Louisiana hunters will have an early opportunity to return to the marsh this weekend as the state’s September teal season opens Saturday, Sept. 19.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced the statewide season will run Sept. 19-27.
During the special September season, hunters may harvest only blue-winged, green-winged and cinnamon teal. LDWF reminded hunters that black-bellied whistling ducks and all other waterfowl species are not legal to harvest during the September teal season. Teal may also be taken during Louisiana’s regular duck season, which begins in November.
Hunters are encouraged to make sure they have the required licenses, permits and certifications before heading into the field.
Waterfowl hunters age 16 and older are required to have a Federal Duck Stamp. Hunters age 18 and older must also possess a basic hunting license, waterfowl license and Harvest Information Program, or HIP, certification. Youth age 17 and younger are not required to have a hunting license.
Several LDWF Wildlife Management Areas provide teal hunting opportunities, including Pass-a-Loutre, Atchafalaya Delta, Pointe-aux-Chenes, Sherburne, Dewey Wills and Russell Sage WMAs. Visitors age 18 and older using WMAs must have the appropriate WMA access permit or a qualifying license.
LDWF is also reminding hunters to positively identify their target before shooting, particularly during the early teal season when other waterfowl species may be present.
The nine-day season concludes Sunday, Sept. 27. Hunters should review current LDWF regulations, licensing requirements and WMA-specific rules before hunting.
Without question, the story of United Airlines Flight 93 is one of the most profoundly moving and heroic chapters in American history. It is a narrative that shifts rapidly from a routine morning flight to a terrifying crisis, and ultimately to a self-sacrificing battle that saved countless lives.
A beautiful Tuesday morning was found everywhere when Flight 93 went airborne on the morning of September 11, 2001. As the early hours of the day unfolded, a rush of unknown terror filled the airspace of the upper eastern part of the United States, and one of America’s most infamous events started to unravel a peaceful passage of time in the skies.
One cannot imagine the horror that the plane’s crew and passengers faced that morning in the confined space of an aircraft. It should have been an enjoyable experience of flight and travel to arrive at destinations of living a full life in the freedom of America.
The terrorists did not win that morning on Flight 93. A group of determined American Patriots came together in mind, spirit, and courage to thwart the evil plans that America’s enemies wanted to carry out.
America has been built upon sacrifice, and it was that same manner of resolve and sacrifice that stood up to evil, and win another battle for freedom. The cost was high, but it will never be forgotten, and America will continue to be the bastion of freedom for the rest of the world to behold. America’s defenders that morning were inspired to do what is right and just for the cause of mankind to sustain life and liberty, despite the cost of paying for it with their lives.
The Delayed Departure
Out of the four flights involved on that fateful morning, there was one major scheduling glitch which caused a delay in the departure of the fourth aircraft at the Newark International Airport.
Thus United Airlines Flight 93 was not on time on the runway, causing the aircraft to not be in sync with the other three flights, all of which were headed for their respective flight paths to cause a massive wave of destruction.
First of all, United Airlines Flight 93 was a fairly new Boeing Model 757 aircraft at that timeframe in air travel. The Boeing sported a large fuselage body with a modern design and powerful engines for excellent thrust in takeoffs. It easily established itself as a trusted aircraft in the skies around the world. Being highly respected by the flight crews, and enjoyed by the countless number of passengers whenever a flight went airborne, people were delighted to board that plane to their destination.
On that sunny Tuesday morning, it was scheduled to fly from Newark International Airport in New Jersey to San Francisco, California. Pretty much a routine westbound flight for the crew, and with excellent weather conditions, a stable and safe journey to be welcomed by the passengers, who were embarking on both business and pleasure activities.
The Crew and Passengers: On board were 7 crew members (including Captain Jason Dahl and First Officer LeRoy Homer Jr.) and 33 passengers.
The Hijackers: Mingled among them were the four hijackers: Ziad Jarrah (the pilot), Ahmed al-Nami, Ahmed al-Haznawi, and Saeed al-Ghamdi.
The Delay: The flight was scheduled to take off at 8:01 AM, but heavy airport traffic delayed their departure. The disruption of more and more flight delays of both arrivals and departures gave challenges of increased air traffic flow at Newark International.
This growing situation compounded what the air traffic controllers were dealing with on a daily basis. A lot of travelers were opting to use Newark and then take other ground modes of transportation into New York City.
The plane didn’t lift off until 8:42 AM—just four minutes before the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. This 41-minute delay would inadvertently change the course of history.
Information Trickles In
For the first 45 minutes, the flight proceeded normally. The aircraft kept gaining altitude and traversing the skies smoothly to its determined flight path. There was quiet and calm in the passenger section of the plane. Light breakfast snacks and beverages were being served, and no one expected anything to turn ugly. The plane finally reached its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet over Pennsylvania and turned west toward Ohio.
Meanwhile, the world below was fracturing. New York City and its population throughout the five boroughs was being thrust rapidly into a war zone. An unknown enemy, a ponderous destruction of iconic buildings, with death appearing everywhere on the streets below, and without question, something horrific attacking everyone’s lives in lower Manhattan. Of which New Yorkers were totally unprepared for.
The first tower struck at the World Trade Center was thought to be an accident. A real tragedy that was going to test New York City’s 1st Responders. No one thought it was an act of terror. Just horrible bad luck and very poor judgment on the pilot of the aircraft.
The tower appeared stable, despite the elevated crash and fire, with heavy dark smoke issuing forth from the impact zone. Everyone had faith that New York’s Bravest of the FDNY would handle the fire, rescue the building’s occupants, and get everything under control, despite the high-rise challenges that come with the duty of serving as a firefighter in our Nation’s largest city.
But by 9:03 AM, the second tower was hit by another terrorist controlled aircraft. This act quickly changed everyone’s thinking that we are now dealing with acts of terror via aircraft as weapons of mass destruction.
By 9:24 AM, United Airlines dispatchers began sending out text message warnings to all of their pilots: “Beware any cockpit intrusion—Two aircraft have now hit the World Trade Center in an act of terror.”
At 9:26 AM, Captain Dahl responded, asking for more clarification. In his mind, he had to be asking himself, would he and his aircraft become involved in an attack of some sort while still in the sky? He probably was also asking his co-pilot if any of this seemed real, and to watch the radar screen closely for any approaching aircraft near or on their flight path. Unfortunately it was his last normal communication. Flight 93’s radio traffic stopped at that moment.
The Takeover (9:28 AM)
At 9:28 AM, all hell broke loose on Flight 93. The aircraft was flying over Cleveland, Ohio at that moment, and the hijackers immediately started their attack in the air. The four terrorists quickly scrambled out of their seats, grabbing passengers and cabin crew members. They displayed knives and large razor like construction blades to everyone. Although not confirmed, it is believed that one terrorist struck an innocent passenger with his improvised weapon, causing them harm. This cowardly act sent a shockwave to all who witnessed the attack that this was for real! War in the air was just declared by the terrorists!
Meanwhile on the ground, air traffic controllers suddenly heard unmistakable bursts of screaming, scuffling, and shouts of “Get out of here!” over the cockpit radio. The hijackers, armed with their small knives, managed to gain entry into the cockpit. The crush of foreboding trouble was now at the threshold for the United Airlines’ pilots and personnel of Flight 93.
They first turned their attention to the pilot and co-pilot by shouting at them to leave their seats and controls, while directly forcing them to comply with their concealed weapons being waved wildly in the atmosphere. They also loudly proclaimed to have a hidden bomb on board, and would activate it if their orders were not obeyed immediately. Despite their commands in broken English, their message of terror was well understood by all.
Of special note regarding the bomb, it was found that during the intense post-crash investigation on the ground near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, it was determined and later revealed to be a fake threat, as no debris evidence yielded any bomb and/or incendiary materials. It was one of the hijackers’ scary maneuvers to force their way into the cockpit for control of the aircraft.
Once the terrorists gained control of the aircraft and were firmly seated in the cockpit, Jarrah took the controls in a rather calm and determined manner, thereby turning the plane around from its original flight path. He then headed back in an easterly direction. His new flight path actually shadowed US Route 30 on the ground below.
US Route 30 is very well known as the Lincoln Highway. This notable roadway stretches across our Nation, encompassing 3,000 miles. During his time in office, President Lincoln used that path of travel to return to his home state of Illinois during his presidency. Thus, US Route 30 will take one directly into DC, and then with a few extra turns, it becomes an easy connection to Pennsylvania Avenue and the White House.
Of course, with the Capitol also being in close reach from Pennsylvania Avenue and Route 30, both nearby historic structures would be of immeasurable target value to any terrorist. Overall, US Route 30 is a much chronicled highway in our Nation’s history. Our enemies know this fact all too well.
A noted railroad line also parallels the highway. The Union Pacific Railroad built their tracks to mirror the path of the highway. Union Pacific’s management wanted to provide a more rapid mode of transportation in the early days of America spreading westward, but also staying duly connected with the seat of the Federal Government.
