," he explained, with one of his wide smiles that light up a room.

"It only takes one life, one person to help someone in need and bring about great change," he said.

"Do something just to make the world different. Let’s keep lifting each other up. When we all come together, we can bring change," he said.

"You can bring about change," he added.

Griggs said he was so grateful for the award and thanked the Lord for all he had allowed him to accomplish.

Along the way, "I see so many Good Samaritans," said Griggs. "This is such a good place to live and do business and tonight is an expression of that.

No, we cannot all afford to give $250,000 to Christus Schumpert Sutton Children’s Medical Center, like Griggs did.

But we can all smile at that homeless person we see on the street or write a note to someone who is very ill. We can answer the phone at work with a pleasant voice no matter how busy we are. We can befriend a lonely person.

Griggs received the award at the Samaritan of the Year Banquet at Shreveport Country Club. He was honored by the Samaritan Counseling Center.

Griggs' list of community service is lengthy. He is on the prestigious Committee of 100 and the boards of the Hal Sutton and the Independence Bowl Foundations.

But he also teachers Sunday school and is a deacon at Stonewall Baptist Church, Bossier City and he is involved in the Boy Scouts.

Congratulations, Roy. What a special person you are for our community.

LSU-Louisiana Tech Road Trip

2007-11-12T17:02:00.000-06:00

Maggie, Russ and Marsha Friedrich and Jim and Marilyn Kirkland

Maggie and Paul in LSU Tiger Stadium

Mike the Tiger

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze

I hadn’t been to Tiger Stadium since I was in grad school in the early 1960s, so when Louisiana Tech grads Russ and Marsha Friedrich invited us to accompany them for a tailgate weekend for the LSU-Louisiana Tech game, I was thrilled.

Husband Paul L. Schuetze and I followed the Friedrich’s RV in their van. LSU fans/close friends Jim and Marilyn Kirkland rode in the RV.

It was a far different trip, down Interstate-49 and Interstate-10 than it was all those years ago on two-lane Highway 1!

But no matter how things have changed, one tradition remains: Lunch at Lea's coming and going.

The ham sandwiches and the pies are still famous and the lunches ... baked turkey, fried chicken, turnip greens, dressing ... delicious. . Among those we chatted with on Sunday: Dale McGinty, Dr. Don and Kathy Smith and Norbert and Martha Johnson. All were headed home.

Down in Baton Rouge, we dined Friday on seafood at Druscilla’s.

Chef Russ prepared the rest of the meals, ranging from blueberry pancakes for breakfast to gumbo and jambalaya for the big tailgate party Saturday. There was beer, wine, Margaritas and lots of water to drink. Chips and dip to snack upon and Syndy Johnson’s (of Fairfield Grocery) famous praline cake to finish off the meal.

The Friedrichs’ daughter Dee Cochran and her husband, Rob, and their children Alex and Colin and Rob’s dad, Bobby Cochran, drove in Saturday.

Russ invited friends from all over the state to drop by for lunch — baked chicken and asparagus — and dinner ... gumbo and jambalaya and salad.

Among those taking him up on it: Kim French, Rodney Reeves, Clayton and Angela Brakeville. Tech grad Patrick Pierce was up from Covington and Tommy and Debbie Albritton, Marsha’s brother and sister-in-law, from Alexandria.

Once on campus, I passed the journalism building en route to the bookstore which was built while I was at LSU. We stopped to see Mike the tiger in his natural habitat enclosure, so different from the bare cage when I was a student..

We never did pass the French House, where grad students were housed — and where we were allowed to stay out as late as we wanted. Believe it or not, that was revolutionary in the early 1960s.

And, the game brought its own set of thoughts. (A good friend gave us his great tickets in the 50-yard line area, so that was certainly different from student seats.)

But it was LSU football in Death Valley on a Saturday night. There we saw Jerry Jones, former U.S. Rep. Jerry Huckaby, Dr. Charles and Catherine Sale and Dr. Mark and Darla Provenza.

The memories ... yesterday's and this night ... don't get much better than this.

It was a weekend adventure that we delighted in.

Thanks Russ and Marsha. Thanks for the memories.

A season for everything

2007-11-05T09:48:00.000-06:00

"Shreveport, Louisiana. Ever heard of it? Before Hurricane Katrina, my home town was suffering an identity crises."

Yolanda Young writing a column, "It's Shreveport's Season," in the Washington Post which a friend in the Washington, D.C. area shared with us. Young is a Washington lawyer and author of a memoir, "On Your Way to Beautiful."

Her lengthy column dealt with Katrina and how its aftermath sent the movie industry our way.

As she sees it, there are new signs of progress each time she visits her family here, including Starbucks appearance, the new Hilton, the city’s first black mayor.

A lot of things have conspired to help the city, but it is the movie business that has given it something to talk about, Young writes.

"When I grew up there, the skating rink, Friday night football and the one-story mall anchored by Sears were the major sources of amusement," she said.

And she discusses the pluses movie industry officials have found in our city: No traffic congestion which means crews can move easily around the city ... Housing and rentals reasonably priced.

A minus: No direct flights to Los Angeles.

But that hasn’t derailed the industry here.

"We can only imagine what the meal would have looked like if not for Katrina, but that’s how the dish got served. My home town seems determined to make the most of this course," she wrote.

Good column! Yolanda. Thanks for writing about us.

Hou about a mango lassi?

2007-11-02T11:44:00.000-05:00

I love to try new locally-owned restaurants.

Especially those founded by Shreveport-Bossier City restauranteurs from other countries, because it is special to meet new restaurateurs, who are always proud of their enterprise and sample new dishes ... always with different spices and ingredient combinations.

So when Shobha Reddy and LSUS India Studies professor Sanja T. Menon invited me to dine at India’s restaurant, tucked away on a service road off of Youree Drive, I accepted. (It has been there a while and was filled with diners — including nearby Barksdale Air Force Base troops.)

We ate from the buffet.

But, Reddy and Menon recommended I order a "mango lassi," a sort of milkshake.
"It is made with yogurt," said Sri Naidu, who owns India’s with his wife, Rama.

I did. Rich and thick, it is yummy. And would just about provide a meal in itself.

Conclusions: Great food and comfortable atmosphere.

I shall return.

Arkansas, here we come

2007-10-31T15:41:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Princedom, Bella Vista, Ark.

Tree top cabin.

Maggie sips coffee in front of Princedom's fireplace.

Fireplace at The Cabin, Bella Vista, Ark.

War Eagle Fair, Arkansas, Maggie with Kansas City pal Sydney Burch

jJames at the Mill...Dessert

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Northeast Arkansas.

The third weekend in October.

The craft shows.

People jet in from around the world for the shows.

Husband Paul L. Schuetze and I are among them. Have been since the 1980s.

As many of you know, we stay in Princedom, a friend’s 100-year-old summer cabin in the Ozarks of Bella Vista, Ark. It is built so you feel that you are actually in the tree tops that shimmer with color as the leaves change and the wind blows.

This cabin is so very special. It just about my favorite place on this Earth and it is always difficult to leave its peacefulness.

It has a little rock fireplace that we light every morning for warmth while we dress to head to:

War Eagle Fair. This show is the one that started ‘em all many years ago. The drive there winds through the hills with a view to a valley still filled with farms.

A river runs through the property, dividing the original show — which is juried — to two non-juried shows and War Eagle Mill. The mill is wonderful, too, and you can buy grains and stone-ground flour and grits, enough, we hope, to get us to next year. (The mill is open all year and is worth the drive.)

We know many of the artists from years past and buy from them.

But, there are always new artists.

This year, our favorite purchases were: a giant jack-o-lantern-themed planter created from a golf cart tire. True folk art, people were snapping up at the Bella Vista show.

Then there was the Minnesota dairy farmer who showed rusty turkeys created from tractor seats and shovel heads; and buzzards perched on a stand made from shovel heads. We loved them and are finding a spot in our yard for them.

But, there is Pam Barro from Springfield, Mo., who creates whimsical clothing from sweat shirts and T-shirts. Sandy Kay Hunter hails from Kansas and paints blue birds and cows and sheep. We’ have bought her work for years and seen dramatic changes in her style and perception.

And, the food.

The places we frequent range from a four-star restaurant, James at the Mill, (see bottom photo) to a down-home place, Inn at Monte Ne.

