The Fading Cajun Culture…

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I’m currently in my 24th year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at Shady Acres RV Park in Yuma, Arizona. I may be here until March 4th.

 

In my many years of wandering, I’ve seen many interesting places. I believe my favorite area is Cajun Country in southern Louisiana. It’s like stepping back in time to 50 years ago, the scenery is unique and spectacular and the people are very friendly. And then there’s the great food and wonderful music!

 

Perhaps my bias is because I’m a full-blooded Frenchman with both sets of grand-parents coming out of French Canada. I looked it up and my last name Jaillet means “someone who lives on marshy land”! So, I guess it’s in my genes!

 

I once had it explained to me that the Cajun man thinks differently than most cultures. After making enough money to cover his requirements, instead of continuing to chase the almighty dollar, he stops working and says… LET’S PARTY!

 

I’ve made several visits to the area and feel I have explored it thoroughly and know it well. I guess it saddens me to think of this as a fading culture.  😦

 

Although during my times there, I ran across a lot of folks who are determined not to let this happen.

 

I stumbled upon the below video yesterday of YouTube and enjoyed it so much I thought I’d share with you today…

 

The opening screen says part 1, but parts 2 and 3 follow immediately. The entire video runs about an hour…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been to many of the places as shown in this story and it brought back some wonderful memories! 🙂

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the video.

Forecast for today is partly sunny and 68 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Arizona. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

 

“Let me recommend the best medicine in the world: a long journey, a mild season, through a pleasant country, in easy stages.” –James Madison

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2019

STANDARDIZATION WELCOME

For days I’ve tried to fit my camera cord into the trapazoid slot on my camera to unload pictures into my computer. The same cord also charges my camera battery. It wouldn’t fit. It defied logic. How could a cord I use every day and keep in the same place next to my computer, suddenly not fit. How could I  misplace something I use every day that stays next to my computer? All week, I unloaded pictures by removing the SD disk and plugging it directly into my computer. Last night, the camera battery went dead.

Desperately I searched the zillionth time.  I picked up every item from my three desks one by one again. The light bulb went off. I had used my Click Free back-up drive a week earlier. Sure enough, I’d put the camera cord into the Click Free box and the Click Free cord stayed next to my computer. Like electrical outlets, is it too much to ask that they be standardized?  It would save a lot of hair-pulling.

On the frustration meter, my credit cards were compromised over Christmas and I got new ones in the mail yesterday! Oh, happy day. It left me feeling very vulnerable when I didn’t have those little pieces of plastic for ten days.  However, it made me apply for two more cards knowing I will be going to Turkey and our trip lit explained that Turkey businesses like different cards, MasterCard and Discover. Wow. I got lower interest, wonderful rewards, and no charge for overseas ATM transactions on the Discover Card. Two reasons to celebrate.

Jubilation T Cornpone!!

 

 

 

BE CAREFUL TO WHOM YOU GIVE.

Today is play day. Jim and I are taking a day off to take pictures of an “endangered species”, old barns and miner’s cabins. I mistakenly thought yesterday was Saturday. We both worked in the motor home kitchen. yesterday. Thinned canned goods, tossed stuff we don’t use, etc.. I did the wash and worked on mending a rug and some paperwork and pictures, etc. Jim received an email from our friend Al Penta with a list of charities  that you DON’T want to support. This is the biggest “giving” season of the year. Be wary.

How many ways can you spell G R E E D?

THINK BEFORE YOU DONATE! SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS: As you open your pockets to do a good thing and make yourself feel good, please keep the following facts in mind: The American Red CrossPresident and CEO Marsha J. Evans’ salary for the year was $651,957 plus expenses MARCH OF DIMESIt is called the March of Dimes because only a dime for every 1 dollar is given to the needy. The United WayPresident Brian Gallagher receives a $375,000 base salary along with numerous expense benefits. UNICEFCEO Caryl M. Stern receives $1,200,000 per year (100k per month) plus all expenses including a ROLLS ROYCE. Less than 5 cents of your donated dollar goes to the cause. GOODWILLCEO and owner Mark Curran profits $2.3 million a year. Goodwill is a very catchy name for his business. You donate to his business and then he sells the items for PROFIT. He pays nothing for his products and pays his workers minimum wage! Nice Guy. $0.00 goes to help anyone! Stop giving to this man. Instead, give it to ANY OF THE FOLLOWING GO “GREEN” AND PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE IT WILL DO SOME GOOD: The Salvation ArmyCommissioner, Todd Bassett receives a small salary of only $13,000 per year(plus housing) for managing this $2 billion dollar organization. 96 percent of donated dollars go to the cause. The American LegionNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! The Veterans of Foreign WarsNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! The Disabled American VeteransNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! The Military Order of PurpleHeartsNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! The Vietnam Veterans AssociationNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! Make a Wish: For children’s last wishes. 100% goes to funding trips or special wishes for a dying child. St. Jude Research Hospital 100% goes towards funding and helping Children with Cancer who have no insurance and cannot afford to pay. Ronald McDonald Houses All monies go to running the houses for parents who have critically ill Children in the hospital. 100% goes to housing, and feeding the families. Lions Club International 100% OF DONATIONS GO TO HELP THE BLIND, BUY HEARING AIDES, SUPPORT MEDICAL MISSIONS AROUND THE WORLD. THEIR LATEST UNDERTAKING IS MEASLES VACCINATIONS (ONLY $1.00 PER SHOT). Please share this with everyone you can.