By maintaining this new course of travel, and in concert with the highway direction of Route 30 below the aircraft, the evil mindset of terrorist/pilot Jarrah was truly aiming directly for Washington, D.C., and a handsome collection of America’s treasures in our Nation’s Capital.
His intended target is widely believed to have been the U.S. Capitol Building or the White House. It’s entirely possible that Jarrah was receiving critical damage information all the while in the airplane’s cockpit via a cell phone, and also being updated as to which target in DC would cause the greatest casualties and destruction.
The Airphone Calls: Operational Intelligence
While the struggles in the cockpit were going on, the other two hijackers forced the cabin crew and passengers to the back of the plane. Since the terrorists could not watch every angle of the plane’s new “manifest” hostages, they started to quietly communicate with each other via eye sight, blinking, and other body language to come up with a plan for a counterattack to regain control of the plane.
Some were hopeful that they were just hostages being held for leverage, but then they started learning about the Twin Towers attacks and the Pentagon strike. They then knew that this was a deathtrap, to say the least. Finally the passengers, with help from the cabin crew, began using the aircraft’s GTE Airphones and their personal cell phones to call loved ones and authorities.
Overall, in the remaining few minutes of life in the sky, they made a total of 37 calls. Through these conversations, a devastating reality set in, and it was confirmed that America was under attack, but not in a war scenario like World War II or even Vietnam. It was a combination of planned terror, with unsuspecting aircraft as the weapons, to render as much damage to America and its institutions of prominence. All on board came to realize the following and extremely shocking information:
They learned about the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsing.
They learned about the Pentagon being hit at 9:37 AM.
The Hard Realization: They weren’t hostages in a traditional hijacking. Their plane was now a guided missile, and going towards an unknown target, to inflict death and damage to anything that is valuable to the United States. Ultimately, they knew that they were already dead, unless they did something about it immediately.
Some of the last conversations of loved ones spoke of courage in the face of death. “Deena, they are breathing fire. They are going to use this plane to destroy something. It’s up to us. I think we can take them.” — Passenger Tom Burnett, Jr., in a phone call to his wife, Deena. Courage was now replacing fear!
The Vote and the Plan
Putting fear aside and instead of panicking, the passengers organized. A group of fighters was coming up to take action. A core group—including Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett, and Jeremy Glick—retreated to the back of the cabin to formulate a plan.
They took a vote, and their decision was unanimous…they would fight back! It would be bold, but no other choice could be made. They knew that some would have to suffer injury and possible death to counteract the ongoing work of the terrorists. When one is in a confined space, with limited resources like a ship on the ocean, there are few options for defense. This is what they faced in the final moments of Flight 93’s time in the air. A fight for freedom!
Without question, they weaponized what they had access to—hot water from the galley, heavy catering carts, coffee pots, forks, and even rolled-up magazines. Anything that could hurt another human being was put in close proximity for use by the team. These items were ready to be used as improvised weapons of defense. Nothing of value was overlooked.
Just before the counterattack began, Todd Beamer tried to place a call to his wife, but couldn’t get through. He was connected instead to GTE supervisor Lisa Jefferson. She listened to what he said about going up against the hijackers. After detailing their plan and praying the Lord’s Prayer together, Beamer turned to the other passengers. His last audible words over the open line became the rallying cry for our nation:
“Are you guys ready? Let’s roll!”
The Counterattack (9:57 AM)
Todd Beamer’s open line was being heard intensely and recorded by the GTE staff on the ground. What the GTE personnel heard at 9:57 AM was the rush and noisy chaos of a group of determined American Patriots, going for broke in taking back the control of the aircraft, no matter what the cost. The passenger revolt against the terrorists began without delay. No one hesitated in going forward to do battle with this evil group, who only wanted to inflict death upon innocent people, and destroy their communities and livelihoods.
Beamer and his resolute team of fighters first sprinted down the narrow aisle, and knocked down the two main cabin hijackers with their improvised weapons. It is believed that the hijackers were quickly overpowered, thereby becoming knocked out and unconscious. It is also believed that they both suffered serious, if not fatal blows, to render them completely out of action.
Now the fight for the cockpit was paramount. Regaining control of the aircraft meant everything. Otherwise, this aircraft would find its target and submit a final succession of terror upon America. This bold action, led by a very courageous Todd Beamer, became the prime mission objective for the retaking of the plane. Mission failure was not the anticipated result.
Beamer’s team started using a food cart as a battering ram against the cockpit door. The cockpit voice recorder, via the back-up recording of the plane’s Black Box, captured the terrifying and chaotic sounds of the struggle. One could hear the smashing of heavy dishes, with shouting and indiscernible screams as the doorway was being rammed.
Inside the cockpit the two sole hijackers were desperately trying to keep the door blocked. Each new blow was weakening the integrity of the lightweight door and its frame rails. It was slow work, but Beamer and his fighters were not going to give up. Total success of disabling the hijackers was close at hand. Entry into the cockpit was the end game.
Now realizing that he was about to lose everything that the hijackers accomplished a short while ago, Jarrah was starting to panic. The door was failing, and he knew that one of the relentless blows was going to be the final straw to be broken for entry, thus he felt that he needed to take another course of action against the passengers.
So to throw the passengers’ attacks off balance, Jarrah began violently rocking the plane left and right with his joystick. He slammed it left and right to make the aircraft pitch itself into a series of scary shakes. Even though he thought he was gaining the upper hand, he quickly noted that no one was giving up. He figured that they would overpower him, and end his evil mission.
He even went so far as to pitch the nose up and down. This action had no negative effect on the passengers. They didn’t stop. They didn’t want to. They just kept pounding on the door, and Jarrah knew that it would soon be over for him. He would have failed in his mission to reach the inside of DC for a juicy target.
By 10:00 AM, Jarrah realized the passengers were seconds from breaching the cockpit and overpowering them at the controls. He felt that only one final piece of action would work.
The Crash (10:03 AM)
In his final and desperate act to prevent Beamer and the rest of the passengers from taking the wheel, Jarrah rolled the plane upside down. He could easily see the ground below him. He even caught a glimpse of US Route 30. Jarrah, now in a state of unforgiving desperation, took the controls, thereby moving the plane’s speed to a very high rate of descent. In the post-crash analysis, it was determined that he drove the aircraft into the ground at over 560 miles per hour.
Without any further embellishment, Flight 93 crashed into an empty reclamation coal field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10:03 AM. The destruction and resultant fire was immediate.
All of the 40 passengers and crew members died instantly. The impact of unforgiving percussion would have easily killed anyone else being on the ground within a short range also.
United Airlines Flight 93 was only about 20 minutes of flying time away from the heart of Washington, D.C.
In 1863, the United States of America and the Confederate States of America were in the midst of what we now call the Civil War. On June 1, 1863, nineteen-year-old Willis Meadows of Lanott, Alabama, joined Company G of the 37th Alabama Regiment. Willis was a fierce hunter who realized early on that missing a shot at wild game meant that he and his family would not have any meat on the table. Within days of his enlistment, his superiors recognized his shooting skills and made him a sharpshooter. One month to the day after his enlistment, July 1, Willis was helping defend Vicksburg from the Union army. Through a small hole in a sheet of boiler plate, Willis took careful aim and fired a single shot at a time at Union soldiers so as not to give his position away. He waited several minutes before firing again so the enemy could not pinpoint his position. Every few minutes, Willis took down another soldier.
21-year-old Peter Knapp and three other members of the 5th Iowa volunteers were ordered to eliminate the sniper. They slowly scanned the area while they awaited another shot. Finally, Peter saw a flash come from the small hole in the boiler plate. Peter was a crack shot as well. As Willis peeked through the hole in search of another target, Peter fired. The one-ounce cone-shaped bullet went through the same hole Willis had been firing through and struck him, Willis, in his right eye. Peter saw Willis collapse and knew he was either dead or dying. Peter and the other three reported that they had eliminated the sharpshooter and were sent on another assignment.
A short while later, a Union soldier found Willis and realized that he was still alive. He and other Union soldiers took Willis to their surgeon who transferred the wounded sharpshooter to a federal hospital. Doctors operated on Willis and concluded that it would be too dangerous to try to remove the bullet. They stopped the bleeding and hoped for the best. Despite the doctors’ grim prognosis, Willis’s condition slowly improved. Except for the loss of his right eye, Willis regained his health. Willis was eventually paroled and returned to Alabama.
58 years later, Peter was reading the newspaper when he read Willis’s incredible story. He soon realized that Willis was the man he shot and whom he thought he had killed. Peter wrote to Willis and they began corresponding back and forth for the remainder of Willis’s life. The newspaper article which turned former enemies into friends was published on March 22, 1921. On the day before, Willis, then 78 years old, was in his kitchen when he began coughing. His coughing progressed into a coughing fit. Willis held his handkerchief over his mouth, but nothing he tried would ease his coughing. After several long minutes, Willis’s coughing ended abruptly when something struck his handkerchief. He lowered the handkerchief from his mouth and stared in amazement. 58 years after being shot through the eye and left for dead, Willis coughed up Peter’s bullet.