If you didn’t know the Inn was there, you would not stop. There is one menu served family style: fried chicken, corn, cole slaw, and mashed potatoes. Bread is served with the best apple butter ever. But it is the bean soup that we crave, the best I have ever put into my mouth. I always bring home bean soup to freeze and some of the apple butter. No credit cards taken at the Inn. Cash or check. And, if you don’t have a reservation, forget it.

The best salad: Mary Maestri’s dressed with an incredibly simple oil/ vinegar dressing.

There is Fred’s for spaghetti.

I am counting the days until the third week in October 2008!

A legal eagle.

2007-10-25T16:47:00.000-05:00

Photo by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times
Shown at the luncheon: Glenn E. Walker, U.S. Dist. Judge Tom Stagg, David Broder and Marty Stroud.

Shreveport attorney Glenn E. Walker’s acceptance speech for a Shreveport Bar Association Award Wednesday so awed Pulitzer Prize-winning writer David Broder that he cancelled his speech.

"You had a wonderful talk. It as fine a speech on the role of law as I have ever heard," said Broder. He is national political correspondent who reports the political scene for the Washington Post and whose column in carried in The Times.

The award was given and Broder was the guest speaker for the luncheon at the Petroleum Club.

So, instead of giving his prepared talk on contemporary political leaders — that he had actually delivered the night before — he told stories about national political figures he had covered and knew very well: former Sen. Barry Goldwater, once a Republican candidate for U.S. President ,and President Ronald Reagan and took questions from the lunch bunch.

He said the press wasn’t always kind to Goldwater, but that he was loved by reporters who covered him. "They lionized him as much as anyone," Broder said.

It probably couldn’t happen today, but in those days, Broder and a couple of other reporters made their way to Goldwater’s ranch when he got back to Arizona from the Republican convention.

"He was sitting around fooling with his ham radio and drinking coffee," said Broder.

Goldwater told the reporters that he and Lucky Davis, Reagan’s mother-in-law, a guest at the rance, got up at the same time. "We swap dirty jokes. That is how I start my day," declared Goldwater.

Some of the topics Broder touched on in the question/answer session:

Polarization of Congress. "It is the most poisonous atmosphere I have ever seen in Washington ... Their lifestyle isolates them. They don’t spend time in Washington and they don’t spend time with each other. There is very little communication."

How history will view President George W. Bush. "It depends on how the war turns out ... I am not optimistic about the war."

On the writers of the U.S. Constitution. "The wisest generation of Americans — ever."

As for Walker’s speech, he mixed whimsey and light topics with serious thoughts to discuss the law and how its role in society is to bring order to it.

By the way did you know that Angola Peniteniary has a great museum and gift shop.

The biggest seller in the shop? "The T-shirt that says, 'Angola. A Gated Community,'" said Walker.

Walker is a good and long time friend of mine, so covering the speech and award presentation was very special.

Besides his law prowess, he is also a woodworker who builds and refinishes furniture and once created a fly rod for his wife, my close pal Martha S. Walker.

He is also a cook who once took Cuisinart lessons with my husband Paul L. Schuetze and U.S. Dist. Court Judge Tom from the late Times columnist Carolyn Flournoy. In her South Highlands kitchen.

Congratulations, Glenn! We are proud of you. Well deserved, this award.

Who is Wanda Mitchell?

2007-10-24T15:55:00.000-05:00

Linda M. Biernacki

What is in a name?

If you read my personalty profile on community volunteer Linda Biernacki on the front of The Times Sunday Living section, you may think you need to know all there is to know about her. I wrote a lot. It was a long story. I had a lot to say. She was a fascinating subject.

But, I have more info. (Well, I couldn't fit it all in!)

When Biernacki was born, her mother, Anne Marie Mitchell, was unable to help name her because of complications from the birth, so her dad, Jerry Lee Mitchell, named her.

Wanda Mitchell.

A perfectly good name, as all Wandas, their parents and friends know.

But, her mom didn’t like it.

"She will henceforth be called Linda Lee," said Anne Marie when she was awake.

And so, she was, Linda Lee.

"Wanda was on my birth certificate, but I was Linda Lee," said Biernacki.

So, much later. Biernacki changed it officially and legally to "Linda Lee."

Why fall is fine

2007-10-10T16:51:00.000-05:00

Night blooming cereus

Bois d'arc apple

Two buckeyes and the hull

Ginger lily

Monarch butterly lands on zinnia

Persimmon tree

Persimmon treePersimmon tree

Spider lily

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Fall is coming our way.

I feel it and I see it on our seven acres surrounded by woods on The Road, the Old Mooringsport Road where I live with husband Paul L. Schuetze.

I see it in:

The eight night blooming cereus buds that unfurled one coolish fall night recently filling the air with their subtle scents from a rim of pots under the old oak tree outside the kitchen window.

The plants are ungangly and ugly, but every time they bloom, I think how worth it to haul them back and forth each fall and spring, some years for just for one blossom.

The change in color of the river oats from green to taupe as the heads blow softly in the wind in their spot near the bridge and close by the tree house that overlooks the glen.

The huge Granny apple green bois d’arc apples which drop from ancient trees in the front and back of the property.

The red spider lilies that pop up overnight here, there and yonder around the acreage.

The clusters of St. Joseph lilies that congregate in the contemplative and the shade gardens.

The buckeye plants hidden away along an ancient cattle walk which this year yielded two buckeyes from their dry, withered plants ... that are so awesomely beautiful in the spring.

The persimmons turning slowly from green to soft coral in a tree that hugs the western end of the house.

The migrating monarch butterflies that flutter through the year-end blooms of the primary-hued zinnia patch in the side yard.

The French mulberry plants ripe with magenta berries along their branches.

The ginger lilies, because they remind me so much of my mother, Sabra B. Martin, who cherished them in her passalong garden.

The moonflower vine making a last stand, its buds unfolding as sunset fades, the sun sets and dark falls gently over our land.

Always, fall has been my favorite season.

October my favorite month because it is my birthday month. And, although my childhood parties were never elaborate, they were always special.

My mother made birthday cakes from scratch and covered with time consuming seven-minute icing and pumpkins she squeezed from a tube — nothing fancy, just from an aluminum kit.

Fall. I welcome its memories and its present beauty.

A-reveling we will go

2007-10-02T15:59:00.000-05:00

Photo by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

"Snapdragon" is a hot hit down at the Red River Revel.

Paul and Kathy Smith of Dubach, created this yard art out of shovels and other "stuff." It costs $4,000.

"A lot of people have shown interest in it," said Kathy.

But you can buy things created of old garden tools at their booth for far less. How about a butterfly for $20.

I love the wonderful tractor seats for sitting upon in the garden. Sitting is my garden if a version of their "Majer Yertle Turtle," made of an old Army helmet — bought a year or so ago here at another show.

The Smiths best seller at the RRR: Ladybugs for $50.

They sold out of early: bottle trees, "Dandy Lions" and "Granddaddy Long Legs."
But, still there is plenty left. How about an armadillo, a garden stake, or "Toadlly Delicious Dragonfly."

...Ed and Tresa Konderla’s wood furniture made from area woods is also a sight to see. The couple is from nearby Center, Texas.

Ed pointed out one especially beautiful piece that came from wild plum.

Their wood-inspired cards says "Attoyac River Gallery, Artistic Furniture and Accessories."

Stop by and ask Ed about his classroom experiences!

We go Reveling

2007-10-01T10:37:00.000-05:00

Photo by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Red River Revel Artist Lori Watts of Columbia, Miss., had jury duty for six months before the festival opened — hindering her usual flurry of work.

The duty ended Wednesday, giving her one day to pack up and head west. She and husband sculptor Ben Watts show together.

Husband Paul L. Schuetze and I have loved and collected Watts’ works since she first started showing here several years ago and always stop by to say, "Hi."

Watts recognizable raku boxes are "beribboned" with raku swirls that, well, look like a ribbon. The "ribbons" top the lids.

We show her above with some red glazed pieces, but she also creates them with glazes of turquoise, yellow and purple. They are all sizes and shapes and are exquisite. And, she is venturing out, with her "ribbons," trading raku for copper wire and beads in some pieces.

You can buy Watts art work for prices that range from $35 for a cross to $895 for a large sculpture. Boxes start at $45.

