"Lagniappe"
is an expression used in South Louisiana that
means "something extra". Each
year the local schools get a day off from
school. It's called Lagniappe Day.
Several days ago while walking in the neighborhood, I spotted this cross on the front doors of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church on Louisiana Avenue, another joyful surprise on the colorful streets on this festive city. I snapped some shots and left them in my iPhone. However, because of a subsequent death of my dear Uncle Pete a couple of days later on March 5th (Mom’s birthday), I look at the photos and think of him.
My uncle was a relic of an era gone by. An era of farming. An era of rural America. An era of small-town religion and politics. An era of back-breaking work. An era of modesty. Even an era of sports. A devout “Bapti-costal,” Uncle Pete, also known as J.W., loved God, life and family. He also loved his team. In his final days on Superbowl Sunday, his five loyal children gathered in his hospital room to enjoy the big game with him. They cheered their favorite team together for three happy hours. As the game was winding down, Uncle Pete asked one of his kids, “How much time is left?” “Ten minutes, Paw Paw,” she answered, “Ten minutes.” With wet eyes and slight smile, he looked up and said, “OK, I think I’ll live that long.”
He knew his life on Earth was coming to an end and he made it. He had lived to see the day. Born in 1918, one of Uncle Pete’s last joys with all his children together was to witness one more unexpected miracle. A WWII vet (which I only learned about at the funeral, hence the flag-draped coffin), hard-working farmer who never missed a church service, pillar of Winfield, life-long Democrat,
unassuming cousin of Louisiana’s legendary Long family, dedicated husband of 51 years, widower for 14, proud father of five, loving grandfather and great-grandfather of dozens, he was a simple man with few needs who lived to celebrate every moment that he could squeeze out of his full life.
I never got to tell my uncle that even as a small child I always admired him. He was a decent and humble man. Although he wasn’t Catholic, I thought how he would have appreciated this sight.
This follows under the category of “Only in New Orleans.” City residents held a Second Line Funeral procession to bury the old New Orleans Saints football team, otherwise known for decades as the “Aints.” The paper bags that covered the faces of loyal fans who attended an era of losing seasons game after game to cheer the embattled team were laid to rest. Left in its wake is the joy of success.
Symbolically, New Orleans seems to be inspired to bury the old and celebrate the new. For all of us in the Big Easy, our new year starts now. Our resolutions aimed at a better future start today. As for myself, it means a greater connection to my home and family as well as a brighter outlook on my career as I learn the delicate balance of work and lifestyle.
That said, here’s the Aints Second Line Funeral march. Happy New Era!
Tuesday, the Tuesday before Mardi Gras in New Orleans, will forever be known as Dat Tuesday from here on out by the WHO DAT NATION. Another nickname for the occasion is Lombardi Gras. It was the day the Crescent City held it’s first ever Superbowl Victory Parade for the New Orleans Saints. A Mardi Gras style parade of marching bands and floats loaded with festive Saints players, coaches and staff traveled through the streets of the Big Easy to a cheerful crowd of 800,000 fans celebrating their 43 year climb to become the Superbowl Champs for the first time ever. It was undoubtedly the biggest Superbowl Victory parade in the history of the Championships because this town knows how to throw a parade best!
But, this event is bigger than a sports victory. It’s a mix of life lessons. Here’s a few: Never give up on your dreams. In life, you must take chances to succeed. Those who are willing to succeed work hard, perpare diligently, focus on execution and not fear failure. There are many more. But, it is also a message to a troubled city devastated by the blow of Katrina and poverty. New Orleans is a city of winners. This Championship season has lifted the spirits of the hopeless and given faith to the believers. The Saints Franchise understands that their function as ambassadors and role models is a responsibility to their fans and to the people of New Orleans. They fulfilled their mission flawlessly and are greatly appreciated for it.
The video doesn’t do the vision of our hike from our steading to the Balfour estate any justice. Nature is just far more beautiful. However, please enjoy.
I’ve been MIA on my blog lately. We had the craziest past few weeks and now it’s time to return to normalcy, whatever that is. I have to create “normalcy” because we finally made the official move from Los Angeles to New Orleans.
We’ve been in New Orleans several weeks considering and planning the move. Finally, we did it. We flew to L.A., tied up loose ends by reducing our obligations there significantly, drove back to New Orleans with all our worldly possessions (truck broke down twice in the Texas heat! Ugh!) and moved into our own little cottage in the Garden District.
During this time, the Louisiana Legislature passed the updated film tax incentive bills and the Governor signed them into law. With the new incentives and new home and new life, my hopes hinge on the theory that more features will be produced in Louisiana opening opportunities for my film career as a local talent in the Pelican State. By the end of the year, if this theory does not prove true, it’s OK. New Orleans is an exciting and lively town ripe with opportunity for creative individuals. Besides, the fun never ends. I feel very good about moving here.