Sources:
1. The Wellston News (Wellston, Oklahoma), April 1, 1921, p.2.
2. Phillips County News (Malta, Montana), September 8, 1921, p.1.
Football season has arrived in the South, which means several things are about to change. Our Saturday schedules will change. Our diets will change. Hopefully, the weather will change. And for the record, if Alabama is playing, please do not call the preacher unless the church is on fire, somebody is bleeding, or you have discovered a previously unknown Bible verse promising a Crimson Tide victory. Did you know the phrase Crimson Tide appears in many hymnals?
I am an Alabama fan living and pastoring near Louisiana Tech, and my children went to LSU. So, I know what it feels like to be a football outsider. I have survived years of purple and gold. I have smiled through “Geaux Tigers.” I have lived close enough to Louisiana Tech to know that on game day, Ruston suddenly contains considerably more red and blue than the census would suggest. Football in the South is not merely recreation. It is geography, family history, tribal identity, and occasionally a reason not to speak to your brother-in-law until Monday.
Football season also changes our schedules. In July someone says, “How about Saturday afternoon?” Everybody answers, “Sure.” In September, the response becomes, “What time is kickoff?” Don’t get me started on couples who plan a big church wedding on Saturday afternoons in the fall! That may be the first theological lesson football season offers us:
We make time for what matters to us.
People who are “too busy” can somehow find four hours for a football game, an hour for the pregame show, and another hour afterward listening to people explain why the coach should have gone for it on fourth-and-two. Our calendars reveal our priorities. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I suspect our calendars may reveal our treasure almost as clearly as our checkbooks.
Football season also changes our wardrobe. We wear team colors. We have lucky shirts. Some fans own clothing containing more school logos than actual fabric. Wouldn’t it be interesting if Christians were equally recognizable—not by what we wear, but by how we live? Jesus said the world would know his disciples by their love. Not their bumper stickers. Not their church membership. Not their ability to identify all the verses in Revelation. By their love.
Then there is the football diet. Nobody has ever said, “Alabama and LSU are playing tonight. Let’s celebrate with steamed broccoli.” Football calls for wings, nachos, sausage, barbecue, cheese dip, and whatever mysterious creation has been simmering in somebody’s Crock-Pot since breakfast. And strangely enough, there is something theological even there.
People gather around tables. They laugh. They tell stories. They argue about officials. They remember old games and old friends. We were created for community. That may be why Sunday worship matters. Church is not simply a place to hear a sermon any more than football is simply a way to discover the final score. We gather because we belong to one another.We celebrate victories. We carry one another through losses. We pray when life goes into overtime.
So enjoy football season. Wear your colors. Cheer loudly. Eat irresponsibly. And when Sunday morning comes, remember there is another gathering where you belong. The admission is free. The fellowship is better. And unlike football, we already know who wins.
Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, beloved singer, songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and one of the most treasured figures in American music and culture, passed away on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 80.
Born on January 19, 1946, in rural East Tennessee, Dolly was the fourth of twelve children and grew up in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. From those humble beginnings came a voice, a talent, and a spirit that would eventually reach nearly every corner of the world.
Over a remarkable career spanning more than six decades, Dolly became one of country music’s most recognizable and influential artists. Her extraordinary gift for storytelling gave the world songs that became part of the American soundtrack, including Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, 9 to 5, and I Will Always Love You. Her unmistakable voice, quick wit, larger-than-life style, and genuine warmth allowed her to connect with generations of people far beyond the boundaries of country music.
Her talents extended well beyond the stage. Dolly became a celebrated actress, author, businesswoman, and entrepreneur while remaining deeply connected to the Tennessee mountains and the people who helped shape her. Yet among her greatest accomplishments was the generosity she showed to others.
Through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, founded in honor of her father, millions of books have been placed into the hands of children around the world. Her philanthropy also supported education, disaster relief, healthcare, and countless communities and individuals throughout her lifetime.
For all the awards, records, rhinestones, and worldwide recognition, Dolly’s greatest legacy may be the way she made people feel. She encouraged people to dream bigger, laugh at themselves, remain true to who they were, and extend kindness wherever possible. She never seemed to forget where she came from—and because of that, people from every walk of life felt as though they knew a little piece of her.
Dolly was preceded in death by her beloved husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean, who passed away in March 2025. Their famously private and enduring marriage remained one of the most cherished parts of her life.
The little girl from the mountains of Tennessee grew up to become an American icon, but she never lost the heart that made the world fall in love with her in the first place. Her songs will continue to be sung, her stories will continue to be told, and the kindness she put into the world will continue through generations of lives she touched.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Dolly’s extraordinary legacy of generosity and her lifelong commitment to children and literacy are encouraged to make a memorial contribution to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Through the program, books are provided each month at no cost to children from birth to age five, helping Dolly’s love of reading and learning continue to reach future generations.
Where are the flying cars that engineers began promising us as early as the 1940s? In 1946, Popular Mechanics magazine predicted that flying cars would become commonplace soon. Nearly 40 years later, Doctor Emmett Brown in the Hollywood film Back to the Future told Marty as they were preparing to hit 88 miles per hour, “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” That was in 1985 and flying cars are still not commonplace. What happened to the flying cars that we have been promised for generations?
During World War II, Theodore “Ted” Hall proposed a flying car that could be used in commando-type raids but he was unable to convince the military of its practicality. Following World War II, Ted worked with Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation to build flying cars for the masses. They began with the Convair Model 116, a two-seater crude car body with detachable wings and tail. Test pilots completed more than 65 flights in the Model 116 before Ted began working on a more marketable model called the Model 118 (see photo above).
The Model 118 had a more refined plastic car body, a 26½ horsepower car engine, a more powerful Lycoming airplane engine, and could comfortably transport four people. Convair planned to produce 160,000 of the Model 118s and expected to sell many of them to airports to use as rental vehicles.
On November 15, 1947, test pilot Reuben Snodgrass flew the prototype Model 118 for the first time, and it performed splendidly. Three days later, pilot Snodgrass and flight researcher Lawrence Phillips flew the flying car over San Diego, California, on what was supposed to be a one-hour flight to test the engine’s calibration. A few minutes into the flight as they were enjoying what had been a flawless test, the engine sputtered and died. All attempts to restart the engine failed. Pilot Snodgrass was familiar with the area and glided the flying car toward the hard-caked mud flats near South Bay. It was a textbook landing for the first 200 feet, but pilot Snodgrass did not see the four-foot-high embankment until it was too late. In the crash, pilot Snodgrass suffered only minor bruises, but Phillips suffered a fractured shoulder. The car portion was destroyed, but the wing and airplane engine were repaired and used on further test flights. Although public interest in the flying car was initially high, it was not high enough. The company cancelled the flying car.
The reason the Model 118 flying automobile was never made available to the public was not because of a design flaw, not because of something the pilot did, but something he did not do. On that cool November day, the Convair flying car crashed because… it ran out of gas. Pilot Snodgrass was a careful pilot who always used a preflight checklist to avoid accidents such as this. After the crash, Pilot Snodgrass went over the checklist more carefully one item at a time. He remembered vividly checking the fuel gauge which showed to be full. Then, he realized his mistake. It was a simple mistake that anyone could make. Pilot Snodgrass had checked the fuel gauge, the car’s fuel gauge. He had not checked the airplane’s fuel gauge.
Sources:
1. The Fresno Bee, November 12, 1947, p.1.
2. The Los Angeles Times, November 19, 1947, p.14.
3. Holdenville Daily News, November 20, 1947, p.4.
Strabo was a Greek geographer born in 64 BC in what is now Amasya, Turkey. Strabo was from an affluent family which afforded him a good education. When he was about 21 years old, Strabo continued his education in Rome where he studied grammar, writing, history, rhetoric, and philosophy. At some point, Strabo began writing a geography based on his extensive travels throughout the known world. He described the people, places, animals, and collected stories from the places he visited. He published his first edition of Geographica in 7 BC which included the story of a hetaira called Doricha. A hetaira was a highly educated female companion who often served a variety of roles including artist, entertainer, conversationalist, and some say, prostitute. Strabo wrote that Doricha “was bathing, an eagle snatched one of her sandals from her maid and carried it to Memphis; and while the king was administering justice in the open air, the eagle, when it arrived above his head, flung the sandal into his lap; and the king, stirred both by the beautiful shape of the sandal and by the strangeness of the occurrence, sent men in all directions into the country in quest of the woman who wore the sandal; and when she was found in the city of Naucratis, she was brought up to Memphis, and became the wife of the king.” In his story, Doricha became the queen of Egypt. I must stress that there is no evidence that there ever was a queen of Egypt named Doricha.
