FREE AUGUST 2022 | VOL. 16 • ISSUE 8 | POVHOUMA.COM
CONTENTS | AUGUST 2022
• VOLUME 16 • ISSUE 8
table of
Page 10
Page 16
CHIC 10 CHATEAU Life in Miniature
EXTRAS
16
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Tyron Benoit shares his musical journey home.
ON THE COVER
NOTE 06 PUBLISHER’S The Not Publisher's Note
08
JUST YOU AND THE GLASS Dorian Ordoyne brings Phoenix Glass Art to life.
WORD, YA HEARD CONFIDANT
Say What?
a close friend or associate to whom secrets are confided or with whom private matters and problems are discussed.
OBSERVER 26 THE I’m Not Leaving Until Your World Changes WE SUPPORT A
28 HEALTHIER FUTURE
WORD ON THE STREET
Check Off the Basics for Going Back to School
Molly told only her closet confidant how she felt when she won the award.
THE SCOPE 30 UNDER Right Turn at Albuquerque Where You Need to Be Around Town
22
[ kon-fi-dant, -dahnt, -duhnt, kon-fi-dant, -dahnt ] noun
INTERVUE
32 RENDEZVOUS
Page 22
To have a long time confidant is truly a gift.
Photo: Devon Williams
VISIT US ONLINE: povhouma.com
34 LOOK TWICE
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Brian Rushing ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Mickey Brown’s Deer Tamales
Mary Downer Ditch EDITORIAL
Bonnie Rushing Editorial Director Heidi Guidry Yasmeen Singleton
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
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PUBLISHER’S NOTE |
KEELY DIEBOLD • NOT THE ACTUAL PUBLISHER
THE NOTPUBLISHER'S NOTE Let’s get the obvious part out of the way, first: I’m not Mary Ditch, and I’m not the publisher of this magazine. When Mary convinced me to take a swing at introducing this month’s issue, I asked her what reason I should give our readers for the changeup. Neither of us had a clear reason. It all simply stemmed from a moment we shared a few days prior to publication where we realized exactly what this issue is about at its very heart.
during that season.
did the same for countless other people.
Then a year ago, that small town we love was devastated by Hurricane Ida.
Because the Bayou Region is home, in both a physical sense and an emotional sense. It’s home if you live in it, and it’s home if it lives in you - if the comfort and love it embodies never quite leaves you.
Hanging on turned into clinging
That dual sense of home is exactly what inspired both of our featured artists in their current endeavors. South Louisiana’s culture has played an integral role in Houma native Tyron Benoit’s musical career. One of his latest releases, “Feels Like Home,” serves as a tribute to recovery efforts following Ida and a celebration of everything that makes Cajun culture so special. Read more about his music on pg. 16.
And I guess I was the one who, in my own little way, could relate to it. August’s issue has traditionally stood as our Louisiana Life and Heritage issue. It’s a way of spotlighting the people, culture, art, and food that make this state, but specifically the Bayou Region, so special. Truthfully, I feel undeserving of any authority to talk about the Bayou Region, since this time last year I packed my things and moved away from it for the first time in my life. I wish I could say it wasn’t distance and tragedy that made the specialness of this region so salient for the first time in my life, but I’d be lying. When I was first in the process of moving, there was a simple but moving line from the song “Hang On” by NEEDTOBREATHE that resonated deeply with me: “Hang on to the small town you love but you’re leaving.” It reminded me so much of how I felt about Houma
desperately and fighting to rebuild what we lost. Love for this region burned more intensely than we’d ever seen. People who once lived here or who once fell in love with the Bayou Region offered whatever aid they could from a distance. Devastation was abundant, but hope and community and family were even more abundant. There’s something about watching the way this community responded to tragedy over the last year that left an irrevokable mark on me, and I imagine it
August 2022 6 povhouma.com
Dorian Ordoyne discovered a passion for the art of glass blowing as she lived all around the United States. However, when she felt called to return home to the Bayou Region, she saw it as an opportunity to bring her beloved art form to the region’s vibrant culture. Learn more about Dorian’s new artistic adventure on pg. 22. I love my new city. I know it’s the best place I can be in my life right now, and I’m sure others who have moved share this sentiment. But as we celebrate the Bayou Region and look back at a long and challenging year post-Ida, it’s impossible not to hang on as tightly as we can to the small town we love. POV
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INTERVUE |
SAY WHAT?
What is one of your fondest memories in South Louisiana?