Ben’s works with oil-based clay and cast bronze. You can pick up one of his for $495 for a small bust to $8,500 for a large Indian chief bust.

The piece that dominates the booth is a dramatic rendering of a Christ figure.It was done for a service for our church," said Lori.

Ben filmed himself as he sculptured it and it was presented at Willow Point Church, Hattiesburg, Miss., in an unusual way.

Just installed at the Archery Hall of Fame at Bass Pro, Springfield, Mo., is "A Bear Hunt," honoring famous archer Fred Bear by Ben. A smaller version is displayed in Ben’s booth and it is stunning.
There is also a lifesize John Wesley by Ben at Millsaps, College, Jackson, Miss.

Definitly worth your time to stop by the Watts’ booth.

A Dot & A Dash

... Loved Darryl Freed’s cards. Featuring the name of his business "Cabin Fever" and his telephone number, they are on a chip of wood!

Freed is from Harrison, Ark., and combines rough wood he picks up in the woods with smooth finished wood for his unusual duck work.

The names he gives them, provides glimpse of their theme.

How about "Soul Mates," "The Flush," "Double Dipping."

Prices range from $45 for a small carved duck to "$750 for an intricate "Circle of Life" lamp.
Among this most popualr sellers: the decoy style pieces.

Let the good times roll

2007-09-28T11:48:00.000-05:00

Krewe of Justinian King Merritt Chastain Krewe de les Femmes Mystique Lady of Love Karen Barnes

Les Femmes Captain Sandy Franks and Queen Catherine Vanderberry.

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Krewe de Les Femmes Mystique introduced its court Friday at DiamondJacks Casino & Hotel Ballroom with much ado.

Calling itself the "Hot Wave Hotties," the group bowed on stage and asked everyone to join in on the 2nd Line Dance that is so popular at all krewe functions.

The 2008 Queen Catherine Vanderberry was a hottie hit in red with sparkling gold trim and a blue banner, while Captain Sandy franks sparkled in a slim long black dress overlaid with her gold banner.

And Lady of Love Karen Barnes was so excited about her green two piece ensemble etched in gold to give the hemlines and sleeves an exotic leaf effect.

"I ordered it from Africa," said Barnes.

It was stunning.

Other court members: Lady of Art Susie Montgomery; Grace Angel Alexander; Light Wanda Clements; Music Bedgood; Truth Sandy Park.

And, we gotta tell ya — Justinian King 2008 Attorney Merritt Chastain was among those boogieing his way through that 2nd Line Dance.

Havin’ fun!

And, that is what the fab Mardi Gras celebration is all about.

Letter from the Western Pacific

2007-09-27T10:38:00.000-05:00

The envelope is bordered in red and blue stripes designating "Via Air Mail."

The six-cent red stamp bears an airplane flying into the wild blue yonder.

The hand-stamped post mark: "U.S. Navy. Feb. 25, 1945."

Another stamp: "Passed by Naval censor," is initialed.

He was aboard the USS Wren.

The letter I came across recently was written in blue ink by my late Uncle Bill Martin who grew up in Marshall, Texas.

Seaman 1st Class Martin served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. (Interesting note: his mother’s maiden name was Wren.)

The two-page letter was addressed to his sister, Florence Martin, who at that time lived in Shreveport but was a prolific letter writer all her life — and showered him with mail! (They were the siblings of my father, the late Robert C. Martin Jr. and the late Frank L. Martin, who was at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed. And were the children of Robert C. Martin and Florence Wren Martin.)

With Ken Burns new PBS documentary on "The War", in the news, it had special meaning.

I was born in 1940 and like others of my generation growing up in that era, I never really talked to my relatives — two other uncles also served — or adult friends about their experiences and forever wished I had. (Perhaps we were just too close to it all. For us, it really wasn’t history yet, but veterans were our teachers, car repairmen, store managers, people we saw everyday. Looking back, I can see the effects the horrible things they encountered had on so many of them.)

So, I thought I would share some tidbits from my uncle’s letter.

He was on a ship in the Western Pacific, in an area that stretches northeast from Hokkaido, Japan to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. And although he appreciated my aunt’s letters, it was difficult to write aboard ship.

"We have bombarded the Kurile Islands as far south as Matua with very good effects. So you can imagine about where we are," Uncle Bill wrote. (How THAT got past the censor, I’ll never know!)

Having never having heard of the Kurile Islands, known in Japan as the Chishima Islands, we checked it out. They are in an area that stretches northeast from Hokkaido, Japan to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. They are part of a group of islands known as "the Ring of Fire," because of volcanic activitity. (I wonder if my uncle knew precisely where in the word he was!)

Matua is an island in the central Kurile archipelago. During WW II, the Japanese had an airfield located on the island. During 1944, the Japanese facilities were intermittenly shelled by U.S. Naval and bomber forces, according to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matua_Island.

The weather had been rough, with waves up to 75-feet, "which is rough enough."

"Perhaps we shall get relieved in a few more months, we hope," he added.

My uncle rarely wrote to us after the war and he died many years ago.

I am sorry I never broached the subject of WW II service. Perhaps he would have talked about those islands in that faraway and remote place. Those battles. And life aboard ship.

And, how it all of it affected his life.

An evening of Indian culture & cuisine

2007-09-26T12:30:00.000-05:00

And international crowd headed out to LSUS University Center Sept. 22 for India Night 2007.

It featured Indian cuisine by Indigo Bistro and a program of Indian dance by Anjali School of Dance, Houston.

We are posting here some scenes from the fabulous program taken by Paul L. Schuetze for The Times.

For more pics, go to http://www.shreveporttimes.com/ home page to see an India Night gallery.

Making waves

2007-09-20T12:59:00.000-05:00

Jane Crandell-Glass submitted this photo of the T-shirt.

Attention, all T-shirt collectors, art lovers or Japanese fans.

You can wear a great piece of art on your chest.

Feist-Weiller Cancer Center of LSU Health Sciences Center is offering a black T-shirt emblazoned with "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" by very famous Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, who lived from 1760 to 1849.

It is a raging ocean scene in blues and grays.

The art is special because it was painted in panels by cancer patients at FWCC. They participated in the Arts in Medicine project and proceeds go to AIM.

Two volunteers completed the Japanese in calligraphy on the painting.

Sizes: Youth large to Adult 2XL.

Price: $20.

Information: Anne Higdon, 813-1423.

Mardi Gras Museum entertaining ways

2007-09-19T14:04:00.000-05:00

Photos Special to The Times by Air Force Staff Sgt. Trina Jeanjacques.

The photos: (Top to bottom) 1. Krewe of Gemini Queen XVIII Noreen Dockendorf (left), Bess Elder, Barbara Wynne, Rachel Wheeler and King Gemni XVIII Louis Townsend at Mardi Gras Museum, Bossier City.

2. Barbara Wynne (left) and Betty Bamonte check out a costume on display.

3. Barbara Wynne with Mardi Gras beads.

We weren’t there, but Mardi Gras Museum chief Betty Bamonte e-mails us that Sept. 12 and 13 brought a whirlwind of visits at Mardi Gras Museum.

On Wednesday, Barbara Wynne, wife of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne stopped by the museum. She was accompanied by Bess Elder, wife of Lt. Gen. Bob Elder, 8th U.S. Air Force Commander, and Rachel Wheeler, wife of Col. Robert E. Wheeler, commander 2nd Bomb Wing. The Wynnes were here for "Heritage to Horizons," the U.S. Air Force 60th Anniversary Ball Sept. 12 at Horseshoe Riverdome.

Two protocol officers stopped by the museum earlier to approve the tour and make sure protocol was followed, said Bamonte.

"We had to give a list of who would be at the museum, what type of gift we would give. They wanted to keep it very low key," said Bamonte.

Wynne was awed by the museum, telling Bamonte that it was "absolutely fabulous" (It is.) and that she had seen nothing like it.

She watched a brief video on Mardi Gras in the Ark-La-Tex.

And then — drum roll — royally and glittery costumed King Gemini XVIII Louis Townsend and Queen Gemini XVIII Noreen Dockendor made an appearance.

"Mrs. Wynne wanted to know how heavy the costumes were, how they were chose. She said she was just awestruck by all of the detail in the costumes," said Bamonte.

Officials also told Wynne about the community work krewes do all year.