Strabo’s tale has been told and retold through the centuries. In 1634, Italian Giambattista Basile published a notable version called La Gatta Cenerentola in his book entitled Il Penatamerone. Cenerentola derived from the Italian word “cenere” which meant ash or cinder because the clothes of servants at the time were usually soiled by ash or cinder because of their cleaning duties. In his version, the first to be published in the Western world, Basile changed Doricha’s name to Zezolla. In 1697, Frenchman Charles Perrault published an even more embellished version of the tale in his book which translates to Histoires ou contes du temps passé (Histories, or Tales of Past Time). Perrault changed her name from Doricha to another name which was a reference to her clothes being dirty. It is Perrault’s embellished version of Strabo’s 2,000-year-old tale that we all know because he added a magic pumpkin, a fairy godmother, and a glass slipper. Perrault called her Cendrillon, but we all know Doricha as Cinderella.
Texas has a documented long-term water problem and is aggressively planning future supplies. Louisiana has major new industrial and data-center water demands of its own. Because the two states share interconnected river systems, Louisiana should conduct and publicly release a comprehensive study of the cumulative effects before major water commitments are made.
That question matters because Louisiana citizens have watched enormous economic-development projects negotiated under NDAs, public authorities become major players in private industrial development, fights over eminent domain and permanent underground CO₂ injection, massive transmission projects, thousands of acres targeted for solar development, rapidly expanding data centers, and even discussions involving nuclear development and radioactive-waste disposal.
Researchers at the University of Texas reported in May 2026 that Texas data-center growth could eventually account for 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝟵% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟰𝟬 under a high-growth scenario.
Louisiana is facing many of the same questions as enormous data-center and industrial projects move into our state.
The Texas Water Development Board adopted its 2027 State Water Plan on July 23, 2026.
Texas estimates that implementing more than 3,000 recommended water-management projects through 2080 will require nearly $174 billion in capital investment.
Even if Texas builds all of those projects, its plan still projects approximately 𝟭.𝟲 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲-𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗻𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟴𝟬.
Texas also warns that without the recommended strategies, roughly one out of every four Texans in 2080 could have less than half of the municipal water supply needed during a drought of record.
North Texas already takes water from 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝗼𝗺𝗮 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿, and additional Texoma conveyance infrastructure is being developed.
Texas planning also identifies additional supplies involving 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲 and the proposed 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗿 on the Sulphur River; 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗢’ 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀, which feeds Big Cypress Bayou toward Caddo Lake; and 𝗧𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗼 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗱 on the Sabine River.
These are not all one project. Some are operating, some proposed, and some are long-range strategies.
But Louisiana should not look at each one in isolation and ignore the cumulative question.
The Sulphur River belongs to the larger Red River drainage system.
Lake O’ the Pines controls flows into Big Cypress Bayou toward 𝗖𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗼 𝗟𝗮𝗸𝗲, a Texas-Louisiana water system. The Corps of Engineers has documented that reservoir operations altered the natural downstream flow regime enough that special releases have been used to restore portions of that flow.
Texas planning identifies approximately 𝟳𝟱,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲-𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 from Lake O’ the Pines as a potential North Texas supply strategy and approximately 𝟭𝟮𝟮,𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲-𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 associated with Wright Patman.
𝗧𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗗𝗢 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗕𝗘 𝗔 𝗪𝗔𝗞𝗘-𝗨𝗣 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟.
For decades, many Louisiana citizens probably would have laughed if somebody suggested Louisiana might someday discuss selling Toledo Bend water to Texas.
Then it became a real public-policy discussion.
Residents pushed back. Public meetings were held. Controversy followed.
Louisiana law expressly gives the Sabine River Authority power to enter contracts involving the sale, distribution, or consumption of water within or outside Louisiana, subject to required approvals.
Nobody has shown us a document saying Texas is going to reroute the Red River.
We are not claiming one exists.
But Texas already takes water from the Red River system and is planning or studying additional supplies from tributaries connected to that regional drainage.
So what happens when you add all of those withdrawals together?
What happens at Shreveport?
What happens at Alexandria?
What happens during drought?
And what happens underground?
The 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘃𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗿 is hydraulically connected to the river in significant areas. When the river rises, water can move into surrounding alluvial sediments and contribute to groundwater recharge and bank storage.
If major upstream withdrawals materially alter river levels, flow duration, or high-water periods, Louisiana needs to know whether recharge could decline, groundwater levels could fall, hydraulic gradients could change, or poorer-quality groundwater could move differently.
If significant quantities of water are transferred from Toledo Bend or elsewhere in the Sabine system, the concern does not stop at the reservoir shoreline.
The Sabine continues south toward Sabine Lake and the Gulf. Freshwater flow affects salinity, wetlands, fisheries, ecosystems, municipalities, and industry.
Change the amount and timing of freshwater long enough, and downstream systems can change with it.
The Calcasieu is a separate basin, but southwest Louisiana’s water resources do not exist in isolation. If one source becomes less dependable, demand can shift elsewhere.
𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀.
𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬.
Louisiana officials may not like citizens asking these questions.
But they created the atmosphere that makes us ask them.
When citizens repeatedly watch public business conducted under NDAs, they stop assuming silence means nothing is happening.
When enormous projects are negotiated before communities understand them, citizens stop accepting:
“Don’t worry about it.”
Louisiana citizens have watched eminent-domain battles, permanent underground CO₂ injection, huge transmission projects, enormous solar developments, data centers beside rural communities, nuclear and radioactive-waste discussions, and actual discussions about sending Toledo Bend water to Texas.
Texas is identifying reservoirs, pipelines, interbasin transfers, drought strategies, and future supplies while planning for population growth, industrial expansion, and data-center demand.
Where is the cumulative analysis combining Lake Texoma, the Red River, Wright Patman, Marvin Nichols, Lake O’ the Pines, Caddo Lake, Toledo Bend, the Sabine, the Red River alluvial aquifer, the Chicot, industrial growth, data-center demand, and drought?
Maybe Texas can develop all of these supplies without materially harming Louisiana.
Fine.
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁.
Model it.
Put the numbers on the table.
Show us what happens to the Red River at Shreveport and Alexandria, Caddo Lake, Toledo Bend, the Sabine, the Red River alluvial aquifer, and the Chicot.
Show us what happens under drought conditions.
And model it while accounting for the unprecedented growth in AI data centers, power generation, and industrial development across both states.
Because Louisiana citizens should have learned one lesson by now:
Region C Water Planning Group — North Texas water-management strategies, including Lake Texoma, Lake O’ the Pines, Wright Patman, Marvin Nichols, Toledo Bend, Red River off-channel storage, and other potential supplies:
North Texas Municipal Water District — Texoma Two-Step program; additional pipelines designed to add approximately 90 million gallons per day of Lake Texoma conveyance capacity:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Big Cypress Bayou / Caddo Lake Sustainable Rivers Program; documents the downstream connection between Lake O’ the Pines, Big Cypress Bayou, and Caddo Lake:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Lake O’ the Pines / Ferrells Bridge Dam Water Control Manual and environmental-flow information for Big Cypress Bayou and Caddo Lake:
U.S. Geological Survey — Relation of water levels in the Red River alluvial aquifer to the Red River, documenting river/aquifer hydraulic relationships:
U.S. Geological Survey — Louisiana groundwater withdrawals dataset; approximately 960 million gallons per day, or about 51% of Louisiana groundwater withdrawals, came from the Chicot aquifer system:
Reservations are still available for the annual Northwestern State/Independence Bowl Kickoff Luncheon, sponsored by John and Lynne Manno, set for Thursday in Shreveport.
The longtime event, which will honor the 50th anniversary of Shreveport’s bowl game, will take place inside Superior’s Steakhouse, located at 855 Pierremont Avenue in Shreveport. The luncheon begins at 11:45 a.m., one week ahead of Northwestern’s season opener against Louisiana Christian in Natchitoches on Thursday, Aug. 27.
Cost for the all-inclusive lunch is $25 and includes salad, a plated meal and dessert.
Reservations are being accepted by contacting the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl office at 318-221-0721. Attendees are asked to bring cash or check to the event to cover the cost.
The luncheon features NSU athletics director Kevin Bostian, third-year Demon head coach Blaine McCorkle and members of the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl staff. Bostian and McCorkle will preview the 2026 season while bowl staffers will provide updates on the 50th annual Independence Bowl, which is scheduled for Dec. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Shreveport’s Independence Stadium.
