Pawpaw and Louisiana

Great article. I feel so sad for todays kids, who may never know the joys of outdoor life, for they spend so much time indoors with all that electronic gadgetry. I grew up near in Cochise county, Arizona, near Tombstone. I didn't have cable, internet, x-boxes, gameboys, etc. But I had one of the most beautiful, ecologically rich wilderness areas in the world to run around in. And a historically rich place. Both sides of my family had been farmers, right up to me. So I learned from my dad, how to grow anything, fish, fix, and build things, etc. Such a life, and place, like your dads Lousiana, puts a stamp on you, that never leaves you. My grandfather remembered his relatives talking about the Civil War. He grew up along the Mississippi river.
My paternal great grandmother lived to 105 years old, and remembered traveling in wagons. Because of so much moving around, children don't have a place anymore thats "home" to them. No context, of who, and what they are. Somehow, I don't think all night parties playing x-boxes with cousins, will be quite the same as spending time with family, sitting on the bank, waiting for the catfish to bite, while telling stories. Sad.
Never forget where you come from.

Rod, I often wonder if you know Jeff Opdyke, who writes a money column for the WSJournal. He and his family moved from New York (I think) to Louisiana (his wife's home) several years ago. He's in journalism, about your age, has young-ish kids. I would not, however, characterize his orientation as "crunchy." He's been pretty candid in his writing about the pluses and regrets of moving back to Louisiana for family and culture reasons.

On Sundays the Milwaukee Journal (and I suspect many other papers) has a money insert in the business section--4 pages of WSJ stuff written for distribution and mass reprinting. Jeff has a regular column called something like Personal Money. He writes about money-related things that families have to make decisions about--allowances for kids, vacation homes, supporting elderly parents, sports participation, etc. He generally uses his family as a starting point, but then will write about letters from readers sharing other viewpoints. His writing about Louisiana isn't really from the standpoint of being in a calmer community, however.