(this post is the second of a two-part report on my visit to Morganza; the first part can be read here) On Sunday, April 3. The sun was shining. I was driving an hour away from Baton Rouge, heading to the tiny town of Morganza, the site that first came into my imagination when I …
When I was a kid, I had such a hankering for salt that I would steal my dog’s salt lick. I know: that sounds if not disgusting, super unhygienic. Even to me. I’m not sure why my dog had a salt lick – maybe that was a thing in the 1970s? Also, in the years …
How might we surrender to our place in the vast cosmos, the strange mix that does not reveal the depths and breadths of its true nature to mere mortals such as we are, yet begs us choose to see angels and generosity, beloveds in the midst of the unknown, and life singing its song of …
(this is the first of a two-part report on my visit to Morganza; the second part can be found here) “If you want to explore the history of African American communities along the Mississippi River, the absolute best person to consult would be Ms. Kathe Hambrick.” That’s what Ed Lyons said. Ed is a congregant …
Serving as a congregational minister, most of the time I must prepare a sermon weekly. For me, right now, that typically means writing a manuscript that is anywhere from 1300-2200 words long. That is just the sermon. There are other preparations involved in crafting worship, weaving the different elements into one whole cloth so that …
All over the plantation, there are artifacts and there is art. Artifacts include whole buildings, some from this particular plantation, some preserved and brought from other areas; smaller items used in daily life; HUGE metal kettles used for boiling the cane to make sugar. And there is art created by a number of modern artists, …
Leaving New Orleans this morning, I spent several hours today at the Whitney Plantation, on my way to Baton Rouge. The Whitney Plantation is the first former-plantation that has been turned in a museum that focuses solely on the experience of the enslaved. Founded in 2014 as a museum, it was only in the past …
It had been suggested to me that I might want to consider taking one of the historical Paddlewheeler cruises that are offered in New Orleans. Given how essential to the slave trade the Mississippi River was, I thought there might be something worthwhile about this recommendation. So yesterday afternoon, I boarded the Queen Creole for …
My spirit got fed. O! Did my spirit get fed. It wasn’t one of the uncountable New Orleans restaurants. It wasn’t church (or temple or mosque or…). It was a walking tour sponsored by Hidden History Tours and led by the brilliant, thoughtful, decent Mr. Leon A. Waters. I don’t know how many posts I …
I have safely arrived in New Orleans. I took the requisite photo of my feet at the airport, a strange ritual I began doing about a decade ago. I don’t remember how I started it. I am thinking it must have been after I acquired my first smart phone, these miraculous machines with their built-in …