I would like to add some information to the above. During our recent rim fire, the Red Cross performed poorly according to volunteers who worked the fire. They brought inadequate and moldy supplies, treated volunteers as though they were stupid and gave conflicting orders to volunteers who were on the scene working two days before the Red Cross even arrived. Most of the supplies came from local businesses. The Red Cross did very little. (Not every member was callous and arrogant.) I’m also reminded when we burned out, the Red Cross refused my dad a loan, not a handout, a loan.

Locally, our food bank is in desperate need of food this year in both Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties. They don’t have enough to give turkeys to needy families this year.

For international and local charities, Oxfam is one of the best. International Heifer, is another. (I hope I have that name right.) It is about supplying money to buy goats, chickens, a calf, etc. to enable people to help themselves, rather than handing them money or rice or wheat.

Finca makes small loans to people to allow them to start small businesses to become self-sufficient.

Covenant House provides food, clothing and housing for people in need. Not as big a  problem where the weather isn’t brutal.

Solar Cooking International supplies solar devices for cooking and pasteurizing water in countries with plenty of sun and not much money for fuel.

Our local Elks Club supports abused children.

Hope you’ll dig deep this year since childhood hunger in the United States is getting more serious with cuts to food stamps. Don’t wait for the holidays to open your wallet. Americans, by the way,  are the most giving, charitable people on earth.

(AFTER PUBLISHING, I REALIZED THE GRID I COPIED IS TOO WIDE FOR MY PAGE. THE LAST AND WORST OF THE CHARITIES IS GOOD WILL. NOTHING GOES TO HELP OTHERS.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN.

I hooked up to Lady Bits an internet site written by Quinn Norton who wrote a four-part series on violence against women. She travels all over the world and has had horrible, horrible threats because she speaks up for women’s equality. I’ve given some generalized quotes from her first article below.

I basically did errands all day yesterday and have more today. So, if you don’t want to read or hear stuff like this, many women feel safer if they don’t know, read no further.

But, it is a men’s issue as well as a women’s issue. Below is PHD. Jackson Katz in a video on TEXx talks. Very much worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTvSfeCRxe8
EVERY DAY, WOMEN DIE BECAUSE THEY ARE MURDERED BY THEIR FAMILIES AND PARTNERS. ON AVERAGE, 3 PER DAY IN AMERICA AND 2 PER DAY IN U.K.

ICELAND’S NUMBERS FOR GENDER EQUALITY IN PAY IS CLIMBING WHILE THE NUMBERS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE FALLING.

THE  WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ESTIMATES THAT 10 TO 69% OF WOMEN HAVE REPORTED BEING A VICTIM OF VIOLENCE. (THAT IS WORLD WIDE.)

HIGH PROFILE WOMEN GET MORE THREATS OF VIOLENCE THAN REGULAR WOMEN.

THE VITRIOL, THREATS OF RAPE, BEATINGS, DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT, ENSLAVEMENT AND MAIMING AGAINST WOMEN WHO DARE TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST SUCH BEHAVIOR IS REAL IN SOME CASES AND JUST MEANT TO INTIMIDATE WOMEN INTO SILENCE IN OTHER CASES.

SOCIAL MEDIA, AND WHAT WOMEN ARE TALKING ABOUT ON THEIR BLOGS, IS THERE IS A TERRIFYING NUMBER OF MEN WHO THINK IT IS OK TO RAPE AND KILL WOMEN SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE WOMEN.

MEN CONSTRUCT MANHOOD. THEY DO IT TOGETHER. THE WHOLE WORLD NEEDS A MANHOOD THAT DOES NOT RELY ON THE ABILITY TO ATTACK OR DEMEAN WOMEN. TO KEEP THEM IN SERVILE POSITIONS AND PAY THEM LESS THEN MEN; TO ASSUME A NEED TO FEEL SUPERIOR TO WOMEN.

IT CAN ONLY BE FIXED BY MEN.

KOOTENAI FALLS AND BONNERS FERRY

Nine miles west of Libby is the Kootenai Falls and Swinging Bridge.  I appreciated this sign because we have a place in our county referred to as Candy Rock that is popular with young people and there have been tragic drownings. The Corp of engineers dynamited one of the dangerous whirlpools but it still isn’t a safe place to play. A sign like this might be helpful. In fact, this is where the movie River Wild was filmed and where Meryl Streep got washed off the raft and nearly drowned.

Before you get to the river bank, you have to cross this very safe railroad bridge which was one and a half flights of stairs up on this side.

A train was coming while we were on the bridge, so like kids we had to watch it. Hey, a new experience for me. I hope you are chuckling.

We didn’t watch it until it disappeared. (Jim moans that I’ll use up all of our picture bytes before I fly home.)

The down hill path was clean and easy looking, but that soon changed.