Kerrie grew up as an only child on a farm in Benoni near Johannesburg, South Africa. She said that “violence and turmoil was…everyday life” in Johannesburg. There were riots in the streets because of apartheid. Her home life was often filled with violence and turmoil as well. Kerrie’s father, Charles, was an alcoholic to the degree that he built his own elaborate bar in the family home. It was there that he spent most of his time. When his drinking got the better of him, Charles would go missing for days and sometimes weeks at a time. When he eventually returned, he and Kerrie’s mother, Gerda, engaged in what Kerrie called “verbal abuse” against each other. Charles would throw lamps, furniture, and whatever else was close at hand, but never physically abused Kerrie or her mother. After the fights, Charles and Gerda would not speak to each other for weeks. The silence tortured Kerrie. She was even too afraid to say good morning to her parents. Kerrie thought Charles being verbally abusive toward her and her mother was normal. Gerda had installed lockable steel doors in each room of the house except for Kerrie’s just so they could escape if necessary. At the time in South Africa, divorce was not culturally accepted.
Tension within the family continued to grow. When Kerrie was around 13 years old, her mother sent her to a boarding school to get her out of the house. When school was not in session, Kerrie’s mother took her to the movies to get her away from home. On June 21, 1991, when Kerrie was 15 years old, she and her mother went to a movie to escape. They returned to find that Charles had left and had locked the outer steel door on their house. Without her door key, Gerda and Kerrie located Charles at his brother’s house. Charles and his brother were both intoxicated. Kerrie was in dire need of a bathroom and ran through her uncle’s house without speaking. To Charles, Kerrie had disrespected her elders. Kerrie said that “this was the straw that broke the camel’s back.” After a heated argument, Gerda and Kerrie returned home. Within minutes Charles and his brother arrived at the home. Kerrie ran to her room and turned off the light in hopes that her father would think she was asleep. Kerrie’s mother quickly locked all the steel doors in the house to keep Charles away from them. One by one, Charles fired a pistol through the steel doors and made his way to Gerda and Kerrie. Charles was going to kill them both. Gerda retrieved a pistol from their gun safe and ran into Kerrie’s bedroom. They used their bodies to push against the steel door. When Charles was unable to force the door open, he began firing his pistol at the door. Charles’s drunken brother encouraged him to continue. Somehow all the bullets missed Kerrie and her mother. When Charles ran out of bullets, he yelled that he was going to get his shotgun from the safe and walked away from the door. Kerrie’s mother opened the door and fired a single shot down their hallway. The bullet ricocheted and struck Charles’s brother in the hand. Gerda ran toward the room where the gun safe was kept and Kerrie followed. As Charles was opening the gun safe, Gerda fired her pistol. That fatal shot forever ended the family turmoil and saved hers and Kerrie’s lives. Investigators concluded that Gerda had acted in self-defense.
Kerrie left South Africa in search of a better life and she found it. She became one of the world’s highest-paid actresses. In 2004, Kerrie became the first South African to win an Oscar for Best Actress. She won the Academy Award for her portrayal of a serial killer in the film Monster. Kerrie was the childhood nickname of actress Charlize Theron.
There are few places in life where a person feels quite as vulnerable as the dental chair. Reclined, mouth open, bib clipped on like a toddler at mealtimes, we are reminded—sometimes painfully—that even the strongest among us can be brought to our knees by a stubborn molar. Recently, during a stretch of extensive dental work (the kind they do before you get dentures), I found myself reflecting on forgiveness, sin, and the curious ways God uses everyday experiences to get our attention.
There I was, gripping the armrests “with my teeth clenched,” even though the dentist had politely asked me not to clench anything. As drills whirred and suction tubes slurped, I realized how much of life feels like this: uncomfortable, exposed, and out of our control. Sin works the same way. It sneaks up on us, decays what we thought was solid, and before long we’re dealing with something far more extensive than we ever expected.
The hygienist cheerfully said, “We’re just going to get down to the root of the problem.” I almost laughed. Isn’t that exactly what God does with us? Grace doesn’t just polish the surface; it goes deep, right to the root. It addresses the infection, the hidden places, the things we’d rather keep tucked away. And like dental work, grace can feel intrusive before it feels healing.
As the dentist worked, I thought about how often we “bite off more than we can chew,” how frequently we “grit our teeth” through situations we caused ourselves, and how easy it is to “sink our teeth” into resentment. Sin has a way of leaving us spiritually toothless—unable to chew on the Word, unable to speak truth without wincing, unable to smile without feeling the ache of what’s broken.
But here’s the good news: God is the Master Dentist of the soul. He doesn’t shame us for the decay; He simply says, “Open wide.” And when we do, He gets to work—cleaning, restoring, reshaping. Forgiveness is His anesthetic: it numbs the sting of guilt and gives us courage to face the deeper work. Grace is His reconstruction: building us back up where life has worn us down. And mercy? Mercy is the gentle rinse that washes away what we cannot remove ourselves.
When the appointment finally ended, the dentist said, “You’re going to feel better once the healing kicks in.” I knew he meant my mouth, but I heard something more. Forgiveness doesn’t just fix what’s broken; it frees us to heal. It lets us smile again—really smile, not the tight-lipped kind we give when we’re still hurting.
So if life has left you feeling like you’re in the dental chair—exposed, anxious, and aware of your own decay—take heart. God’s grace is already at work. And when He’s finished, you’ll walk out renewed, restored, and ready to sink your teeth into joy again.
Each summer we discuss the unbearable heat as if we have somehow forgotten from previous years. This is nothing new. Our ancestors complained about it too. For thousands of years, people in our hemisphere have linked the hottest days of summer, which are often times of drought, disease, and unrest, with astronomy and folklore. Our ancient ancestors paid more attention to the stars in the sky than we do today. During July and August, ancient keen observers noticed that a bright star appeared in the eastern sky just before dawn. Aside from the Sun, it was the brightest star in the sky. They concluded that the sweltering temperatures were produced by a combination of the heat from the Sun and this star which they named “Sirius,” the Greek word for “scorching.” The Greeks and Romans believed Sirius was responsible for drought, fever, general discomfort, and a host of other unfortunate occurrences. Ancient Egyptians believed that the appearance of this star which they called “Sothis” signaled the annual flooding of the Nile. Egyptians depended on the annual flood because it delivered nutrients to the otherwise infertile land.
Today, Sirius is seen as little more than a curiosity. If you look to the east in the pre-dawn hours, you can spot Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, which is Latin for “greater dog.” Because Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky and the brightest star in the “greater dog,” it became known as the “Dog Star.”
Through the centuries, as our understanding of astronomy and knowledge in general improved, the old superstitions slowly faded away. Well, mostly. While trying to beat the heat this summer, you will undoubtedly hear an ancient folklore phrase based on Sirius’s appearance in the sky which has been spoken for millennia. Most people mistakenly associate the ancient phrase’s meaning with laziness brought on by heat and humidity. However, this phrase links the period of time when, as ancient people incorrectly believed, the Dog Star and the Sun combined forces to produce sweltering, almost unbearable heat. That phrase which you will undoubtedly hear this summer, which has been repeated every summer for years, refers to July and August as being the Dog Days of summer.
Walking through our preschool the other day, a little fellow proudly showed me his bandaid. He stuck out his arm like he was unveiling a medal of honor. I asked what happened. With the solemnity only a fouryearold can muster, he said, “I got a bobo.”
Case closed. Diagnosis made. Treatment applied. Healing underway.
Children are refreshingly honest about pain. If something hurts, they point to it. If they fall, they cry. If they get a scratch, they want a bandaid — preferably one with dinosaurs or superheroes, because everyone knows those heal faster.
Adults, on the other hand, become experts at hiding our wounds. We carry heart bobo’s — hurts no one can see. Disappointments we never voice. Grief we tuck behind a busy schedule. Regrets we bury so deeply we forget where we put them. Pain that we pretend isn’t there because we think grown-ups are supposed to “handle it.”
But the truth is, some of the deepest wounds don’t show up on the skin.
Isaiah wrote, “By his wounds we are healed.” That’s not poetic exaggeration — it’s the heart of the Gospel. Jesus didn’t just die for our sins in some abstract theological sense. He took on our pain, our brokenness, our hidden hurts, our heart bobo’s. The Son of God carried what we try so hard to conceal.
There’s pathos in that exchange — Christ taking our sin and sorrow, offering us freedom, and yet we humans often cling to the very things He died to release us from. It’s like walking around with a perfectly good bandaid in hand but refusing to peel off the backing.
King David prayed, “Put a new and right spirit within me.” That’s the grown-up version of holding out your wound and saying, “Lord, this is where it hurts.” It’s the courage to admit we need healing. It’s the humility to let God do what we cannot.
And here’s the soft humor of it all: If a preschooler can trust a bandaid to make a scraped elbow better, surely we can trust the Savior of the world to tend to our hearts.
So maybe today is a good day to stop pretending we’re fine. A good day to let go of what Christ has already carried. A good day to let the Healer do His healing.
After all, Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make broken people whole. And that includes every one of us — heart bobo’s and all.
