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Topic: Second Spring (Read 937 times) |
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stevegeebe
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Second Spring
« on: Oct 23rd, 2005, 6:49pm » |
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I've been thinking of alot lately about alot of things. I try not to miss what lessons are out there. I try to remember to pause occasionally between the constant blare of the chain saw... the smell of freshly cut pine.
I've listened to and read the comments of some of the leaders of the federal government, the citizens of my country and my neighbors. I wish I knew what my friends thought but I have been hurt by their absence. It's amazing how this has opened my eyes on so many levels. Favors unpaid or not remembered... waiting for the next occasion for possible reciprocation.
At home, I continue on moving tons of wood by hand truck to the street, try to get an equitable settlement from my adjuster and fire my general contractor because his curb side estimate is without the benefit of a detailed breakdown.
At work, the initial optimism is dying. The buildings that I'm working on are bad off in many ways and the scope is growing along with the mold. The City is going broke and the bulk money is flowing into the pockets of others from other places. I don't know what to say to people who have lost everything.
My Louisiana has had a blanket spread over it for many
years and Katrina has blown it off. What is now exposed is the magnitude of what can happen when voices of those who knew what could happen went ignored for thirty plus years. How a State, and for the most part a region, is thought to be less important than others. Let them have offshore drilling rigs, let them have the refineries...their land is sinking?...so what's that got to do with me? If we turned off the spiggot and closed the refineries you'd find out quickly and you would not like it.
Please read about Louisiana. You may be surprised at all that she is. It may change your perception and enlighten you as to just how much she has been forgotten. She can not wait for the next possible occasion for reciprocation.
This year we have had a second spring. The strain placed upon the remaining stripped trees has sent a message to the roots that they help. The roots have complied.
Note: This is not a plea for money. It's a plea to fight the ignorance of the indifferent who do not know about Louisiana and her important role in this Nation.
Rant over.
Steve G
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Woobie
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Re: Second Spring
« Reply #1 on: Oct 24th, 2005, 6:50am » |
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I like your post.
I like Louisianna... my aunt and grandmother live there. Been there - will go again.
Dont know what else to say - I cant say that I understand - cuz I'm not there.........
Things gotta get better................
tina
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vig
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Re: Second Spring
« Reply #2 on: Oct 24th, 2005, 7:41am » |
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I like Louisiana too, but the last few months have exposed one UGLY underbelly.
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TxBasslady
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Re: Second Spring
« Reply #3 on: Oct 24th, 2005, 11:39am » |
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on Oct 23rd, 2005, 6:49pm, stevegeebe wrote:
Please read about Louisiana. You may be surprised at all that she is. It may change your perception and enlighten you as to just how much she has been forgotten. She can not wait for the next possible occasion for reciprocation. |
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Steve is right. Louisiana has a history that is probably unknown to alot of people.
Louisiana is my second home. I have owned land there for 11 years. I have always loved the atmosphere, the diverse population, and most of all I love the way the cajun music makes me feel. To hear the music is not enough....you would have to "see" the music performed in person to honestly appreciate it to it's fullest extent. Whether you're 20 years old or 80, the music is addicting. Cajun music reflects alot of the history of Louisiana. and it's ancestors. I love to read about Louisiana....I love to go there....and I always dance to their music. A bit of factual information about Louisiana that I bet you didn't know:
Industrial Capacity: Louisiana has the greatest concentration of crude oil refineries, natural gas processing plants and petrochemical production facilities in the Western Hemisphere.
Petroleum and Petroleum Refining: Louisiana is America's third largest producer of petroleum and the third leading state in petroleum refining.
Offshore Oil Production: Louisiana pioneered offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling. The first well ever drilled out of sight of land was off the Louisiana coast. Most of the techniques used in offshore oil exploration around the world today were developed in Louisiana.
Natural Gas: Louisiana is America's second largest producer of natural gas. It supplies slightly more than one-quarter of the total U.S. production.
Agriculture: Louisiana is among the top ten states in the production of sugar cane (2nd), sweet potatoes (2nd), rice (3rd), cotton (5th) and pecans (5th).
Ports: Louisiana has the nation's farthest inland port for sea-going ships (Baton Rouge) and America's only port capable of handling superships (the Superport). More than 25 percent of the nation's waterborne exports are shipped through the state's five major ports
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Chemicals: Louisiana produces 25 percent of the nation's petrochemicals. Total value of Louisiana chemical shipments is more than $14 billion a year.
Space Program: Louisiana built the huge first-stage Saturn C-5 rocket used in the Apollo program to land men on the moon and is the sole producer of the giant external fuel tanks used in the Space Shuttle program.