Before leaving Wynne presented participants a special keepsake, a commemorative coin minted for the 60th Air Force anniversary.

Wynne was most impressed with the museum and Mardi talk.

So was Elder. "When we were here 20 years ago, there was no Mardi Gras!" she told us at a later party.

But the Air Force visits weren’t over. Actually Elder and Wheeler gave Wynne a bird’s-eye view of the downtown Shreveport before heading to the museum.

The next day, Elder and a group of senior officer’s wives came to call at the museum.

For them, there were royalty collar pieces and crowns available so they could dress up the Mardi Gras way and have pictures taken. We say: What a great idea!

Elder was charmed by it all.

As she left, she promised to bring visitors she is entertaining to the museum.

It is a fabulous place. It is worth a visit. And you can rent it for parties galore.

See you there.

Up, up and away

2007-09-14T11:51:00.000-05:00

The horizon was hazy this morning as I motored east down Jack Wells Blvd.

The sky was softest blue. Scattered and horizontal clouds were naturally backlit, so the light golden glowed from behind as the sun continued its rise.

As I approached Clyde Fant Parkway, a hot air balloon popped up from behind the trees that lined Red River. Then another and another. Until there were five traveling slowly south along the river corridor.

I was especially interested since I knew colleague Stephanie Nethertan was in one of them.

Turning south on Clyde Fant, I stopped the car as I approached the high rise curve on the parkway and marveled at the sight of the balloons and the sky.

It may sound corny, but it was a spiritual moment.

But, I shivered as I remembered, too, the beautiful morning in Beaver Creek, Colo.

Husband Paul L. Schuetze and his sister, Alice Daniel of Maryland, had left early to go for a balloon ride. As morning turned to the noon hour and they had not returned, I kept thinking in the back of my mind that something was wrong.

As it turned out, though they were safe, things had gone awry.

When they departed, the wind was in the right direction, but after the balloon was up, the wind shifted and the balloon started drifting toward no man’s land. That would be the Rocky Mountains.

"The pilot called the tower at Eagle-Vail Airport, gave the registration number and told the tower they requested an clearance for an emergency landing for two balloons," recalled Paul.

A light moment came when the tower responded: "Well, where are you?"

"We are almost over your runway," answered the pilot.

There was a small private aircraft that had entered an approach for landing, so the tower told him to go around that they had an emergency landing for two hot air balloons.

Although the balloon Paul was in landed with no problems, the second balloon had more difficulty, with the balloon dragging the gondola sideways.

As soon as both were okay, though, the ground crews quickly cleared the runways.

Although relating the incident provides drama — and I was certainly relieved when they did arrive back — it was not as scary for the passengers as it sounds in the telling, said Paul.

"The pilot was thoroughly confident. He explained that a balloon is a registered vehicle with the FAA and if he declared an inflight emergency, the tower has to respond. Apparently, the man in the tower at this airport had never had an experience like this before," said Paul.

Although I did once ride a blimp coming through town — a magnificent experience — I have just never had the courage to go up in a hot air balloon.

But, I do appreciate their beauty.

And, this morning’s scene was spectacular.

"Will you marry me?"

2007-09-13T10:23:00.000-05:00

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Lights! Camera! Action!

And, so it was as U.S. Air Force Capt. Joey Libro popped the question Wednesday night to Times Religion Reporter Diane Haag at the U.S. Air Force 60th Anniversary Ball — "Heritage to Horizons."

The formal fete was at Horseshoe Riverdome.

The engaging spot: the celebratory 60th birthday ice sculpture in the foyer.

Husband Paul Schuetze and I had been clued in on the plans early in the day.

Initially, we had difficulty catching up with the two in the crowd of 700, but finally spotted them as we chatted with Times publisher Pete Zanmiller and wife Jennifer. (Libro was waiting for us, too.)

The ruse was that I wanted to speak to Haag and that we wanted to take a photo of them.

So, they paused to pose.

But, after one photo, Libro asked Paul to shoot one of them on each side of the sculpture so it would show up in the photo.

Then, surrounded by friends and strangers, applause and the clicking of Paul’s camera, Libro got down on bended knee. (Oh, it was too romantic.)

He asked Haag to marry him and presented her with a diamond engagement ring.

She hugged.

She cried.

She said, "Yes."

Why, to friends and colleagues of Haag and Libro, the moment almost upstaged U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne (a delightful man) who spoke later in the dinner. He told the crowd that on the birthday of the Air Force, they were going to establish the interim command of Cyber Command right here, a comment that had the crowd on their feet.

How can even a major announcement compete with love and romance and a diamond!

The wedding? Well, apparently they had already discussed it, but it was not sealed with an engagement ring.

"We are thinking July. At Holy Trinity," said Haag.

Best wishes, Diane! Congratulations Libro!

Thanks for letting all of us share this special moment.

Catch the moment. (Go to Photo Gallery and click on USAF 60th Anniversary Ball).

Brunch at Tiffany's

2007-09-11T18:29:00.000-05:00

Through the years, Miriam Sklar — and her late husband Albert Sklar — has contributed to many segments of the community in a variety of ways to large and small organizations.

Miriam contributes financially, but also lends her name to causes, serves as honorary chairwoman and attends events.

For her efforts, the March of Dimes of Northwest Louisiana named her the Tiffany Award winner for 2007.

Sklar was ill and not able to attend the Tuesday Brunch at Tiffany’s at Eldorado Casino & Hotel Ballroom where the award winner was named.

But there was much applause when her name was called for she is much loved and well regarded for all she does.

We missed you, Miriam.

Political posting

2007-09-10T16:36:00.000-05:00

Guess who is coming to call?

Ann Romney, wife of presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

She will be honored at a by-invitation luncheon Sept. 19 at the Petroleum Club.
The red, white and blue invitations went out in the name of U.S. Rep. Jim McCrery and wife Johnette McCrery and Scott Sewell, Mitt Romney for President State Chairman.

Romney fans will pay $15 to dine with the VIP lunch bunch, say the invitations.

I say: "Welcome to Shreveport, Ann."

A toast to Frank Williams

2007-08-31T16:45:00.000-05:00

"Thanks for proving me right, Frank. You did a hell of a job," shouted former Shreveport Mayor Keith Hightower from his seat when asked to speak a few words at Frank Williams retirement fete.

Colleagues and friends gathered Aug. 23 at the University Club to bid Williams a fond farewell upon his retirement as executive director of the Downtown Development Authority.

You may remember that his appointment was not without a great deal of controversy.

And admirers and friends like John Hubbard, Shreveport City Councilman Monty Walford and DDA deputy director Janie Landry talked about his accomplishments with a great deal of fondness.

They called him a great visionary, a lover of art. They talked about how he was quick to ask about the health of the crew who worked for him.

Williams, it seems, didn’t always call meetings and appoint committees.

He took action.

He walked the streets.

Shreveport City Councilman Monty Walford said that he and Williams tackled some cruising problems downtown on the riverfront area in an unorthodox way, but got it done — without any press notice. (I wonder where all of us were when this was going on!)

"A lot of positive changes were brought to my attention, things not glorified, but they changed downtown. I appreciate all he has done. He has made my job so much easier in downtown," said Walford.

Landry pointed out that there were little things, like bright new directional sings that took a lot of coordination and a lot of effort, but make a difference in the look of downtown.

"He brought with him a desire to bring cleanliness and orderliness to downtown.

And Williams, who loves art, got a mural put up on a wall in the Red River District, and a multicultural garden at Municipal Plaza.

"That meant a lot to Frank," said Landry.

"You left a imprint on downtown in a positive way," added John Hubbard.

One thing left undone: revitalization of Cross Bayou.

One speaker predicted that some day that will become a reality, too.

"It is a jewel downtown waiting to be developed," said Landry.

I always find Frank cordial, helpful — and he answers his telephone calls!

Good luck! Frank. We’ll see you around.

"Morgan's Adieu to You!"

2007-08-28T10:26:00.000-05:00

Photos by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Morgan Ballengee, 14, who attended Caddo Middle Magnet last year, is heading soon to Choate, a boarding school in Wallingford, Conn.

To send her off, parents James and Waynette Ballengee gave her a party Saturday at Riverview Hall.

