It keeps me going back to the South

To the Editor:

Have you ever had a strong urge to revisit a place you had enjoyed visiting in your youth? The lure of the south keeps drawing me back. I remember the moss draped, live oak trees, the mystery of the swamp, the spicy southern food and music, I had never heard before. As the winter snow was melting and their was a hint of spring, we headed for warmer temperatures in south Louisiana.

Travelling south toward Baton Rouge, the first sight you see is, the state capitol building, standing alone, high above the other buildings, like a sentinal watching over the city. I-10 takes you west toward Lafayette, Louisiana. What must have been an engineering nightmare, is the 18 mile long 4-land bridge over the Atchafalaya Swamp. No exits, no stopping for 18 miles over brackish water, cypress stumps, alligators, turtles, and all sorts of swamp life. As you emerge from the swamp and see dry land you approach Breaux Bridge, La. (The crawfish capitol of the U. S. A.) Have you ever as a kid waded creeks chasing the elusive crawfish? In 1755 many French immigrants left Canada and settled in what is known as Acadiana. The heart of Acadiana (Cajun Country) is Lafayette, Louisiana. The area is a mix of French, African and Spanish descendants. Cajuns, have a popular saying "Laissezz Les Bons Temp Rouler." French for "Let the good times roll." Cajuns believe in working hard all week, cooking a good meal of gumbo or jambalaya, and Saturday night, having fun at the Fais-do-do (a dance), translated means "Got to sleep," meant for the children, so the adults can enjoy the dance, and attending church on Sunday morning.

To get a feel of the Cajun Culture, take a side trip to Eunice, La., where many Cajun musicians and popular chefs, were born such as Chef Paul Prudhomme, Tony Chachere, known for his Creole seasoning, Rockin' Sidney, a Zydeco musician and many others. A visit to the Jean LaFitte National Historical Museum, in Eunice, gives you a history of Cajun & ZyDeco music and lessons in Creole and Zydeco cooking. Next door to the cultural center is the Liberty Theater, where the "Cajun Opry" is held every Saturday night. The show is patterned after the "Grand Ole Opry" in Nashville, Tenn. The one and a half hour show is broadcast, in French over KRUS radio, and the show features everything from Cajun & Zydeco to "Swamp Pop" music.

A side trip a few miles south to the Gulf of Mexico you will see Jefferson Island and Avery Island. Jefferson Island has the Joseph Jefferson Historic Home and Rip Van Winkle Gardens. If you Google Jefferson Island, La. you can read about a disaster that happened in 1980 on this island. Avery Island is the home of Jungle Gardens and Bird City. The McIlhenny Co., makers of Tabasco pepper sauce, is located on this island.

On the return trip from Louisiana, we made stops in Natchez and Vicksburg, Mississippi. Civil War History abounds, along with a variety of antebellum homes in both cities. The Vicksburg Historical Military Park, a 16-mile auto tour of Civil War history with trenches, monuments and guns from the Civil War. The end of the tour take you to the most amazing display of all, the U.S.S. Cairo Museum. The U.S.S. Cairo, an iron clad gunboat, sunk during the Battle of Vicksburg, and immersed in the Mississippi River, for over 100 years, was lifted from the river, restored over a five-year period and placed on display in 1984. The live oaks, hundreds of years old, draped in Spanish moss, the Creole and Cajun cooking, and the mystique of the swamp and the hospitality and kindness, is what keeps me coming back to Acadiana.

Flavian Halter

Poplar Bluff, Mo