TAMMY There are so many wonderful memories living in South Louisiana. One of my favorites would be going blackberry pickin’ with my dad. My mom would make a heavenly blackberry cream over angel food cake! Yum! That is pure summertime delight!
ANITRA Growing up in Louisiana, I always enjoyed our sunset curfew. Running through cane fields, chopping and eating the sugar cane, and eating homemade frozen cups in the summer to cool off as well.
SHANNON At 18 years old I couldn't wait to get out of here. I left the moment I graduated high school. Let’s just say, you have to leave sometimes to appreciate it. There is no other place in the world like it. The food, the people, the culture, the music. Nothing compares. Houma is where my heart is. I came back as soon as I could. And I have been here ever since. Hurricane, heat, mosquitoes, it’s all worth it!
JOEL Fishing with my mom and dad. Small moments spent in my dad’s boat, jerking perch, eating potted meat sandwiches … and driving a boat as a mere kid? Priceless.
RIANE Fishing in Bayou Pigeon with my grandfather, crawfish boils with my friends and family, and the tradition of Mardi Gras!
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HOME + LIVING |
CHATEAU CHIC
LIFE IN MINIATURE BY MARY DITCH | PHOTOS BY MISTY LEIGH MCELROY
First built in the 17th century in northern Europe, primarily in Germany, Holland, and England, dollhouses were originally designed for adults. In fact, the German word dockenhaus doesn’t exactly translate to “dollhouse” but “miniature house.” In Holland, these exhibits of wealth were called “cabinet houses.” The front of the house opens like a china cabinet on hinges that can be closed and locked. Inside cabinet houses, people could both show off and conceal their collections of expensive miniature objects.
Houma resident Martha South has been building these miniature masterpieces since the 1980s. Some of the intricate rooms are tucked away inside pieces of furniture such as a barrister cabinet, or room boxes inside a converted hall closet. Others are full houses, displayed where visitors can turn them around for a full view. True works of art and a labor of love, Martha continues to share her hobby with family and friends. “I have always been fascinated by them and knew of some of the famous August 2022 10 povhouma.com
dollhouses, such as the Thorne Miniature Rooms and Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle in Chicago,” shared Martha. “At one point early in my married life, I mentioned that I would love an adult dollhouse and my sweet husband said that was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard of! But he has come a long way because he is definitely my enabler. I built my first house in the early eighties starting around 1982 or 83, and finished at about 84.” Martha
currently
has
around
12
dollhouse rooms in and around her home, including the Federal dining room she recently started. Each room begins with an idea or design board, similar to the way interior designers tackle large-scale rooms. “To me, one of the most enjoyable parts is the planning, the thinking and research,” explained Martha. “Very much like a real designer might approach it to make sure it
works together, picking the colors and the fabrics, deciding on a period and a theme. Everything has to be to scale, so not only finding the furniture, but making sure it fits. I also pay a lot of attention to color because I love bold, bright colors, but sometimes in miniature bold colors just really are a little too much. You have to be careful that your colors are attractive, but scale down enough to where it pleases the August 2022 12 povhouma.com
eye when you're looking at it in totality.” As the years have increased in number, so has Martha’s skill for her unique hobby. Her first house hangs proudly in the foyer of her real home. This masterpiece is a three-story home that still receives loving care and attention from its creator. “The first house I built is one of the only houses that really looks more like a house,
even though it has some rooms missing and some of it is unrealistic. It doesn't have a staircase, even though it's three stories!” laughs Martha. “I took it out to make more room. When my children were little, they used to play like a family of acrobats lived there and flipped from one floor to the other.” Finding the right pieces to go inside each of her rooms is part of the fun. Martha shared that she has boxes stashed away with findings, cataloged by style or by period. Over the years, she has become friends with multiple artisans who design and create furniture and accessories. She often reaches out with specific needs
to those she has met. Several pieces of furniture are handcrafted by some very talented people around the world, including South Africa, Italy, and Spain. Martha also is skilled in making some of her own pieces, taking classes to learn how to make the items she needs. “For about seven or eight years now, I have attended a week-long school in Maine, the International Guild of Miniature Artisans school,” said Martha. “I take classes there and learn new techniques with lots of different materials. Just last month, I did one class in wood turning, one class in sculpting food with clay where I made chocolate covered strawberries, one class August 2022 14 povhouma.com
in paper tissue flowers, where you put like 84 different pedals on the circle that's the size of a pinhead. I also took a class in needle work. I do petit point cross stitch, working in about 56 stitches to just an inch.” Almost every room she completes has a plant, books, and a cocktail. A very talented watercolor artist as well, most rooms feature a work of art by Martha. Many of the rugs and pillows are created by Martha as well. Martha’s grandchildren now help her with the care and some of the building of the houses and rooms. One of her newer
We’re here. We’re ready. When a disaster strikes, we will be there. Backed by one of the industry’s largest catastrophe response teams, we’ll be ready to help when you need us. houses is called “Grandmom and Clara’s Camp.” The camp was built by Martha and one of her grandchildren Clara. The little hands also assist in the polishing of the tiny but very real pieces of silver that tarnish over time, and in the dusting. Martha even has an area in the lower shelves of her closet-turned-room-box display where the grandchildren can play and build their own rooms.