"It was a takeoff on the Dr. Seuss book, ‘The Places You Will Go,’" said Waynette. "Marc Marcussen took that theme and adapted it to what he envisioned."
Think elegant blown-up images of Morgan — four panels of four pics in the Andy Warhol manner.

Think spandex forms of ceiling high tunnels, towers, waves and tornadoes and arches to provide intimacy in the huge hall.
Think bright colors of neon for table treatments and chair covers.

No flowers here, but wiggly threads of metal entwined with neon-colored balls soaring from the center of the tables.

You get the picture.

But, there was more: a black fiber optic curtain was the backdrop for a 36-foot-long white sofa, a seating area, if you will, against a wall in the dance section.

The scene set, the purple and red costumed characters in the lobby, the doors opened.

Ballengee’s pals arrived in clusters as kids her age do.

They danced to music by spin-master D.J. AM, who plays at all the hot parties in Los Angeles and Las Vegas and mingles with the stars as recorded on the pages of such magazines as People.

The kids loved him. Once he started it all at 8 p.m., they never left the dance floor. Even as the lights went on at 11 p.m., they begged for more.

They giggled as they performed for Dance Heads — a process that films the singers, putting their heads on the bodies of cartoon characters that act out the songs. (It is a hoot, believe me!)
They hammed it up for the camera machine that produced a strip of four photos for them to take home, along with a candy bar channeling the six-pagebrightly colored color invitation.

And, they sampled John Cariere’s Cotton Boll’s mini hot dogs, grilled cheese, Jello shots, sandwiches and green eggs.

They sipped Morgan’s Mochalattes from Columbia Cafe and cold drinks from lighted glasses that were among their party favors.

It was, well, spectacular.

I oohed and aahed over every bit of it.

Here is just a very small sampling of those who stopped by: Morgan’s sister, Jordan Sandefur, Ryne Allen, Will Chadwick, Austin Love, Wiley LaVigne, Gina Goorley, Camille Cook, Ellen Booras, Colby Johnson, Marshall Watts, Christopher, Lawrence Harrison, Karen Ezelle, Emma Meek, Zach Savoie, Ahmad Ibrahim, Riley Hicks.

At the end of it all, everyone walk out with a caramel or M&M apple in a hand.

Photos from top to bottom show: Costume characters that greeted you upon arrival; party setting in Riverview Hall; images of Morgan in the entry; and Morgan's sister, Jordan Sandefur and Morgan in the photo booth.

To see a gallery of photos of party photos, go to http://www.shreveporttimes.com/ and click on photo gallery.

Mardi Gras madness

2007-08-22T10:11:00.000-05:00

Photo: Special to The Times

Photo by: Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Photo by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Mardi Gras coronations continue.

I cannot get to all of them and last weekend was especially nonstop on the social calendar.

One we missed: Krewe of Dionysos Saturday at the Knights of Columbus Hall, Natchitoches, but publicity chair Wanda Poche wrote us all about it, making it almost seem as though I were there.

The new reigning royalty who rule to "A Decade of Dionysos": King Dionysis X Ramon Triche and Queen Dionysos X Claudia Triche. Captain Dionysos X Dennis Bryant was also in the throes of things.

Night Train provided music for the semi-formal affair and Donald and Pat Horton of Coushatta served the vittles that included: marinated crab claws; crawfish tails; crab meat; tiny ears of corn and water chestnuts presented in giant pewter shells; meat balls in wine gravy; sliced barbecue brisket on croissants; down-home sausage; corn and crawfish chowder; jambalaya; deviled eggs and cream puffs served creatively in large Margarita glasses. (Is there anything they didn’t have?)

A live auction with one item — the first signed poster for the season — was up for grabs. And the winners of a special memory: the new Duke and Duchess of Decadence, Ray and Connie Mabile of Coushatta. The high bid: $500.

Other dukes and duchesses: Dance Jerry McElwee and Ronda Hernandez; Desire Trey Duke and Becky Monsour; Destiny Jamie Vanderlick and Darlene McElwee.

"All hail to the visiting royalty from the Shreveport-Bossier area. This was the largest group we have ever had in our 10-year history," Poche wrote.

In the first photo above, guests Andi Woods (left), Poche and Julie Gardiner pose at the happy Dionysos event.

We did skim over Interstate-20 Friday evening to Krewe des Ambassadeurs Coronation Gala at Pine Hills Country Club.

Their theme: "Hello Broadway."

King VII Eddie O’Neal and Queen VII Debra Smith and other court members danced their way in clever vignettes to the stage as music from Broadway filled the air.

Captain Ralph Greer was dapper in a formal hat and walking stick that he used theatrically to make his way through the crowd as "New York New York" pulsated through the festive affair.

Smith is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and a huge Sooner fan and is a financial advisor.

O’Neal is an Excelsior University and Parker Chiropractic College grad and operates two chiropractic practices, one in Bossier City and one in Minden.

Other court members: Duke and Duchess of Prospterity Josh Hamilton and Caye Bryce; Hospitality Lane Davidson and Dianna Smith; Prince Derrick Greene and Princess Whittney Haynes.

The 2007 King Darin Mealey — one of the nicest guys you will ever meet — said that there were lots of parties and lots of spirit in the past season.

His favorite part: "The next morning, having coffee with (wife) Amy and going over the night before."

Among others taking bows: 2007 Queen Mahala Hutto and Captain Vickie Cullen.

I was amazed when 2007 Duchess of Hospitality Sue Gruber told me she and a passel of pals catered the event themselves!

And, such unusual goodies: orzo salad; black-eye pea salad; sandwiches; fab brownies and absolutely to-die-for tarts. Just a few items from the bountiful buffet.

Stay tuned for several more Mardi coronations.

In the second photo: Krewe des Ambassadeurs Debra Smith and King Eddie O'Neal dance the night away.

The third photo: Sherb Sentell III, a former Ambassadeurs king, checks out the buffet line.

On death and dying

2007-08-22T10:07:00.000-05:00

"End-of-Life Issues in the Terri Schiavo Case" taught by Roberta Cawthorn captured our attention in Seekers Sunday School Class Sunday at First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport. (Whether to remove Schiavo’s feed tube or not went to the Supreme Court that declined six times to hear the case, but Congress and President George W. Bush did involved.)

As part of the discussion, one member said, in essence, that to her dying just meant that you were going some place else.

The comment reminded me of one the late and much love artist Clyde Connell said about death:

"As for death, I don’t worry about it and I’m not afraid of it. I feel completely at home with natural cycles and death is obviously a part of that cycle.

"I also believe in a next step. I don’t know what it is, but I believe it’s there.

"I’ve told my children and friends not to mourn when I die. I’m just continuing on my journey, and they all know how much I love to travel." (From a story by David Connelly published in the Shreveport Journal.)

And this from John Denver in a letter to the mother of a fan who had died:
"...death is not an ending, but a symbol of movement along the path upon which we are all traveling. As it may be painful to lose contact with the physical aspect of one we love, the spirit can never be lost. We have been and always will be a part of each other." Signed: "Peace, John Denver."

What wonderful attitudes about death and dying.

As my mother used to say: "Death is a part of life."

Not a subject to be avoided nor dwelled upon, but part of the fabric of our lives.

A prayer for children

2007-08-17T10:04:00.000-05:00

Perhaps it is the photos of children dying from AIDS or malnutrition or from bombs or bullets that I see when I flip through the pages of National Geographic and can hardly steel myself to read about.

Maybe it was the tiniest of children who begged as I walked the streets of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Then, again, maybe it was the words of my mother the very few times she spoke of her impoverished childhood in a loveless home. She was taken in as an orphan by cousins at four to work as a maid and until she graduated from high school never had a new article of clothing.

Maybe it was the young kid I interviewed in an outreach prison class who told me how intriguing solid geometry was to him, a class never offered to him when he attended public school. (The teacher told me he was "brilliant.")

Maybe it was of all of those and more, but I was particularly moved by "A Prayer for Children," we recited Sunday at First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport. It was the day we recognized third graders.

The prayer is powerful, thought provoking.

It is too long to print in its entirety, but a couple of sections present a sampling of the whole:

"We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
"who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money."
"And we pray for those
"who never get dessert,
"who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
"who watch their parents watch them die,
"who can’t find any bread to steal,
"who don’t have any rooms to clean up,
"whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser,
"whose monsters are real
...