Facebook has a new exercise for friends to get to know each other: 25 Things About Me. If my daughter-in-law wasn’t the first to send a request with her list to me, I might not have participated. But, I learned a lot about her. It’s a healthy and useful little drill. I’ve learned a lot about several of my friends that I didn’t know before and I’m thankful for the opportunity to learn more about them.
So, for friends not on Facebook, here’s the list I provided. I called it Here It Is: Those 25 Things About Me:
1. Whoever said that a woman over 30 had a better chance of getting hit by lightning than getting married was wrong. The greatest day of my life was Oct. 4, 2008 when I married the cute Scottish boy I met when I was only 17 years old (And I’ve never been hit by lightning)
2. On September 11, 2001, I thought that I could never celebrate my birthday ever again. Now it seems that 9/11 has become a “Patriotic” holiday.
You would think that resigning from the prestigious United Stuntwomen’s Association (USA) was a bad idea for a women who performs stunts in the film business. It wasn’t easy, but that’s exactly what I did.
Primarily, economics dictated saving since the USA monthly dues are significant and, let’s face it, as much as I love Obama, the economy isn’t going to get fixed overnight. On the other hand, my subconscious backed up the decision with the intrigue of completely reinventing my career.
In my last post “Drastic Measures” I wrote about subliminal messages that appear to be supportive if you chose to embrace them. I chose to think of them as serendipitous. They speak softly but carry a big stick. One such message popped up again today.
This morning I updated my status on my Facebook page with this comment: “Leigh believes in change … (And no candidate used that one.)” I was reflecting on the current risky personal decision I made to test the Louisiana film market to improve my career, with my husband’s loving support. Just three hours later a young stuntman named Mario Perez replied.
He quoted King Whitney, Jr., “Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.”
Holy CR*&^*&#P! It freaked me out at first. It seemed as though Mario, whom I’ve never personally met, could read my mind. The quote he sent not only elaborated on my status update, it hit it out of the park with such clarity and nuance that hadn’t entered my mind — until now.
After brief but thoughtful reflection on the quote, I replied, “No fear. Just “hopeful” for our current global sea change and “confident” about my personal sea change.” A little more thought later, I added, “Well — maybe a small, but healthy amount of fear.”
Drastic times call for drastic measures. In the current economic climate, you can’t let opportunities slide. The challenge is finding and optimizing the opportunities. My experience searching for opportunities in the past includes six cross country moves. Each move produced some level of success. Therefore, once again, I find myself taking the same desperate measure again. I plan to reside in New Orleans to continue my film career in a new environment.
This move will be a little different, though. I won’t be alone. This move will be with husband and dog in tow. We will not give up our current residence, maintaining two bases of operation: L.A. and NOLA. Finally, in Louisiana, we will be near family – a plus. (Thankfully, I have a supportive, self-employed husband who can live anywhere and has lived everywhere. The dog — he’s just happy to be wherever I am. We will need to find a sufficient yard in NOLA for running in large circles at break-neck speed, however.)
Once you make a decision like this, the stress level rises. How much will it cost? Will it work? How long will it take? There are so many unanswerable questions. To reduce the anxiety, research helps reassure the decision. But, I have also noticed that subliminal messages crop up everywhere like warm embraces whispering, “Everything will be OK.” Some messages are painful epiphanies. Some are refreshing revelations. Some are gut feelings screaming loudly. Nonetheless, they emerge and regardless how hard they can be to hear, you need to be open and listen to them, hug and entertain them.
As anxious as I feel, I know that each day will calm my nerves. With the freedom to discover, each day toward advancement creates optimism. For example: Twice this past week I heard a new Chinese proverb that says, “If we don’t change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed.”
This is the latest theme in my life. We go round and round and revisit moments of our past. Although, they look a little different. Our surroundings change. The characters change. We’re older. We’re more experienced. But, the moment is the lesson. And, the lesson is important enough to appear again.
The moment that recently reappeared again reminds me to appreciate achievements. Here’s a little achievement that I am eternally grateful: athletic ability and fearlessness.
Dad taught me to stand in his hand balancing on one foot as a toddler before I could even walk. This is one of the earliest memories of my life. I actually recall performing for visiting guests one day. I can still see my tiny feet in my father’s palm. I remember him telling me what to do, “Now, lift your foot,” and I was scared. I was scared, but I trusted him. He wouldn’t drop me. So, I slowly and apprehensively lifted my foot. People in the room cheered and it was fun. It was easy. I could feel my Dad’s palm grip my standing foot tight and his weight holding me up.
The trick only lasted a few seconds before it was over. It was a good experience. I achieved something really cool and it made me happy.
… And then I became an athlete and a stunt performer. Taking risks was a lesson learned at an early age.
Several days ago while walking in the neighborhood, I spotted this cross on the front doors of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church on Louisiana Avenue, another joyful surprise on the colorful streets on this festive city. I snapped some shots and left them in my iPhone. However, because of a subsequent death of my dear Uncle Pete a couple of days later on March 5th (Mom’s birthday), I look at the photos and think of him.