At the back of my mind, I’m thinking I’ve got to climb back up. This is my first  big challenge, a mile hike over rough terrain and…steps. Plus, this is a non-pain pill day. I’m on pain pills every other day right now and I know I’m getting stronger.

And there she is. I was expecting one of those bridges with net sides where every step makes you question your judgment. This one is well braced from below and much more stable but still gives a significant bounce.  A sign tells you no more than five people at a time on the bridge. This is a new bridge that replaced the old one lost in a flood. Built by the U.S. Forest service for fire access.

It still bounces a good bit with two people on it. Maybe I’m glad it isn’t the net variety. The chain link sides are pretty comforting.

Over the edges of the bridge I looked for stromatolite formations. Signs about the geology talk about the formations formed in shallow water, but we are so high up you can’t really see them well. This is also a river of “folds” formations that cause great ripples. And, they talk about the various colors of sandstone in the area.

We got off the bridge and walked back to the right fork to the falls. I found one rock with the described formation-a stomatolite.

I did find some pretty colored rocks, like this baby blue and some lavender.

Yellow and pink. I couldn’t help but think how much prettier these rocks would look under water or after a rain instead of on this dusty path. It was a cold morning and I didn’t brink a water bottle.

I spit on a kleenex and swiped the rocks here and there. And it does show how pretty they are but I only had one kleenex in my pocket and Jim thinks I’m nuts anyway.

I don’t have a clue what type of tree this is. I think it may be a peeled one of the tree next to it. I wish it was labeled. What a beauty.

And finally the falls. It looks like we are level with it, but it is down a very steep, rocky cliff from where we are standing.

It falls about 300 feet in a very short distance.

We hiked back to the railroad bridge and on the river side, there are 3 and a half sets of these long flights of stairs to get up. I was committed when I came, so I had to climb them without taking baby steps. A small epiphany for me, I slept well. This morning I feel no pain and I feel stronger. Good portent for the future.

We met some fisher people on the path. They go for kokanee salmon. “Heard they were running.”   I expect that means spawning.

The Kootenai Falls is in Montana and we crossed into Idaho and stopped at Bonners Ferry.

This is a days catch of sturgeon from the Kootenai River. I don’t know if they still exist. One picture showed a record size sturgeon of 315 pounds.

Bonners Ferry was started by E.L. Bonner in 1863. Gold was discovered and a frantic rush of people headed for British Columbia had to cross the river. Bonner was one of them. He noticed the hold-up getting across the river, got the crossing rights, and built a ferry here. After the gold rush, the economy was based on timber. Here a mammoth log drive of 80,000,000 board feet.

The size of the logs, the power of the horses and strength of the men is impressive especially compared with today where there is nothing left of these giant forests but “twigs”. I see trucks all the time with trees of 9-11 inches in diameter coming out of the woods, here and in California where I live,  also a logging area.

Not only the size of the logs, but the danger of riding with such massive logs aimed at your head as on this truck.  Even modern log truck drivers check their chains before going down hill with logs behind their heads. I’ve ridden out of the woods with one of them.

Now, that’s a load. The area thrived not only on its timber, but the Pacific Railroad came through here as well.

This was a wonderful museum.  William Wright’s saw buck pack-saddle, made of wood, from 1896. Wright ran a string of pack horses through “buffalo hump” country and up the Wild Horse Trail. He renamed Mosquito Flats by tearing down the sign and replacing it with one that said Paradise Flats.

This couple is showing off their new car. But, look at the pride in that woman’s face. Isn’t that a hoot?  SHE’s doing the driving.

I recently discovered a gas burning iron. And now a charcoal burning iron.

My mother owned a Ouija board, but, we and she thought it was pretty boring. She tossed it.

Most old clocks have a similar kind of look. This one was different and still chimed.

This museum had a lot of nice things, and good personal people stories. They had a beautiful portrait gallery of the movers and shakers of Bonners Ferry. The huge portraits, at least 100 of them, were accompanied by a biography below it like this:

This way you knew who they were and what they did. C.W. King was the youngest senator to serve in the Idaho Senate.

A woman who rescued her husband from an Indian Tribe bent on execution. You will enjoy this museum, and this community. Bonners Ferry is progressive. They have a farmers market and a brewpub. What more do you need?

DID YOU KNOW?

It must be me, but I think it is strange that Monsanto should own a patent on 25 different tomatoes?  I had no clue that if they get a patent in the Netherlands, because of international trade agreements, they own that tomato everywhere. Does that seem wrong to you, too?

 

I have a piece of property with water on it and I can grow my own tomatoes but I don’t want to. I want to hop down to my local grocery store or farmers market and buy tomatoes when I want them. Pretty soon they’ll own the rights to all seeds, or some such. That isn’t as bizarre as it sounds, not in this heavily weighted corporatacracy that we live in.

I hope you visit this site, read how it works and sign up against this practice.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/monsanto_vs_mother_earth_loc/?csmcIab

Besides, they’ve hybridized all the flavor out of an honest tomato. Tasteless. It is an outrage.

 

I’m planning to travel to Greece or Turkey next year, and I hope to taste honest tomatoes while I’m there. I’ll bring back the flavors in words for you.