Seeing Cajun Country As An Outsider

In mid-May I participated in my first, but not last, Road Scholar trip.  The Road Scholars is an organization that was previously called Elderhostel.  I think they probably changed it to the updated catchy title because the baby boomers didn't like being in the 'elder' category.  Tsk, such a vain bunch of youngsters!  Anyway, the trip I joined was a week in Cajun country, Lafayette, LA..

The week's events were scheduled by the Univ. of Louisiana History Dept and our guide for the week was a wonderfully patient and personable young woman, Patti.  Our week started on Monday afternoon when we all met in one of the ballrooms of the hotel we were staying in for the week.  We had a time of getting acquainted, Patti giving us a rundown of the planned activities and then we went to a Cajun gumbo dinner.

There were 38 in the group and they came from all over the country, with one husband and wife from Canada.  I don't know any one's exact age, however, there were some in their late 50's/early 60's, a handful in their 80's, and then the rest were in their late 60's up through the 70's.  All in all, a pretty good group of folks that, by the end of the week, I can safely say there were only 2, maybe 3, that I wouldn't care to travel with again.  I think that's a really good number of good hearted folks that enjoyed themselves. 

We visited a swamp that had alligators and lots of turtles, a pontoon boat ride through a bayou, there was a living history village of the early 1800's, a sugar cane plantation, the Tabasco plant, a 500 year old tree that had large posts holding up the branches.  There were also speakers that regaled us with stories and slides of early bayou life, the history of the Acadians and how they came to the lower half of Louisiana.  One of my favorites was a visit to the Martin Accordion factory which is family owned and operated.  The Martin family have their own little band and played Cajun music for us and I fell in love with this music.  After hearing the Cajun history and listening to their music it touches that corner of your heart that is reserved for a people that perseveres and stays independent.

The grand finale of the week was an evening at a Cajun dance hall and restaurant. During the week we were given lessons on the Cajun Two-step and the Cajun Waltz, culminating with an evening out to practice what we'd been taught!  What fun!  About half the group got up and danced, the rest of us were rowdy staunch cheerleaders!!

I'm looking forward to another trip with Road Scholars.  This time I may find something that is close and I can drive to it to save the airfare.  But!  I do have some of their trips marked for the future that will be exciting and take care of some bucket list items.  It was absolutely great being a Ragin Cajun for one week!