Commercial Fishing: Louisiana's commercial fishing industry produces 25 percent of all the seafood in America. It holds the record for the greatest catch ever, 1.9 billion pounds in one year.
Shrimp: More shrimp are caught in Louisiana waters than in any other place in America.
Oysters: Louisiana's oyster production is the highest in the U.S.
Freshwater Fishing: Louisiana has the biggest and most diversified freshwater fisheries production in America.
Coastline and Marshes: Because of its many bays and sounds, Louisiana has the longest coastline (15,000 miles) of any state and 41 percent of the nation's wetlands.
Furs: Louisiana produces more furs (1.03 million pelts a year) than any other state. The catch includes nutria, muskrat, mink, otter and beaver.
Matches: Louisiana produces 60 million wooden matches a day, half of the nation's entire production.
Hospitals: Louisiana had the first charity hospital in America. Its present charity hospital system is one of the most comprehensive in the U.S.
Grain Exports: Louisiana is the nation's largest handler of grain for export to world markets. More than 40 percent of the U.S. grain exports move through Louisiana ports.
This is just a small sample of what Louisiana offers and stands for.
Jean
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| « Last Edit: Oct 24th, 2005, 11:43am by TxBasslady » |
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TxBasslady
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Re: Second Spring
« Reply #4 on: Oct 28th, 2005, 2:26am » |
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Just a bit more of the interesting history of Louisiana, the Pelican State....and so important considering the events of late.
Louisiana was originally purchased from France in order to secure the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans for the safe movement of the goods and produce of the fledgling United States. Today, it remains a major avenue for the import and export of goods. The state's five major ports handle roughly 400 million short tons of cargo a year, including more than 40 percent of all the grain exported from the U.S. More than 25 percent of the nation's waterborne exports pass through Louisiana, and its Superport is the only facility in the U.S. capable of handling ultra deep draft vessels drawing 100 feet of water. More than 5,000 ocean-going ships call at Louisiana ports each year along with a seemingly endless stream of barge tows, some of which carry more than 40,000 tons of cargo, more than many seagoing ships. And more than 185 years after its purchase from Napoleon, Louisiana remains a center for foreign investment with some 200 foreign companies having almost $16 billion invested in the state, the largest amount of foreign investment in any southeastern state and ninth largest among all states.
Louisiana's commercial fishing industry catches about 25 percent of all the seafood landed in America and holds the record for the largest catch ever landed in a single year, 1.9 billion pounds. The state is the largest producer of shrimp and oysters in the U.S. Louisiana waters also yield menhaden, crab, butterfish, drum, red snapper, tuna and tile fish as well as a variety of game fish, including tarpon. The state's freshwater fishery is considered the most diversified in the U.S., and, in addition to fish, its commercial ponds and the Atchafalaya River Basin swamp produce millions of pounds of crawfish annually.
Louisiana is among the top 10 states in the production of sugar cane (2nd), sweet potatoes (2nd), rice (3rd) and cotton (5th). It is also a major producer of beef cattle. Louisiana is the sole source of the Tabasco pepper prized as a condiment around the world and is also the sole source of perique tobacco which is widely used as flavoring with other tobaccos. The state's huge agricultural production supports more than a dozen rice mills, seven sugar refineries plus nearly two dozen other sugar-related facilities, and a number of canning plants, cotton gins and meat packaging plants.
Louisiana shipyards build every kind of seagoing vessel from giant cryogenic ships used to transport liquified natural gas to some of the largest offshore oil and gas exploration rigs in the world. They also build merchant vessels, Coast Guard cutters, barges, tugs, supply boats, fishing vessels, pleasure craft and river patrol boats. The largest industrial employer in the state is Avondale Shipyards on the Mississippi River near New Orleans where vessels are sometimes built upside down and ships are launched sideways into the river rather than stern first as is the custom elsewhere.
Louisiana contains just under 10 percent of all known U.S. oil reserves and is the country's third largest producer of petroleum. Its reserves of natural gas are even larger and it produces just over one-quarter of all U.S. supplies. Louisiana also has immense quantities of salt contained in huge underground formations, some of which are a mile across and up to 50,000 feet deep and produce almost 100 percent pure rock salt. The first sulphur mined in America came from Louisiana and the state is still a principal producer of the mineral.
Louisiana petroleum refineries produce enough gasoline annually (15 billion gallons) to fill up 800 million automobile gas tanks, making the state the third leading refiner. The state's 16 refineries include one of the four largest in the Western Hemisphere and among the companies with Louisiana production facilities are Exxon, Shell, Citgo. Mobil, Marathon, Conoco, BP and STAR. In addition to producing gasoline, Louisiana refineries also produce jet fuels, lubricants and some 600 other petroleum products.