"We pray for children who want to be carried
"and for those who must,
"for those we never give up on and for those
"who don’t get a second chance.
"We pray for those we smother with love...and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it. Lord, help us to be that hand. Amen."

Amen.

Happy Birthday, Jackie Scott!

2007-08-15T18:00:00.000-05:00

Times Photos by Paul L. Schuetze

Attorney Jackie Scott turned 50 with a lot of aplomb!

She hosted a golden celebration at her southeast Shreveport home.

You want barbecue! There was barbecue. Finger lickin' good barbecue

A roasted pig! You got it.

Perfectly fried fish. It was on the plate, crispy on the outside, moist inside.

(We tried it all and it was all out of this world great.)

Something to drink. There were two bars

There was face painting.

Toe tapping saxaphone music on the patio. And band sounds under a tent.

And exquisite flowers to set the scene.

Dr. Ricky and Freda Jones were cooling off in the pool — with their feet in the pool.

Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover shed his coat when he stepped outside for, indeed, it was hot.

Shirley Culbert held court in the den; Gia Kosmitos and Julie Blewer in the kitchen area.

Ron and Rose Weems were working the crowd. (As you might guess, the place was filled with lawyers.)

It was an inside/outside do.

And a lot of fun.

What a way to turn 50.

Throw yourself a bash.

The photos in order show:
Scott with Caddo Dist. Judge Jeanette G. Garrett and the Joneses coolin’ off.

(Stay tuned Monday for sights and sounds of Caddo School Board member Dottie Bell’s 60th birthday soiree. We’ll take you there!)

Let the good times roll

2007-08-14T17:54:00.000-05:00

Photo by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Did you know that Mardi Gras started 19 years ago by the Bossier Chamber of Commerce to boost the economy during quiet January and February. (Krewe of Apollo was already in existence, but not open to the public.)

As Cary Petty has told us, "We were sitting around and someone suggested we start Mardi Gras."

And, although the celebration has changed dramatically from those early days, it is definitely part of our culture and heritage now.

And, not only does the festival boost the economy in January and February, but all year.

There are also Mardi Gras sponsored events and benefits for charity, things such as golf tournaments and garage sales.

All of them give much to charity.

On this blog, we’ll I thought I’d share photos snapped at the Aug. 11 Krewe of Centenary Royalty Coronation and Mid-Way to Mardi Gras Party and the Aug. 12 Krewe of Barkus & Meoux Royalty Coronation. Centaur’s was at Riverview Hall and Barkus held forth at the Mardi Gras Museum, Bossier City. (Definitely, a well kept secret.)

The 2008 King and Queen of Centaur are David Johnson and Barbara Zerrahn and 2008 King and Queen of Barkus & Meoux Queen’s Ambassador Cheryl Lynn Rockwell and King’s Ambassador Raymond R. Abney Jr.

The first is a photo of the Centaur court and the second, revelers enjoying hors d’oeuvres before Barkus begins and giving you a glimpse of the museum.

"Jesus loves me"

2007-08-09T09:09:00.000-05:00

Mine is not a religion blog. Oh, no, colleague Diane Haag does a masterful job with "Everyday Faith" that I read almost as soon as I open my computer every morning.

However, I feel moved to share a special story about a whimisical happening during the Sunday service at First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport.

As she closed the children’s sermon, the Rev. Pattie Kitchen said that during a visit in the United States, the great Protestant theologian Karl Barth, a prolific writer, was asked about words that had meant the most to him. It was a word question.

He thought a minute and answered that they were from a song his mother sang to him when he was a child.

The work: "Jesus Loves Me." ("...this I know for the Bible tells me so.")

Then Kitchen asked the children to sing the song and invited entire congregation to join in.

There we were: Young and older, black and white, rich and poor — and in between — and a group, I am sure, very liberal or conservative — and in between — on social and theological issues.

We were: Doctors, lawyers, accountants, soccer moms, real estate agents, scientists, retired salesmen, educators, farmers, grandmothers artists, bankers.

We were united and equal in singing those words by memory and from our hearts.
"Jesus Loves Me."

As we sang, I would guess that most of were taken back to our childhoods, remembering the words we learned when we were very young.

Not just a catchy child’s melody.

A simple statement. An eternal truth. An ageless concept.

A royal evening

2007-08-08T17:11:00.000-05:00

Photo by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

On Saturday, hubby Paul Schuetze and I headed to Springhill for the Krewe of Artemis-Springhill Royalty Coronation VI.

King Artemis VI Charles Jacobs of Springhill, and Queen Julia Collins of Benton, greet their subjects in the photo above.

Other members of the court: Duke and Duchess of Mystery Karl Miller of Springhill and Caytie Green of Shreveport; Music Terry and Lisa Warner of Benton; and Merriment Johnnie K. Hill of Springhill, and Kathy Camp of Emerson, Ark.

And, in charge of it all for the 2008 season — Captain David Brice.

Always, we have a great time with the Artemis krewe. Their coronations and balls are done with panache, cleverness and creativity. I am always surprised and delighted with it all.

This year’s theme was "Experiencing the ‘70s."

Shreveporters Clayton and Angela Brakeville in the second photo were among those dressed in costume for the occasion.

So upon arrival, we received peace sign necklaces and later I tied one of 2007 Capt. Eric Simmons’ autographed peach tie-dye kerchief around my head — ‘70s style!

More signs of the times — ‘70s times — bright stylized flowers; Happy Face beach balls bouncing from the ceiling as the pageant got underway; a glowing peace sign, tie-dye fabric wrapped columns and a black screen with a tie-dye starbust at center stage.

Happenings on a summer afternoon

2007-08-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

A golden toast to Karen Logan, Kay Lee and Ann Holland.

The Shreveport-Bossier Delta Delta Delta Alumnae did just that Thursday at "Back to Tri Delta," a late afternoon gathering at the southeast Shreveport home of Betsy Fritze.

It was a girly girly kind of party with Bellinis, wonderful hors d’oeuvres, and much conversation. (I was clicking the digital for Scene & Heard and gallery shots which will be in the paper and online later.)

And, there was a special Golden Circle ceremony for the Logan, Lee and Holland, who were initiated into the sorority 50 years ago at what is now respectively Rhodes, Colorado and LSU. (I will go through the Golden Circle in 2011 for my initiation at the University of Tulsa was in 1961 — remembered by me as the year of "the twist!" I must have twisted a 1,000 times to "Cotton Fields Back Home!" that spring.)

Alum prez Chouttie Hayter presided.

But our group is not all about parties. The chapter raises funds with a sale of wrapping paper and attendant products in the fall. (The catalog is filled with wonderful things, including great Christmas gifts. I can’t wait to order.)

The money goes to its Wish Upon a Star, Inc., which grants wishes to sick children.

I rode to Betsy’s with Dixey Thornton and she and I enjoyed a chat with Elizabeth Crafts, wishing her well as she leaves at the end of September to spend a year working in Denmark. (Doesn’t that sound neat!)

And, a hail and hearty farewell to four active Deltas who leave soon for LSU.

They are: Jessica Demello. Alycia Angle, Mamie Cowles and Cassie James.

... Earlier in the afternoon, we enjoyed a tour of the gardens on Cross Lake where David Helms and wife Anita McKeithen live. He showed us the exotic and common plants they tend to, paths through the woods he has created and their whimsical garden art. It is a story I am working on and you’ll see it soon on the home and garden page.

Hail to the new chief!

2007-08-02T12:04:00.000-05:00

A swearing-in.

Lunch with the area’s preachers of all races and denominations.

Meeting with the staff.

Wednesday’s schedule was not a day for wimps.

But at the end of it, new Shreveport Police Chief Henry L. Whitehorn relaxed and shared hors d’oeuvres and conversation with neighbors, friends and colleagues at a party in his honor at the Cross Lake home of attorney Ron Weems and wife/nurse Rose Weems.

The Weems always set their table with food they prepare.

This occasion included 10 pounds of sausage Ron grilled that was dressed with a rosemary branch and sprigs of basil from their beautiful garden. There was marinated mushrooms for which Rose is famous, boiled shrimp, a mousse, wrapped sandwiches with salsa and the piece de résistance, the Weems’ pralines.

At the Weems, it is always an inside/outside party for people love their back garden overlooking the lake. They meander outside to rock on their back porch, sit on the brick steps, find the table shaded by a tree.