Lord keep our minds learning about new things and searching for new ideas that we may enjoy your creations.  Amen

~~~~

The Old Woman and the Gunslinger

There are actually several messages within this little tale and I hope you enjoy it!

AN OLD WOMAN PROSPECTOR SHUFFLED INTO TOWN LEADING A TIRED OLD MULE. THE OLD WOMAN HEADED STRAIGHT FOR THE ONLY SALOON TO CLEAR HER PARCHED THROAT.  SHE WALKED UP AND TIED HER OLD MULE TO THE HITCH RAIL. SHE STOOD THERE, BRUSHING SOME OF THE DUST FROM HER FACE AND CLOTHES.

A YOUNG GUNSLINGER STEPPED OUT OF THE SALOON WITH A GUN IN ONE HAND AND A BOTTLE OF WHISKEY IN THE OTHER.

The young gunslinger looked at the old woman and laughed, saying, "Hey Old WOMAN, have you ever danced?"

THE OLD WOMAN LOOKED UP AT THE GUNSLINGER AND SAID, "NO, I NEVER DID DANCE... NEVER REALLY WANTED TO."

A CROWD HAD GATHERED AS THE GUNSLINGER GRINNED AND SAID, "WELL, YOU OLD BAG, YOU'RE GONNA DANCE NOW," AND STARTED SHOOTING AT THE OLD WOMAN'S FEET.   THE OLD WOMAN PROSPECTOR - NOT WANTING TO GET HER TOE BLOWN OFF - STARTED HOPPING AROUND. EVERYBODY WAS LAUGHING.

WHEN HIS LAST BULLET HAD BEEN FIRED, THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER, STILL LAUGHING, HOLSTERED HISGUN AND TURNED AROUND TO GO BACK INTO THE SALOON.

THE OLD WOMAN TURNED TO HER PACK MULE, PULLED OUT A DOUBLE-BARRELED SHOTGUN, AND COCKED BOTH HAMMERS.
THE LOUD CLICKS CARRIED CLEARLY THROUGH THE DESERT AIR. THE CROWD STOPPED LAUGHING IMMEDIATELY.

THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER HEARD THE SOUNDS TOO, AND HE TURNED AROUND VERY SLOWLY. THE SILENCE WAS ALMOST DEAFENING.  THE CROWD WATCHED AS THE YOUNG GUNMAN STARED AT THE OLD WOMAN AND THE LARGE GAPING HOLES OF THOSE TWIN BARRELS.

THE BARRELS OF THE SHOTGUN NEVER WAVERED IN THE OLD WOMAN'S HANDS, AS SHE QUIETLY SAID, "SON, HAVE YOU EVER LICKED A MULE'S ASS?"

THE GUNSLINGER SWALLOWED HARD AND SAID, "NO MAM... BUT... I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO."

THERE ARE A FEW LESSONS FOR US ALL HERE:

1 - Never be arrogant..
2 - Don't waste ammunition.
3 - Whiskey makes you think you're smarter than you are.
4 - Always, I said 'Always', make sure you know who has the power.
5 - Don't mess with old women; they didn't get old by being stupid...

Flying Emails

You will always know when you have a 'mature' person in your contact list/address book because you will be inundated with slide shows, videos, questionnaires, tests, etc.  Now, mind you, those of us that participate in this hobby, of sorts, genuinely enjoy it and want you to also.  Those of us that are retired seem to have way too much time for such frivolity as emailing around the world.  We can't help but wonder if it doesn't become a game to see who can get the most up-to-date and never-before-seen email.

These emails do come in categories: political, inspirational, comedy/satire, family/friends, educational.  Most all of the emails fall into one, or more, of those five categories.  Now, when you give this whole exercise due process of evaluation you will notice that these slips of videos or jokes or PowerPoint's are meant to enhance your spirit and knowledge.  We, the mature emailing populace are doing the world a huge service.  And, you will have to admit the fact that we absolutely share all of this with everyone and anyone!

For instance, how many times have you seen the photo of the small boy receiving his dad's flag at the burial of the brave warrior.  We have all seen that poignant scene many times and each time it tugs a heartstring to remind us that this life is fleeting, our family needs us, this country is special, memories are to be embraced.  We see the look on that lad's face, we pause a moment, we take a deep breath, then we pass it on to friends and family because we know we just have to.  That picture has been received in emails an estimated 10-12 times so far this year, and that's okay.

Now, about the folks that don't even open their emails that look to be about religion or politics or something sappy, etc.  What do we say to these folks?  Should they let us know that they really don't want any of these emails?  Do they only want 'personal mail'?  Do these same folks ever send out a 'message' email and, if so, why do they think that theirs is more meaningful than what someone else sends?  It's an intriguing dilemma...

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

The emailing mature folks are very thoughtful and committed citizens bent on sharing and caring for our friends and families.  We may not change the world but we will let you know about the one we had in the past and what we have now, which should give everyone a 'pause for a worthy cause'...

'Those Old Westerns'

The Internet has afforded every generation it's own little corner of the world and the "mature" generation is no exception.  Emails fly around the world from family and friends and many of them have to do with the things we grew up with and loved.  We talk about golden-oldies music, poodle skirts, saddle oxfords, and little neck scarves of every color in the rainbow.

