Local Flavor

"Localism alone can lead to culture." - William Carlos Williams

Over the past several months, I have frequented several local events throughout Acadiana that were all extraordinary in one way or the other - but that may, I hope, become quite commonplace among even more local cities and towns of every size, from Lafayette's 250,000+ hurricane-boosted population to Maurice's few hundred.

Among these events were :


1. Farmers' Markets

2. Productions of plays

3. Fairs and Festivals


In each of these towns, from Crowley to Rayne to New Iberia to St Martinville to Breaux Bridge to Abbeville to Eunice to Opelousas to Grand Coteau to Lafayette at the center of it all to others in between and too numerous to mention, there was a positive spirit that was visible, palpable, breathable, tasteable, hearable and touchable.

Neither force of nature (recent hurricanes) nor force of negative personality (blame seekers) could diminish what was natyurally present in the hearts, minds, and most importantnly, souls of those who peopled these events, from the unselfish planners to those who attended.

This Thanksgiving, simply look around you if you need a reason to be thankful.

We are a remarkable people, those of us who live in Acadiana, and God Bless each and every one of you for the way you behaved and continue to behave as we continue to recover from the various challenges thrown at us.

As someone who's recently returned from another part of the country and resettled in this my home area, I feel more than ever as Dorothy felt in the Emerald City : There's No Place Like Home.