Louisiana excels in the three most promising areas of biotechnological research and development - bioprocess, recombinant DNA and monoclonal antibody technology. Scientists at Louisiana State University were the first in the world to bring about the successful birth of a calf from one quarter of a transplanted embryo. Louisiana's growing role in the world of biotechnological research is augmented by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, a world-class facility in Baton Rouge which specializes in the study of the role of nutrition in health.
I have to think that there's alot of Industry suffering right now....I hope and pray that the good folks of Louisiana recover real quick from the devastating losses they have fallen victim to. It's important for all of us...and for our home States that Louisiana can move in a forward direction.
Jean
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| « Last Edit: Oct 28th, 2005, 2:28am by TxBasslady » |
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How lucky I am... to have known someone who was so hard to say goodbye too.
Take a kid fishin
www.takemefishin.org
I adopted a Vietnam POW/MIA from El Paso, Texas!
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Kevin_M
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Re: Second Spring
« Reply #5 on: Oct 28th, 2005, 8:52am » |
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Just a little poster visual. Couldn't find one for Louisiana women. That'll just have to live in memories. History, beauty, nature, people, recipes, and music.
  
  
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| « Last Edit: Oct 28th, 2005, 9:08am by Kevin_M » |
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TxBasslady
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Re: Second Spring
« Reply #6 on: Oct 28th, 2005, 10:54pm » |
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In researching, I found there's alot of relatively famous folks from Louisiana:
Fats Domino was born in New Orleans along with
Mahalia Jackson
Louis Armstrong
Pete Fountain
Al Hirt
Harry Connick, Jr
Hank Williams Jr. was born in Shreveport...Tim McGraw in Delhi...Jerry Lee Lewis in Ferriday...Web Pierce in Monroe...Trace Adkins in Sarepta...Sammy Kershaw in Abbeville...Britney Spears in Kentwood.
Famous Sports figures:
Terry Bradshaw in Shreveport...Karl Malone in Summerfield...Peyton Manning and brother Eli, Clyde Drexler and Bryant Gumbel in New Orleans...Kordell Stewart in Marrero.
I know there is a female retired Brigadier General from Marksville...but I forget her name. She was only 1 of 4 females who ever reached that rank. She was the highest ranking black female in the Armed Forces. She still lives in Marksville , and does some sort of work at a Catholic School there.
Neat stuff.....interesting read.
J
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| « Last Edit: Oct 28th, 2005, 11:02pm by TxBasslady » |
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How lucky I am... to have known someone who was so hard to say goodbye too.
Take a kid fishin
www.takemefishin.org
I adopted a Vietnam POW/MIA from El Paso, Texas!
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Edna
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Re: Second Spring
« Reply #7 on: Oct 29th, 2005, 12:01am » |
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No wonder our people here are so great huh?
Jean, we're gonna hire you to help promote tourism in the imediate future.
Love you gal,
Hello Steve, thanks for another great post.
hugs,
EDNA
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Charlie
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Re: Second Spring
« Reply #8 on: Oct 29th, 2005, 2:38am » |
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Neat post.
Charlie
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M.R.
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Re: Second Spring
« Reply #9 on: Oct 29th, 2005, 5:01pm » |
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And I hear tell that they have some nice golf courses also.
Mike
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Kevin_M
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Re: Second Spring
« Reply #10 on: Oct 29th, 2005, 5:23pm » |
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on Oct 29th, 2005, 5:01pm, M.R. wrote:| And I hear tell that they have some nice golf courses also. |
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2004 American Ryder Cup captain Hal Sutton is a Shreveport native.
'nuther American ride from Louisy is Britney Spears.
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| « Last Edit: Oct 29th, 2005, 6:57pm by Kevin_M » |
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BarbaraD
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Re: Second Spring
« Reply #11 on: Oct 29th, 2005, 6:10pm » |
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And now they've got ME!!!  Since I'm a resident here now, I'll agree with all that's been said. It's a great state. Back in the OLD days, I went to a Catholic Boarding school here in Shreveport. Terry Bradshaw was in high school back in them days and we had a dance once a year and invited his school. Guess that says I'm as old as he is. 
The history of LA is amazing. And New Orleans was so historic. I remember my Mom and I riding the train down there when I was a little kid. Everything about it fascinated me. Mom was a great one for guided tours and I think we took them all. Some things you just don't forget.
And Jean, I agree with you about the music -- you just can't sit still. Neighbors are what they should be. And the food is fantastic - I'm adding some cajun recipes to my cookbook now.
So much for that... we just need a little help right now getting back to "normal". New Orleans will be rebuilt bigger and better than ever. And we might even get rid of a few corrupt politicians along the way - but what the heck - that adds spice to politics.
Hugs BD
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