The chief, dressed in a tan window pane check suit and bright blue shirt — sans tie — came early with wife Waverlyn and stayed late.

Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover and wife Veronica also came early and stayed into the night.

Whitehorn’s North Cross Lake neighbor and best friend Lynn Braggs and wife Sharon were among those in the mix.

So were city officials Rick Seaton and Dale Sibley and up and coming young professional, former Homer Mayor David Aubrey, who now works for Southern University-Shreveport.

Drinking juice, Whitehorn chatted with such high profilers as state Sen. Lydia Jackson, Sam Gregorio, George and Carolyn Mills, Southern University Chancellor Ray Belton, Kit Gamble, Theron Jackson, Wiley and Wiley Pollard, Regina Winn, Brian and Denise Landry, Dee Peterson, Jerry and Jackie White and Winzer Andrews.

He exchanged banter with his host, laughing when Ron said, "Last night was probably your last good night of sleep." (Meaning, of course, that the new chief who is the first black police chief, has plenty of challenges ahead of him.)

So what does today hold?

"I am going home and rest and try to get to the first roll call at the police department," said Whitehorn, admitting that he would have to call to be sure of the time, but thought it was at 6:30 a.m.

"I am going to talk to them about my leadership philosophy and ask their support to help me get done to do what we need to do to make Shreveport a safe city," he said.

He is a nice man, Henry Whitehorn. You’ll like him.

Celebrating life boldly

2007-08-01T11:06:00.000-05:00

Maggie Martin/The Times

Sabra Brown Martin. (Top photo.)

She was my mother.

At four, she was a victim of the Flu Pandemic of 1918 when her mother died in it.

And some 50 years later, she became a statistic herself in another kind of epidemic - breast cancer that spread to her bones.

So, thoughts turned to her, as they always do when I cover anything connected with cancer, on July 26 when I attended the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Shreveport-Bossier Affiliate "Celebrate Life with Boldness." A full house stopped by Ristorante Giuseppe for the gala noon affair.

I thought of her battle and to the progress made in research and treatment since those days when she had a masectomy and treatment that was agonizing, but futile.

There were many cancer survivors, like Linda Pedro, Patricia Claussen and Wanda H. Brooks at the luncheon.

And, there were activists, ike chairwoman Kedgy Larson and state Rep. Jane Smith. (Paula Linn is president of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Shreveport-Bossier Affiliate. She says that supporters are now referred to as "activists." Linn is shown in the second photo with new affiliate executive director Danielle Voumard. )

But it was a joyous affair that included a style show, luncheon, and contests and raffle prizes.
Guests were asked to wear pink and they did in boas, hats, dresses, pants, suits and even underwear!

My mother would have loved it!

But Komen hadn’t even been formed when my mother died in 1971 at 54.

Komen’s statistics today show that breast cancer death rate has been dropping about two percent annually since 1990 to 2002 in all women combined with larger decreases in younger women. It is a decline attributed to earlier detection through screening, increased awareness and improved treatment.

Even with that bit of good news, there are chilling stats. They include: "One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes and one woman will die of breast cancer every 14 minutes in the United States."

The most proven and significant risk factors for getting breast cancer: Being female and getting older for a woman’s chance of developing it increases with age.

But Komen’s goal, said Linn, is to wipe breast cancer off the face of the earth.
It was a promise Dallas resident Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister Susan G. Komen.

To that end, she launched the well respected gloabal breast cancer movement.

To help with the fight, there is the well known Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

It will be held locally Sept. 15 at Mall St. Vincent.

Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro opens

2007-07-27T16:29:00.000-05:00

Copeland founder and owner Al Copeland and his son Al Jr. were in town for the by-invitation-only ribbon cutting and opening of Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro, Louisiana Boardwalk, where the lights were low and a Dixieland band provided groovy sounds.

There was ribbon cutting, champagne, food galore and a cash bar, with such drinks as Sin City martinis — the choice of Susan Cox.

Headed by Bossier City Mayor Lo Walker and wife Adele Walker, it was a A-list crowd that popped in to welcome the owners.

And, to sample an array of goodies — from fork tender steak to the trademark cheesecake.

Most guests just went through the line that offered samples of everything or accepted shrimp, oysters and other goodies passed by white glove wait staff.

Helen Gibson-Nicholas, there with hubby Charles Nicholas, raved over the trout. "It was really different."

After the ribbon cutting, champagne was passed to the crowd.

State Reps. Billy Montgomery, Roy Burrell and Jane Smith worked spacious rooms.
So did Shreveport City Councilman Ron Webb and Councilwoman Joyce Bowman. Councilman Brian Wooley and wife Tika slipped in late, but found a handy booth to enjoy the food and to chat with passersby.
Bossier-Webster Dist. Judges Parker Self, Ford Stinson, Johnny Robinson and Jeff Cox were also seeing and being seen. So were their respective wives, Paula, Suzie, Beth and Susan.

LSUS Chancellor Vince Marsala and wife Carol had just jetted in from Vermont.

Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover regretted, but Gwen Campbell was a good stand-in.

"We hope you will love it and come back and visit," said Al Copeland.

"We are thrilled they’ve opened the doors. This will be the hottest place in town," predicted Boardwalk Chief Ray Tromba.

There’s no doubt that it will be popular.

I can’t wait to return for a leisurely dinner amidt the dramatic giant columns rendered in a pattern of swirls, the stone floors and the comfy banquettes in deep earth tones.

It is as attractively decorated as the food is grand.

Royal news

2007-07-27T16:02:00.000-05:00

Times Photo by Paul L. Schuetze

Gemini Queen XIX Sally Graff and King Dr. Tobin Grigsby and Captain Ed Hoover lift their chalices in a toast at the Krewe of Gemini Coronation and Silent Auction.

The black-tie op event was Saturday at Sam’s Town Casino & Hotel Ballroom and kicked off the 2008 season for the krewe. (August is a flurry of theme announcements and coronations.)

Dr. Bob Robinson was the master of ceremonies for the glittery event.

Other members of the court: Duke and Duchess of Arkansas, Dr. Ray Coghlan and Karen McDonald; Louisiana Jerry Talley and Martha Rennie; and Texas Greg Shaw and Patti Shaw; Princes: Walker K. Gamble, Daniel C. Stoll, Charles "Chad" Robertson Princesses: Whitney Rich and Lindsey Elizabeth Anderson.

Court notes: Whitney Rich regretted because she was in Paris. She is serving as a student ambassador in the People to People Program in Europe ... Patti Shaw once worked for the White House in Barbara Bush’s press office and is former secretary to Jackie Sherrill, head coach of the Texas A&M football team during its reign as SWC champs and numerous Cotton Bowl wins. (Remember when, Aggies?)

Wedding bells

2007-07-26T17:28:00.000-05:00

Photo by Maggie Martin

Photo by Maggie Martin/The Times

Everyone’s wedding is special.

But former Times colleagues of Gail Denise Dickey Young were especially glad to see her so happy.

She married Eddie Haynes Jr. at Mount Olive Baptist Church of Shreveport.

The reception at Woman’s Department Club included friends, family and those who had worked with her at The Times.

They included Barbara Deane (left) and Sherry Shephard who are oohing and aahing over Young’s ring.

The elaborate cake picture above was by Cidell of Bossier City and the veritable groaning board of food was catered by Clark’s Catering.

A hot hit? Deviled eggs made by Audrey Savage.

"Reigning Cats & Dogs"

2007-07-25T15:31:00.000-05:00

Photo by Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

It will be "Reigning Cats & Dogs" for the Krewe of Barkus & Meoux all during the 2008 season.

The theme was announced Friday at Mojo’s amid "meow" and "barking" contests that drew looks of astonishment from the bar’s regulars who had bellied up the bar downstairs.

That is animal lover Mary Hines all dolled up like a cat ... or maybe it is a leopard ... for the gathering.

Bakus captain Michelle Christian was quarterbacking the fun affair that also featured an array of hors d’oeuvres - and drinks from the bar.

Among the revelers: Derrel and Sandy Franks, Craig and Barbara Seal, Shelby Duay, Bill Hines, Don and Hedy Hebert, Mary Brownfield, Matt Meyer, Barbara Rice, Barkus Co-Captain Cheryl Rockwell, Jim Thomas, Avery Lathem.