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The ideas in Martha’s head for different rooms are still flowing. She has many projects and space in the barrister bookshelf to build them. “After the Federal dining room, I’d like to do a kitchen that you might find in a really nice mountain retreat lodge,” shared Martha. “I’ve already started collecting the copper for the mountain retreat. I have so many ideas, I hope to live to be one hundred!” POV
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STORY BY HEIDI GUIDRY | PHOTOS BY DEVON WILLIAMS Tyron Benoit’s music is just as diverse as Cajun culture. When you listen to the band’s music, there’s a dash of Zydeco, a pinch of rock, and a sprinkle of Americano. It’s culture that drives his passion, and as they say, there is no place like home.
grandpa's house. He was an unbelievable harmonica and fiddle player…music was born with us.” Other than the folk influence from his grandfather, his family frequently listened to Classic Rock, which the fusion is evident in Tyron’s music today. Genre isn’t the only diverse aspect of Tryon’s music. Although his love Tyron, a Houma native, has a passion for the Cajun culture that is playing guitar, he also plays the keyboard and accordion. He has delved into his music, “There are so many great musicians views instruments as tools and a way to not only tell his story but from our area and I think we take that for granted because his way to keep the Cajun culture alive. we grow up with it,” he said. “It goes all the way back to my August 2022 16 povhouma.com
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The family tradition is in the Benoit family’s blood as his brothers Tad and Tate are also successful musicians. The arts have always been a part of Tyron’s heart no matter where life took him. Tyron’s journey began with a combat tour as a US Marine in Desert Storm that kept him away from his creative calling. After serving his country, he
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pursued a dream and moved to New York to study acting. The epiphany of playing professionally came when he started writing music in his small apartment and sharing the talent with his brother Tate. The collaboration eventually led to Tyron moving to the mountains of Colorado where the brothers performed original music together. Calling themselves Too Fish, they started playing throughout the midwest. Their music, described as blues and rock, resonated with anyone listening, and the success of the music led to Tyron wondering why, “It left me wondering, what are we doing differently than the rest?” he said. The answer to his question came to Tyron when he moved back to his Southern roots. Moving to New Orleans, he was able to expand his music avenues that led him to learn more instruments and to explore various genres that he didn’t play before. He said when it came to playing publicly, he didn’t care if there were only a few to show up, his ultimate goal was to get those few people up and dancing. And he did just that. The South is where he needed to be and was that coming home where he realized just how special the Cajun culture is along with the impact it has had on his life. Having to answer the call of family obligations, he wasn’t able to play professionally anymore. “Life takes turns and God puts you where you need to be,” he explained. Although he wasn’t able to play his music professionally, his passion continued, and he kept writing music. After family obligations were met, Tyron began playing professionally once again, gracing Houma and the surrounding area with his musical palette. South Louisiana has a special place in Tyron’s heart, “It’s the culture, it’s where we’re from, it’s who we are, it’s how we treat each other and growing up in Houma,” he explained, “It’s going fishing down the bayou… Our culture is so special!” He said he loves working with organizations such as the Hache Grant
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Association because they work with passion to preserve the culture of our area, “Why does Louisiana mean so much? It’s because it is the source of who we are! They [ Hache Grant] know it has to be rebuilt because it’s the source of who we all are!” A recent tune, “Feels Like Home,” was picked up by Rouses Markets for use in
a holiday commercial in 2021 and for good reason. The song brings a certain nostalgia and one can’t help but go back to the source of who we are with memories of family gatherings and being outdoors. As the commercial showcases our Sportsman’s Paradise, Tyron sings, “Sunrise in the blue skies, birds flying through paradise, a little bit longer, a little bit stronger,
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“It’s the culture, it’s where we’re from, it’s who we are, it’s how we treat each other and growing up in Houma. It’s going fishing down the bayou… Our culture is so special!”