All Americans learned in school that we fought two wars against the British, namely the American Revolution and the War of 1812, but there was a third war that began in 1859 which has been largely forgotten. Following the War of 1812, the United Kingdom and the United States agreed in the Treaty of Oregon that the boundary between the countries was along the 49th parallel from the Rocky Mountains to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver’s Island then south through the channel to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and west to the Pacific Ocean (see map). This agreement was made by using crude maps by people who had little knowledge of the area. Both parties were unaware that there were two distinct channels or straits, the Haro Strait and the Rosario Strait, which were divided by San Juan Island. Because of the way the treaty was written, both countries claimed right to the island and people from both countries began settling on the island. For years, tension rose as each side argued that settlers from the other side were nothing more than squatters or trespassers.
The first shot of the war happened on June 15, 1859, when Lyman Cutlar, an American, shot and killed a British subject whom Lyman had found destroying crops in his field. British authorities threatened to arrest Lyman and to evict all Americans from the island. In response, American Brigadier General William Harney ordered a company of 64 infantry soldiers to the island. When the soldiers arrived, the British Governor at Vancouver ordered Royal Navy Captain Geoffrey Phipps Hornby to take his 31-gun steam frigate HMS Tribune to remove the American soldiers. More British warships joined the Tribune shortly thereafter, and more American soldiers were sent to the island. For months, the British and Americans stockpiled weapons and built up their forces for the upcoming battle. Each side drilled and fired their cannons, but they were careful not to aim at the opposing soldiers just yet. As both sides were making their final preparations for battle, General Winfield Scott, U.S. Army commander and War of 1812 veteran, arrived and began negotiations. General Scott proposed and both sides agreed on a joint military occupation until a final border could be agreed upon. For twelve long, tense years, San Juan Island remained under joint military occupation. In 1871, when Great Britain and the United States were still unable to agree on ownership of San Juan Island, they turned to Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany who set up a three-man arbitration commission to settle the dispute. Both sides agreed that the commission’s decision would be final. Finally in October 1872, after nearly a year of discussions by the commission, Kaiser Wilhelm I ruled in favor of the United States. San Juan Island belonged to the United States. The Royal Marines withdrew the following month, and the war ended 14 years after the first shot was fired. The war over San Juan Island was named after that British subject who was the only fatality of this war between the United Kingdom and the United States. It is known as the Pig War. That’s right. This conflict between the United Kingdom and United States was set off by a squabble over a pig.
In the early months of 1915, New York policemen knew unsavory characters had been living rent free in the dilapidated and seemingly abandoned building across the street from their station house in Brooklyn. Finally, in late April, construction workers began demolishing the old building. Only then did the policemen realize the scope of their problem. As each floor was systematically disassembled, the unwelcome tenants just moved closer to street level. The tenants that left the building took up residence in adjoining buildings or lived in the street. They even began occupying the police station itself. When policemen chased one away, it seemed that two or three more would take its place. The New York Times reported, “Policemen who have faced all kinds of danger unflinchingly do not hesitate to say that it makes them feel decidedly uncomfortable.” That was an understatement. The problem with the unwelcome tenants was out of control. It affected all of the policemen in one way or another. Some were unable to eat properly. Others were unable to get a good night’s sleep. Their work performance waned. The whole area was going to pot. The problem was not relegated to a single station house. Other New York police station houses including Morrisania Police Station, Alexander Avenue station, and West 152d Street station were facing similar crises.
In May 1915, the New York City Police Department added more than 100 new officers from a certain local tribe whose sole purpose was to rid their areas of the unwanted tenants by any means necessary. A team of new officers at the Morrisania Police Station was led by an officer named Peter whom that station’s Lieutenant Peter Brady had adopted and named after himself years earlier. In some cases, the police department filled the position by using the local homeless population, which solved two problems at the same time. At the Alexander Avenue station, one new officer was not only homeless but nameless as well. At the time of the New Yok Times’s report, the other officers at the Alexander Avenue station were trying to come up with a name for him. One of the new officers at the Brooklyn Station who was described as being large and battle-scarred took the “by any means necessary” portion of his orders to heart. The New York Times reported, “No count was kept of the number of [them] which [he] dispatched, but those he failed to slay he routed completely from the station house, so terrifying them that, according to the police, [none] since has had the temerity to show his nose in the place.” With the help of the new officers, the crisis of the New York Police Department was resolved. Why have you not heard of this murdering cop or his fellow officers who certainly performed similar atrocities against the unwelcome tenants? They were from, as the New York Times reported, the “Feline Tribe.” Those police officers and the unwelcome tenants were respectively… cats and rats.
The North Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory continues to track the spread of cychlorphine, a dangerous synthetic opioid, across our region. Since our last update, cychlorphine has been confirmed in drug submissions from RAPIDES and WINN Parishes, bringing the total to seven parishes this year: Caddo, DeSoto, Ouachita, Natchitoches, Richland, Rapides, and Winn.
Cychlorphine is a synthetic opioid in the emerging “orphine” drug class. No human toxicity data are currently available, but laboratory studies indicate it may be up to FIVE TIMES more potent than fentanyl.
Since the first NLCL detection in a Caddo Parish case earlier this year, cychlorphine has been identified in multiple counterfeit pill types, including tablets made to look like prescription oxycodone (blue M30), hydrocodone (white M367, yellow T259), and NOW XANAX (blue “XANAX 1.0”), among others. These fake pills are made to look real. You cannot tell what is in a pill by looking at it.
Never take a pill that did not come from a licensed pharmacy. It is impossible to know what is in an illicit pill purchased off the street. One pill can kill, especially when that pill contains a potent synthetic opioid like cychlorphine.
July 15 has been the date of several notable events throughout history, but one of the most influential in modern communication happened in 2006 when Twitter officially launched to the public.
Originally created as a simple platform for users to post short status updates of 140 characters or less, Twitter quickly evolved into one of the world’s most influential social media platforms. The service became a hub for breaking news, emergency alerts, entertainment, sports and public conversation, fundamentally changing how information is shared in real time.
The platform’s first tweet was posted months earlier on March 21, 2006, by co-founder Jack Dorsey, who wrote, “just setting up my twttr.” The public launch on July 15 marked the beginning of what would become a global communications tool used by millions of people.
Over the years, Twitter played a major role in covering elections, natural disasters, sporting events and other major world events, often delivering news faster than traditional media outlets.
In 2023, the platform was rebranded as X, though many people still commonly refer to it by its original name.
Nearly two decades after its public debut, the platform continues to influence how people communicate and consume news around the world.
The Louisiana Folklife Center at Northwestern State University will present “A Visit with the Bagpipe” at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 11 at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum at 800 Front Street in Natchitoches. The event will be free and open to the general public.
Attendees at this interactive workshop will learn the basics of traditional Celtic bagpipe playing and drumming, as well as Highland dance. The origins and history of the Great Highland bagpipe will be discussed. Practice chanters will be provided so that participants can try their hand at playing a Great Highland bagpipe in a hygienic manner. In addition to the scales, participants will learn to play an iconic bagpipe tune. Also featured will be the Bouzouki guitar and the Irish Bodhrán drum. The workshop will also include a Celtic music and dance performance by the Thistle Dancers and Pipers. Workshop instructors Susan Hyams and L. Collier Hyams will share their long experience and cultural knowledge of Celtic music and dance.
“This musical workshop will provide attendees a rare opportunity to learn firsthand the basics of playing the Highland bagpipe,” said Dr. Shane Rasmussen, professor of English and director of the Louisiana Folklife Center at Northwestern State University. “We are grateful to tradition bearers like the Hyams who so generously offer the priceless gift of sharing their cultural knowledge.”
Susan Hyams has been playing bagpipes for over 35 years and started Scottish Highland dancing at age five. After competing and performing in both piping and dancing throughout the Northeastern states she decided to pursue her dream of having a Celtic school and formed the Thistle Dancers and Pipers in Virginia. The school became one of the largest highland dance schools on the East coast and in the early 2000’s had over 70 dancers and 15 piping students. She met Collier Hyams in 2002 at the Savannah Scottish Games. Collier was playing guitar and percussion with a Celtic rock band. In 2005 they were married in Laggan, Scotland. She has been a member of the City of Alexandria (Virginia) Pipes and Drums, the St. Andrews College Pipe Band, the Chesapeake Caledonians and the St. Andrews Ladies’ Pipe Band and has played pipes with the famous Celtic band The Chieftains, opened for the Tannahill Weavers, played for then President Clinton at the Presidential Golf Cup and for the Republic of Ireland National Soccer team at the U.S. Cup at Foxboro Stadium in Massachusetts. The Hyams moved to Natchitoches in 2016 and in 2019 the Thistle Dancers and Pipers was reformed, debuting with two dances at the Natchitoches Folklife Festival. Since 2019, the group has grown to 15 dancers and 3 pipes and has performed all over Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. This past spring the group’s three teen dancers auditioned and were invited to travel to New York City to perform during National Tartan Week. Susan is a certified Highland Dance Teacher through the British Association of Teachers of Dancing and was a member of the Eastern United States Piping Association for many years. She currently teaches highland dance and bagpipes in her private studio in Natchitoches.