As a young girl of 6 or 7, I would tag along with my big brother, Richard, 5 yrs older, for a trip downtown to see a movie on Saturday mornings, usually once a month.  We would walk to catch the streetcar at the end of the line at 32nd and Parallel, which was about 3/4 mile from our home.  We would ride the streetcar from 32nd and Parallel to around 7th or 10th & Minnesota, depending on which of 3 movie theaters we were going to visit that day.  For a quarter we would get to see cartoons, newsreels, a serial western, and a movie. (I'm hoping that memory is serving me correctly on these facts.)  My favorite theater was the Granada with it's beautifully carved wood staircase and Spanish decor'.  I fell in love with every cowboy hero that came on the screen; after all, they always saved the ranch, the town, the stranded lady, the cattle, the horses, just about the whole world.  So, what's not to like?!  Oy!!

My SIL, Joan, sent me this website and I just loved it and all the wonderful memories it brought back to me.
http://oldfortyfives.com/thoseoldwesterns.htm

The "mature" generation has great memories and was fortunate to grow up during a time when it was much safer for children to go about being a child, and the world did not feel dirty, sleazy, or cheap.  The need for today's world to experience every repulsive instinct that raises it's ugly head has stolen the childhood from our young children.  Only through loving caring parents can choices be made that will help our children to find their joys and fondest memories.  We must each do our part to secure those memories for the future...

Gadgets, Repairs and Techies

Over the past couple of decades, as I have 'matured', more and more gadgets are invented, upgraded, replaced, added to, made obsolete, improved, yada-yada.  Have you noticed how most of the time these 'advances' in technology are becoming something that we cannot, generally, repair or improve on our own?

I don't want to carry on about 'back in the day', but in today's world everything is so specialized I would think that everyone should have a job because all of our gadgets, appliances, toys, etc. have to have special tools and adapters and synchronization ad nauseum.  What's under the hood of a car in todays world is a maze that can no longer be repaired at home because everything is so tightly jammed in there that it now required specialized digital technicians to remove, replace, and calibrate almost everything under that hood.
I dearly love my computer and this is a computer world we live in, however, as we keep advancing we do put ourselves at the mercy of some 'nerd-herder'.  I also love my Toyota.  I like having automatic seats, MP3 players, automatic external temperature digital readouts, and so on.  So, yes, I am just as spoiled by all of this as the next person. 

As I speak there are two repairmen from the Geek Squad in my kitchen repairing the cook top that had a short in the wiring of one of the burners.  They had to remove the builtin oven below the cook top in order to get to the wiring of the cook top because the installer secured the cook top to make it secure.  This is the third visit in 8 days and this time the techie brought along a second person to help with the lifting.  All this to replace a wire. My...  Now I realize that this is not hi-tech stuff, and the cook top is still under contract, but it still amazes me.  This week we also had to attach adapter boxes to our tvs that were not on the digital DVR box.  They were activated and one of them did not take, so a cable techie wil be here on Friday to see what is the problem.  I chatted online with a support person yesterday and the problem seemed to be fixed, then this am the problem resumed so I called the number for trouble shooting support.  That didn't help at all.
So someone is coming to see what the problem is with the "advancement".

I know, I know, I'm rambling like an old-timer, but sometimes we old-timers can do that because we have a base line by which to gauge these things.  People younger than, say, 40 yrs old have no idea what is means to go to Sears and pick up a part for something, anything, and put it in yourself.  And, just imagine if you had to wind and set a clock!!  Or, if your calculator went out, good grief.  But then we could always use the one on our phone or computer.  What was I thinging?!?

Five or six years ago I swore I would never get a cell phone.  Well, guess what?  Don and I both have cell phones and we no longer have a land line.  Yes, I do enjoy all these techie things and most of the improvements are good, but in many cases the replacements and repairs are a little hard to understand or/and afford.  I would say something about people on a fixed income but son, Mark, would roll his eyes and sigh.

More and more seniors are taking free computer classes at the public library here in Olathe, and that's a very good thing.  Computers help us to keep our minds sharp and active, and can help us stay in touch with eachother.  I google something everyday and I hope everyone does.  We have to keep learning!