somebody's smiling down on me. With those long days and grueling nights, friends and family in candlelight. Feels like I've been runnin’, but something big is comin’, and I don’t want to have to wait and see. It feels like home, it’s where I wanna be, I know the troubles, they come and go, can never take you away.” He said when he was writing the song, he was writing it with a sense of recovery following Hurricane Ida, which portrays the southern culture all in itself. The fact that Rouses used the song also made him proud because Rouses is a local grocery that also exhibits what makes our family-oriented roots so special. The Tyron Benoit Band is currently in the studio working on an EP. On the heels of the success of “Feels Like Home,” Tyron is recording the popular
full song and the EP will be released in late August or early September of this year. “This album is going to be more in that ’Feels Like Home’ country vein. It’s really exciting to have an album release on May 27 and then to follow it up immediately after,” he said. The May 27 album is titled ‘Waitin’ on Friday’ and includes titles such as ‘Bayouside’ and ‘Good Thing.’ The album reflects the diverse Cajun culture having country, Zydeco, Americano, and rock influences that one can only understand when listening to. Tyron appreciates Southern hospitality and treasures those moments with his family and friends that create special memories. His wife moved to Houma from Fort Walton Beach, Florida when she was 20 years old. They connected
August 2022 20 povhouma.com
immediately and Tyron said they’ve been attached at the hip ever since. The couple has two daughters who are also creative souls. One daughter is a graphic artist and the other a successful actress. The love for expression, the passion for culture, and appreciation of life’s precious moments are being fostered in the Benoit girls, “I believe there’s no destination in life; it’s a journey because the destination always changes until you reach the end and then, in the end, you take none of it with you except the memories that you made. It’s the memories that are the important thing.” POV
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STORY BY KEELY DIEBOLD | PHOTOS PROVIDED Ask someone what makes the communities along Louisiana’s Gulf Coast so special, and obvious answers will immediately come to mind: food, family and friends, and a laidback lifestyle.
determination to introduce glassblowing to the region stemmed from an appreciation for what the art form did for her life and a subsequent desire to share that experience with a community she holds so dear to her heart.
Above all, though, there’s something about the Bayou Region’s culture that never quite “I fell in love with glass. It’s my passion, leaves a person, whether they move away or and it taught me so much…The world fades remain in the area for their entire lives. away, and it’s just you and the glass,” Dorian says. “I knew that I wanted to share it with For local glass artist Dorian Ordoyne, this the community I grew up in and give them sentiment especially rings true. That’s why something different to express themselves when she saw an opportunity to bring her through.” own artistic passion to the region’s vibrant Before bringing glass art to Houma, though, culture, it was one she couldn’t pass up. Dorian’s experience living in various states Dorian officially launched Phoenix with their own environments and cultures Glass Art to the Houma community this allowed her craft to flourish and grow. summer, just months after moving back home shortly after Hurricane Ida made A lifelong painter, Dorian’s first exposure landfall last August. The passionate artist’s to glassblowing came as a child when she August 2022 22 povhouma.com
observed women making and selling glass figurines while visiting the mall. When she moved to Miami, she began searching for a new artistic medium to try. “I was walking through the park, and I looked up, and there was this neon sign flashing ‘glassblowing,’ and I was like, ‘Okay, that’s it,’” Dorian laughs. Despite having no prior experience with glassblowing, Dorian asked for a job at the studio, learned and fell in love with the art form, and took over running the studio within a year. From there, Dorian has taken her passion across the country over the last decade, establishing studios in New York and even on Celebrity Cruises, before returning to South Louisiana. Phoenix Glass Art serves to offer patrons
an opportunity to experience the meaningfulness and memories that can accompany making their own glass creations. Through over 20 different glassblowing workshops, participants get to pick an item to create, along with a color scheme, and make the items themselves with Dorian’s instruction. Specialty workshops allow participants to create glass objects that represent causes like breast cancer awareness and autism awareness, with a portion of profits going toward an organization or local charity that supports the selected cause. Dorian says she is always open to suggestions for causes to incorporate into these speciality workouts. Her “From Ashes to Art” program invites people to obtain glass memorials from the ashes of loved ones or pets, either by sending ashes to Dorian or making the glass items themselves. Additionally, Dorian offers the creation of custom glass installations, tailormade to fit desired spaces.
