Sunday, June 13, 2010

Sweet Home, Louisiana!















Well, there is no doubt that the April 20th disaster with the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, whereby nearly a dozen men suddenly lost their lives and has caused oil to hemorrhage into the Gulf like a ripped and torn artery, is an unparalleled catastrophic event. Louisiana is again threatened and in perilous jeopardy, as she was from Hurricane Katrina nearly 5 years ago. Our culture, our way of life--a unique living that exists no whereselse on Earth, is challenged. However, we, the Cajuns, the Louisiana natives, will persevere and overcome this tragedy, too. We will marshall our resources and bold spirit and demonstrate our resiliency to the world!

As Louisianians, we are a die-hard breed. This is evidenced by our terrific Civil War
fighting records as the Confederate soldiers defended theselves against overwhelming Union forces both at sea and on land from 1861-1865--we were the "Louisiana Fighting Tigers." (L.S.U. gets its tiger mascot from our Confederate heroes). And, later we evidenced this in World War II with our famous 14th US Air Force squadron (the "Louisiana Flying Tigers") that shot down many a Japanese plane to strike terrific Allied victories in the Pacific theater of the war (1941-1945). Lastly, this was also evidenced by our recovery after Hurricane Katrina (2005) when New Orleans and the surrounding parishes were flooded within hours after the levees broke.

We Louisianians fight back and come out stronger than before. We will not lose our heritage, nor our culture. The Yankees couldn't do it in the 19th century; the Nazi and Japanese Axis powers of WWII couldn't defeat us in the 20th century; and not even one of the worst hurricanes in recorded history could demolish our way of life in the 21st century!

We will continue, like I do each weekend, to go hunting, fishing, and socializing with our friends and neighbors over boiled crawfish and fish fries. We, Cajuns, will continue to go to our camps each weekend and pass a good time. The oil will be removed; the seafood and wildlife will recover--they always have. It's nature. This is only a setback; this is not the end for us nor our ecosystem!

I will continue to have more stories and pictures showcasing this great state's Cajun culture and heritage. You will continue to read about fishing for 60 pound catfish caught in hoop nets and hunting ducks & rabbits at my camp in Gueydan, as well as the squirrel hunting and large mouth bass fishing on my very own private 220 acre farm that I own in Church Point, Louisiana, where we also harvest crawfish. There is no state anywhere in America like Louisiana--she is a pearl, a jewell, and a wonderful place to live and raise a family in. I love her dearly and will never leave her.


My new boat:
The Cajun Titan--23 feet of steel & stealth. My catfish catchin' assasin!












My commercial fishing boat attached to my Platinum Edition 2010 Toyota Tundra.


















Here is a black & white photo of our Louisiana Confederate Battle Flag that our forefathers bravely and valiantly fought under from 1861-1865!





















circa 1897: 81-year-old J F Griffin, last surviving member of the Louisiana Tigers, of which he was colour bearer, at the 32nd annual reunion of the United Confederate Veterans at Richmond, USA. He is wearing various war trophies on his belt.






















Here are 2 photos of the famous Louisiana Flying Tigers from World War II.






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