L. Collier Hyams grew up as a foreign service dependent in culturally rich places such as Thailand, Germany and Louisiana with stints in Ghana, Jamaica and Scotland. He has toured and recorded with world, reggae, rock, future music, and Celtic groups in North America, Europe, and bits of West Africa, Southeast Asia and South America. His primary creative outlet is as frontman and writer for the CMJ charting 50 Man Machine. Collier has spent the better part of a decade touring with Highland Bagpipers Neil Anderson (Seven Nations, Rathkeltair), EJ Jones (Clandestine, Teribus, Brizeus) and others. While based in NYC he worked with Will Calhoun (Living Colour), Jaron Lanier, Sussan Deyhim, Shirin Neshat, Laurie Anderson, Richard Horowitz, Peter Scherer, Julia Duka Duka Heyward, Big Twin, Sean Lennon and currently Scott Ambush of Spyro Gyra.
The Thistle Dancers and Pipers will participate in the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival on July 18. In honor of the 2026 Festival theme, “America the Beautiful,” the Festival will feature the traditional music of the nation – blues, gospel, Cajun, Celtic, country, bluegrass and zydeco on three stages of music as well as in the Magale Recital Hall. Over 70 traditional crafts persons from throughout the state will display their crafts, handcrafting their work during the festival.
Held in air-conditioned Prather Coliseum, the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival features three stages of live music, Louisiana cuisine food vendors, the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship, dance lessons, music informances, narrative sessions, on-site demonstrations and more. Admission to this family friendly event is $10 for an all-day all event pass, with children 12 and under admitted free all day.
For more information on the bagpipe workshop or the festival, call the Louisiana Folklife Center at (318) 357-4332, email folklife@nsula.edu, or go to https://www.nsula.edu/folklife/. Questions about the workshop can also be directed to instructor Susan Hyams at (571) 217-7705 or thistledancersandpipers@gmail.com.
The event is sponsored by the Louisiana Folklife Center and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest History Museum and is in partnership with the City of Natchitoches. Support for the Festival is provided by grants from the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., the Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Fund Program, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the Natchitoches Convention and Visitors Bureau, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council and the State of Louisiana.
The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.
Demetria Gene Guynes was born in 1962 in Roswell, New Mexico. Hers was a troubled childhood. Demetria’s parents, Dan and Virginia Guynes, were alcoholics and the family moved often to avoid debt collectors. Dan and Virginia fought often, and they married and divorced twice. When Dan left for the last time, in contrast to the natural order of things, Demetria had to take care of her unstable mother. Virginia found occasional work as a model in Los Angeles, California, but her alcoholism worsened. When Demetria was 12 years old, her mother tried to commit suicide the first time by taking pills. Demetria saved her mother’s life by digging the pills out of her unconscious mother’s mouth and calling an ambulance. Shortly thereafter, she learned that the man she called dad was not her biological father. Her real name was not Demetria Gene Guynes, but Demetria Gene Harmon. Her family had withheld the fact that her biological father was Charles Foster Harmon, an airman with the Air Force who had abandoned Virginia while she was pregnant with Demetria.
Virginia’s lack of steady employment and abuse of alcohol led to constant money problems. The money problems led to more alcohol abuse, which led to more money problems. It was a vicious cycle. When Demetria was a young teenager, her mother started taking her to bars to get attention. Late one night, Demetria and her mother returned to their apartment from a bar. Demetria was surprised to find a man they knew waiting for them inside their apartment. Virginia was not surprised. The man had a key to their apartment. The man took Demetria into her bedroom and raped her. Demetria was 15 years old. Before the man left, he asked her how it felt to be sold by her mother for $500. In addition to the awfulness of being raped, Demetria felt betrayed by her mother, the one person who should have protected her.
At 16, Demetria became a high school dropout and a runaway. Like her mother, Demetria began working sporadically as a model. At just 5 feet, 5 ½ inches, she was considered too short for most modeling jobs. Like her parents, Demetria tried to drown her troubles with alcohol. With nothing to lose and with no experience, she began auditioning for acting jobs. As with modeling, her acting jobs came sporadically. Alcohol abuse led to drug abuse. Demetria was headed for certain self-destruction when her boss and coworkers forced her to go to rehab. While Demetria’s mother’s life spiraled out of control with numerous arrests including burglary, arson, and multiple charges of drunken driving, Demetria led a life of sobriety. Because of her troubled childhood, Demetria now works with a foundation whose goal is to eliminate child sex slavery and human trafficking called Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children. You may not have known about Demetria Gene Guynes’s troubled childhood or her work with Thorn, but you certainly know her from films such as “Striptease,” “G.I. Jane,” and “Ghost.” You know Demetria Gene Guynes as Demi Moore.
Sources:
1. Concord Transcript (Concord, California), March 31, 1970, p.18.
2. Citizen (Solana Beach, California), December 11, 1987, p.58.
3. “Demi Moore reveals the devastating childhood that shaped her – ABC News – Part 1/3,” ABC News, Youtube.com, September 23, 2019, accessed June 21, 2026, https://youtu.be/MlFl5WiMzBI?si=7f03o7LeOZqfYj3-.
4. The Fresno Bee, October 7, 1994, p.2.
5. The Signal (Santa Clarita, California), October 5, 1995, p.2.
For 20 years Cris had worked as a commercial fisherman and a dockworker. On this particular cold March afternoon, Cris had some time on his hands. He had just returned from working on a ship in the Bahamas and was waiting to catch another ship which would take him to yet another port city. He never caught that ship. While he waited, Cris walked over the frozen, snow-covered ground to King Street, the port city’s main hub of activity. Cris carried a pound stick, a tool of his trade. A pound stick was a large stick used to strike or pound a ship’s deck to summon crew to their stations and for setting the pacing for others while they were loading and unloading a ship’s cargo. When not on duty, Cris and other sailors used their pound sticks as walking sticks.
Shopkeepers on King Street recognized that something other than the comings and goings of regular commerce was happening in front of the government building nearby. Shopkeeper Edward Payne stood in his entry doorway gazing at the large crowd trying to understand the situation. Edward heard the voices of men and boys yelling at each other in the crowd. Suddenly, chaos erupted. The men and boys threw rocks, hard-packed snowballs, and anything else they could get their hands on at the nine guards protecting the government building. Some of the sailors swung their pound sticks at the guards. Whether Cris swung his stick has never been confirmed, but he was in the front when the guards opened fire. The gunfire lasted for only a few seconds.
Yells of anger turned into a mixture of moans of pain and shrieks of terror. 51-year-old Sam Gray, a rope maker, was shot in the head and died instantly. 17-year-old Sam Maverick, an apprentice, was shot in the stomach and died the following day. 49-year-old James Caldwell, a mate on a ship, was shot twice in the back and died in the street. 30-year-old Patrick Carr, leather worker, was shot in the hip and died nine days later. Cris was shot twice in the chest and died instantly.
Others were injured but survived. Shopkeeper Edward Payne’s arm was broken when he was struck by a shot as he stood in his shop’s doorway. John Green, a tailor, was shot in his thigh. Robert Patterson, a sailor, was shot through his right arm. A youth named David Parker was shot in his thigh. Two 17-year-old boys, Christopher Monk and John Clark, both apprentices on ships, were shot; Monk in the back and Clark in his abdomen. All but Monk recovered from their wounds. Monk’s wound was extremely severe, left him disabled, and led to his early death ten years later.
Most citizens in Great Britain are unaware of this altercation, but the British government officially referred to it as the Incident on King Street. Colonists initially called it the Bloody Massacre. The world now refers to the Incident on King Street as the Boston Massacre.
Sources:
1. The Boston Gazette, March 12, 1770, p.1-3.
2. “The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.,” Library of Congress, accessed June 28, 2027, https://www.loc.gov/item/2008661777/.
Louisiana Republicans face an important choice in this Senate runoff election. My opponent and I offer two very different visions for the future of our state and our nation.
I entered this race because I believe Louisiana deserves a U.S. Senator who will fight for our values, challenge the political establishment, and put our citizens’ interests ahead of special interests.
The establishment is investing heavily in this race because they understand what is at stake. They know I will challenge the status quo. They know I will vote based on conservative principles rather than political pressure. And they know I will put Louisiana first.
My opponent, Congresswoman Julia Letlow, is totally controlled by Governor Jeff Landry, whose operatives are managing her campaign and whose allies are pumping millions of dollars of dark money into the race to support her with dishonest advertisements. These insiders oppose me because they know I cannot be bought, bullied, or bossed.
Throughout my career as a physician, small business owner, U.S. Congressman, and Louisiana State Treasurer, I have built a record of service rooted in conservative principles, not political convenience.