If you missed it, you can catch the Barkus Coronation Aug. 12 at Mardi Gras Museum. (Admission: $35. Information: www.animalkrewe.org.)

Summer notes

2007-07-20T11:16:00.000-05:00

Fresh tomatoes are absolutely one of life’s delights. In fact, they are just about my favorite food on this earth — especially divine when eaten right off the bush, like an apple, wit a sprinkling of salt.

Hubby Paul Schuetze’s tomatoes are very slowly producing various sizes and we are enjoying them.

However, thanks to Greenwood pals Mike and Mary Wark, we have a week’s supply of lush, ripe tomatoes that we enjoy daily. I ration them. And prepare them very simply for that is all that is necessary, really, for a fine, fine supper and/or lunch!

The Warks brought on Wednesday a huge sack tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers from their large garden. We have relished the fruits of their labor.

... Read in USA Today this morning that Holiday Inns across the land are getting overhauls and new ones are being construction.

The section cover story reminded us how much we like Holiday Inn Express, Salina, Kan., where we overnight to and from Colorado each summer.

The service is perfect.

It is the breakfast that brings rave reviews. It is serve yourself, but the selection is large: several kinds of cereal and selections of milk; multiple juices to choose from; boiled eggs; omelets; a variety of breads; yougart; fruit; coffee; and their famous cinnamon rolls.
If you are headed that way, I highly recommended this HI Express.

... While doing research for a story on the Caddo Parish School System Talented Arts Program at Barnwell Garden and Art Center, I ran across a familiar name. Our cousin, Sydney Sloan’s scratch board "Table Decor" is among those in the show. Way to go Sydney. (She is the daughter of Shreveporter Jemma Sloan and the late Martin Sloan of Dixie. Her paternal grandparents are Pam Sloan Street of Colorado Springs, Colo., and the late Jimmy Lee Sloan of Dixie.)

Rocky mountain high

2007-07-18T11:05:00.000-05:00

Vacations refresh the spirit and the body!

And, two weeks in Colorado is absolutely wonderful, amazing. (And cool.)

But, we’re back! And back to posting with this "vacation album!"

With parties, July 4 festivities and a wedding, an auction, the first week in Beaver Creek was a whirlwind of activities.
The next week in a cabin in the Rockies near Breckenridge was quieter and slower. It included walks, a concert and a trip to two mining towns over the Hoosier Pass.

Shreveport Pal Don Bryant joined us for a few days in Beaver Creek. We caught up with
Shreveporters and Natchitoches residents for a round of events during the two weeks.

We take you there.

Vacation album

2007-07-18T10:52:00.000-05:00

Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

1. While staying in Breckenridge, we skimmed over the Hoosier Pass to Alma, which builds itself as the highest town in the USA, and then on toe Fairhope, both darling mining towns, with cute shops that offered wonderful things to buy (Check out Calamity Jane, for instance, in Fairhope, and good places to eat. (Front Street Cafe has great chicken salad sandwiches.) They are picturesque and I really enjoyed them more than the more glittery resort towns.

Fun note: Fairplay celebrates the workhouse burrow with "Burro Days" that includes a Pack Burro Race.

2. The Winter Park contingent dashed over the winding mountain passes and roads to our Beaver Creek Place for a July 3 supper that included sandwiches, wedges of watermelon and Eskimo pies and mini-ice cream sandwiches. They are: Coley and Sharon Gahagan of Natchitoches, Shreveporter Dr. Ray Turner, Washington, D.C., resident, Chevron attorney Laura Hudson, Turner’s wife, Jeannie Turner, and Natchitoches resident Tommy Whitehead.

3. Pal Don Bryant and I waiting for guests to arrive for supper

High flyin' flag

2007-07-18T10:21:00.000-05:00

Paul L. Schuetze/The Times

Debbie Hall, sons Christian Hall and Alexander Hall with hubby/dear ole dad Bill Hall smile for the camera on the deck at Vail, Colo., hot spot Pepi’s during the Vail July 4 parade — a funky and fun event.

Everyone wants to watch at Pepi’s because that is where President Gerald R. Ford and his family held court for years when they were in residence at their nearby Beaver Creek home. Because the president was there, all the units stopped to toot horns, sing or, in the case of the lawn chair brigade, act out their routine.

It is very difficult to get a spot at Pepi’s, but this year, Dr. Larry and Lori Allen snagged one for us and the Halls.

Later in the day, we attended the Vail Valley Foundation Patriotic Concert at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail featuring The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s, "A Salute to Freedom!"

It was dedicated to the memory of Ford.

It started off with flags waving and voices of people from across America joining in to sing "A Star Spangled Banner."

You had to stand in line to buy tickets for the covered section. We did, stand in line. We arrived at 10 a.m. for the 11 a.m. opening of the box office. But, we missed out by about 10 people. Next year, I suppose, we’ll arrive at 9 a.m. and believe you me, it would be worth it. It got so hot on the lawn that we left at intermission.

So, we show a photo of those in the shade and those outside to give you some idea of the scope of this very special event

...and the winner is!

2007-07-18T09:39:00.000-05:00

Maggie Martin/The Times

Going...Going...Gone!

Sold to bidder 656 — Paul L. Schuetze!

Yep, that’s hubby Paul showing off a wood sculpture of two birds he bought at the President and Mrs. Gerald Ford Charity Auction, Beaver Creek, Colo. ( He also got three Henry Mancini Records for $10. I picked up several things in the "Small Treasures Tag Sale" at the end of the day when they allowed you to make an offer they couldn’t refuse because they needed to move things. That was fun!)

We read about the auction while vacationing for two weeks in Colorado. (Cool Colorado. It was 60 degrees when we drove out of the Rockies near Breckenridge early Friday morning.)

The fund raiser was held at the Beaver Creek Village Hall. Proceeds went to three charities in the area selected by Betty Ford.

When we arrived, we ran into Shreveporter Melissa Simon, who was also a successful bidder on a metal bird sculpture.

All of us bid on an assortment of other items, but others from around the country outbid us.

It was amazing what went for under $100 and what soared in price.

A sampling: Limited Edition Lithograph, "Chicken in a Basket," signed and numbered, $60. (One thing we wanted but arrived too late to bid on it.); Limoges breakfast set, $100; Chippendale style camel back sofa, $100; sterling silver vase, $550; Russian lacquerware tray, $500; antique music stand, $2,500; pair of walnut nightstands, $150; pair of antique glass decanters, $90; antique double handled copper pot, $320; and antique iron doll’s sled, $150.

Darlin' debs take a breather

2007-06-28T11:38:00.001-05:00

The Demoiselle Club summer season is winding down, with the last party scheduled for Saturday, a Debs and Dads Pool Party & Grill toasting Catherine Dorroh.

Among the last, appropriately enough, was "A Summer Soiree" held Wednesday for Ginny Broyles at the home of her parents, Bill and Nancy Broyles, and hosted by Sue Broyles, Becky Broyles and Janet Hicks.

A whimsical invitation boosting a line drawing of a summer blossom beckoned friends to stop by for the fete and for Uppercrust of Haynesville’s divine delights downed with refreshing lemonade and ice tea.

Celeste Wedgeworth created summer bouquets, some of which included pears and apples. (Unique designs you expect of talented Wedgeworth.)

The thirteen darlin’ debs will bow formally to society Nov. 24 at Shreveport Country.

But inbetween?
.
Broyles will work for Knox Goodman and will travel to Chicago to visit friends.

She has already selected her white formal for the presentation. "It is pretty and the first one I tried on," said Broyles.

Dorroh plans to head to the beach with her family in July, but back to Ole Miss the middle of August.

The season was special to her because she got reacquainted with many of the young women she knew as an elementary student at St. Mark’s Cathedral School.

She selected her dress on spring break when she dashed into Sue Peyton’s on a whim. "I went in for 30 minutes and found my dress!"

As for Amanda Clemons, she will make sojourns to Chicago and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with her parents.

When the last party is over, Alex Rhodes will report to work for her father at Steel Forgings.

"I am majoring in accounting, so I will be doing accounting, taxes, payroll and the mail," she said.

She and her family will also make their way to Cabo San Lucas.

Neither Clemons nor Rhodes have selected presentation dresses.

"We need to get started!" commented Rhodes