This campaign has demonstrated the difference between grassroots leadership and establishment politics. While outside groups and political operatives relied on lies attempting to influence the race, I have relied on the support of ordinary Louisianans who are tired of seeing Washington insiders dictate the future of our state. I advanced to this runoff despite being heavily outspent because voters are looking for authenticity, experience, and conviction.
In this campaign, one of the most important issues is the protection of private property rights. Louisiana landowners should never be forced to surrender property rights to allow private carbon capture companies to profit from federally subsidized projects.
Julia Letlow strongly supported President Joe Biden’s Green Energy and Climate Change agenda, including carbon sequestration. In contrast, I staunchly support MAGA and America First policies and thoroughly oppose dangerous carbon sequestration.
I also believe the federal government should focus on merit, excellence, and equal opportunity, not divisive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. Throughout her academic career, Julia Letlow passionately supported DEI policies, which seek to divide Americans by race, gender, or identity. In the Senate, I will vote to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to support DEI mandates and that federal policies reward achievement, hard work, and individual responsibility.
Louisianans are also tired of seeing elected officials enrich themselves while in office. Public service should be exactly that, service. The American people deserve confidence that their representatives are working for them rather than leveraging their positions for personal financial gain.
Sadly, the Federal Election Commission and the Department of Justice have received complaints from watchdog organizations about my opponent’s alleged campaign finance violations. While serving in Congress, Ms. Letlow admitted to 210 late stock trade filings. In contrast, there is no blemish on my record, and I did not engage in stock trading in Congress.
I have spent my career standing up for conservative values, supporting secure borders, defending the unborn, protecting the Second Amendment, and fighting for limited government.
This election is about whether Louisiana will send another politician to Capitol Hill or a proven conservative fighter who is willing to challenge the status quo.
I am asking for your vote because I will not disappoint you and will always put Louisiana first. Together, we can protect our freedoms, defend our values, and ensure that our U.S. Senate seat belongs to the people of Louisiana, not political insiders.
Mark your calendars and make plans to join us in Celebrating 27 Years of Anderson’s Produce and Plant Farm! This Saturday, June 27, we’ll celebrate serving our community with fresh produce, quality products, and hometown hospitality for 27 years.
This anniversary celebration is our way of saying thank you to the loyal customers, friends, and families who have made the past 27 years such a success.
Come ready to shop for all your favorite seasonal fruits and vegetables, picked fresh and packed with flavor. Whether you’re looking for sweet summer produce, garden-fresh vegetables, or healthy ingredients for family meals, you’ll find plenty to fill your baskets.
We are also excited to invite everyone to stop by and explore our new storefront, featuring an expanded selection of local and specialty products. Inside, you’ll discover a variety of unique items.
Shoppers can browse in air-conditioned comfort for Bush Farms Jasmine Rice, a pantry staple known for its quality and flavor. You’ll also find products from Rustic Ranch, including their popular goat milk products. Sweeten your day with locally produced Mr. Jim Pratt Honey, or spice things up with flavorful selections from Sav’s Salsa.
Nut lovers won’t want to miss the assortment of Preferred Pecan products, perfect for snacking, baking, or gift-giving. We also carry a variety of homemade-style jams, jellies, pickled products, and corn meal that bring the taste of the countryside right to your table.
Anderson’s Produce offers freshly baked artisan breads from Baked by Tenleigh. Customers have the opportunity to enjoy handcrafted breads made with care and quality ingredients.
Come hungry! Joe’s 2 Geaux will be here to serve up some of the best pizza around and The Sugar Cube will be offering thirst quenching beverages.
Art enthusiasts can browse beautiful, one-of-a-kind paintings from Wild Magnolia by Addi.
In addition to these featured products, guests will find many more unique items throughout the store, making this celebration the perfect opportunity to shop local and support small businesses.
The 27th Anniversary Celebration is more than just a shopping event—it’s a chance to gather with friends, neighbors, and fellow customers to celebrate a local business that has proudly served the community for generations. We are grateful for every customer who has walked through our doors, and we look forward to continuing to provide fresh produce, quality products, and friendly service for years to come.
We invite everyone to come out, enjoy the day, explore our new storefront, and help us celebrate this exciting milestone. Thank you for being part of the family. We can’t wait to celebrate with you on June 27th!
Anderson’s Produce and Plant Farm, half-way between LA 1 and I-49 at 858 Catfish Bend Road. Phone 318-932-1432.
Discover a Place Where Children Are Known, Valued, and Inspired
At Riverdale Academy, education is about more than academics—it’s about helping children grow into confident, capable, compassionate individuals who love learning and believe in their own potential.
From the moment you walk through our doors, you’ll notice something special. You’ll see caring teachers who know their students by name, classrooms filled with curiosity and creativity, and a community that feels more like family than a school. Here, every child matters. Every achievement is celebrated. Every dream is encouraged.
We understand that choosing the right school is one of the most important decisions a parent can make. You want a place where your child feels safe, supported, challenged, and excited to learn each day. At Riverdale Academy, we are committed to creating that environment.
Our dedicated educators work closely with students to build strong academic foundations while nurturing critical thinking, character development, leadership skills, and a lifelong love of discovery. Whether your child is taking their first steps in education or preparing for the next stage of their academic journey, Riverdale Academy provides the guidance, encouragement, and opportunities they need to thrive.
Beyond the classroom, students are empowered to explore their interests, build meaningful friendships, and develop the confidence to reach for their goals. We believe that every child possesses unique gifts, and our mission is to help those gifts shine.For example, we partner heavily with Bossier Parish Community College and Red River 4-H to offer STEM opportunities such as SeaPerch and First Robotics to our students. This year, students in 2nd-4th grades will have the opportunity to be involved in First Explore, an introduction to robotics. Students in grades 4th-12th are offered First Challenge and a chance to compete in robotics competitions. Grades 7th-12th can also participate in SeaPerch where they learn the skills to build a remote operated vehicle that will be used in competitions to complete themed missions.
Families choose Riverdale Academy because they want more than a school—they want a community that partners with them in raising successful, well-rounded young people. They want teachers who care, programs that inspire, and an environment where children can flourish academically, socially, and emotionally.
Your child’s future begins with the choices you make today.
Give them the opportunity to learn in a place where they are encouraged to dream boldly, achieve confidently, and grow with purpose.
Enrollment is now open.
Schedule a visit, meet our exceptional faculty, and experience the Riverdale Academy difference for yourself. We invite you to become part of a community where children are nurtured, challenged, and celebrated every step of the way.
The greatest idea in the history of these Ponderings. Pulitzerworthy. Heavensanctioned. The kind of idea that makes you sit up straighter in your car at the Walgreens red light and think, “Well now… that’s good.”
I remember exactly where I was when it arrived. I was headed to Tractor Supply to look at things I will never use in my life. I call this “expanding my horizons,” though my horizons remain suspiciously unchanged. Still, there I sat—traffic creeping, inspiration soaring. The idea was brilliant. It was illuminating. It was humorous. It was under six hundred words. It was perfect.
And then a voice in my head whispered, “This one is unforgettable. No need to write it down.”
Never trust that voice. That voice lies. That voice is the same one that says, “You don’t need a grocery list,” and “You’ll remember where you parked,” and “You can fix that without reading the instructions.”
The truth is: I have absolutely no idea what the idea was. None. I don’t know if it was about faith or farming or ferrets. I don’t know if it was animal, mineral, or vegetable. It has vanished. Gone. Evaporated. Or worse—someone else posted it on social media this morning and is now being hailed as a genius. If you read something brilliant, illuminating, and humorous today, it was probably mine.
I do remember this much: it had something to do with a Yiddish proverb I’m using in a sermon later this month. It goes like this: “If one man calls you an ass, pay him no mind. If two men call you an ass—go buy a saddle.” I thought it was brilliant, illuminating, and humorous. I just forgot what else went with it.
Do you forget? Because I do. More and more. As I grow more “mature” (which is the polite churchnewsletter way of saying “things are starting to creak”), I’ve noticed my mind isn’t quite as quick as it once was. I forget names. I forget appointments. I forget why I walked into the kitchen. I even forgot to read an online article about remembering not to forget.
But here’s the tender truth tucked inside all this forgetfulness:
God remembers you. Every bit of you. Not the polished version you wish you were—you. He remembers you with love, with delight, with the kind of attention usually reserved for an only child. And while God remembers you, He chooses to forget something else entirely:
Your sins. When you confess them, He doesn’t file them, store them, or keep them in a drawer labeled “For Later Use.” He forgets them. Completely. Eternally. Joyfully. So if God has forgotten your sins, why are you still lugging them around like a saddle you never needed to buy?
Maybe the real brilliance—the idea I lost somewhere between Walgreens and Tractor Supply—is simply this:
Your memory may fail you, but God’s mercy never does. And that’s something worth remembering.