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For Dorian, leading first-time glassblowers through workshops is the most special part of owning and operating Phoenix Glass Art. “I know how it brings families together… They get to be free of everyday life, and they get to connect with their family in something that’s different and unique that they never did before, so it’s a unique memory that they’re creating,” Dorian says. “Especially for the kids…It gives them an extra outlet. To see a spark in little kids’ eyes - that’s priceless.” Dorian has experienced firsthand the togetherness that glassblowing can foster for a family through experiences creating art with her unofficial business partner - her five-year-old son.
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Together, the pair has created numerous pieces inspired by her son, from Finding Nemo’s Dory to the Minions from Despicable Me. “He helps me create these pieces…We made a robot one time,” Dorian laughs. “When he was nine months old, [that was] the first time he made glass, and he made an ornament for a tree. Every year he makes a Christmas ornament.” Dorian has also found community through August 2022 23 povhouma.com
connecting with other glass artists around the country - all of whom make up a small but welcoming network that shares a passion for the art form. “I can call up mostly any glass studio all around the world and say that I’m a visiting artist, and they would tell me where to go or most of the time, offer a space for me to stay and just go into their studio and blow glass,” Dorian says. Hailing from the Bayou Region, it’s no wonder that Dorian found her way to a community that reflects the familial culture she believes makes South Louisiana so special. “I moved back here to bring glass, but also because I’ve lived all over the world, and I knew that the one thing I wanted my son to be raised with was southern values, and I feel like here, it’s very much different. The friendly faces, the respect for each other is just so different here than it is all over the place…so I knew that I wanted to be here,” Dorian says. A region’s culture is just one of the primary sources from which Dorian draws inspiration for her creations, she says. Another is a region’s environment. Miami inspired depictions of waves and marine life, while New York inspired autumn leaves. It’s no surprise, then, that Louisiana’s unique landscape and wildlife have created
their own world of inspiration. “When I moved here, [with] the surroundings and the cypress trees, I changed my glass, so I made an oyster pearl bowl and a bayou wave vase…[The surroundings] are inspiring the glass,” Dorian says. The rest comes from Dorian’s own personal experiences. “I’ll have a dream about a piece that I’ll want to make, and then I’ll make it, so a lot of it is dreams, but most of the time it’s the environment, or something that happens, or my kid doing something funny,” Dorian says. However, Dorian says she loves glassblowing the most when it lends for unexpected creations. She describes glass as “alive and moving,” becoming something an artist didn’t initially intend for it to become. Dorian might enter a project with a certain intended appearance for a vase in mind, but the glass may not move the way she desires. What results, it’s a “happy accident.” “It’s like a dance. The glass is always leading. You’re constantly moving, and it will lead you into creating something else, or [changing] the pattern,” Dorian says. “No other medium I’ve worked with has ever done that for me.” Though Phoenix Glass Art is new to the August 2022 24 povhouma.com
Houma community, Dorian has big dreams of expanding her studio and watching it grow as more and more people give the art form a try. For a start, she hopes to continue her passion for partnering with other local artists for materials and collaborations - a process she has already begun to implement. Additionally, she would like to become involved with local schools to provide exciting opportunities for young students, such as a “You Design It, We Create It” field trip opportunity, where students participate in an art contest that results in the winner seeing their glass design come to life. Above all, though, the artist wants to see more people in Houma and the surrounding communities fall in love with an art form that has impacted her life deeply. So deeply, that after taking glassblowing to states with their own unique lifestyles and cultures, she wanted to make sure it reached the most meaningful place of all: home. “Glassblowing is safe because of how I walk you through it. You don’t have to be artistic or have an artistic bone in your body to be able to create something beautiful,” Dorian says. “It’s so fun. It’s just amazing. I don’t have the words to express how [people] feel when they’re done. Definitely take a chance and do it.” POV
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THE OBSERVER |
BY JAIME DISHMAN
I’M NOT LEAVING UNTIL YOUR WORLD CHANGES A few months ago, the Louis Children’s Crisis Center, a 40-year-old nonprofit that housed our community’s abused and neglected children, closed their doors. Children who are abused are in dire need of a place to call home, and we mourn for them, but often simply go on our way. Whether recovering from a stroke, fall, or other medical condition, our customized rehab program helps you recover quickly so you can get back home. If you’re getting ready for long-term living, we make the transition from home to our community as rewarding as possible. A variety of spacious resident suites offer the ultimate in privacy and comfort.
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The official statement on the organization’s Facebook page cites the reason as “funding deficiencies.” I wonder how short they were? Could we have raised the funds as a community to keep the safe haven for children open? In the 2021, the Department of Children and Family Services’ report for the HoumaThibodaux Region (Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John and Terrebonne Parishes), they recorded 3,900 total reports of abuse. That rounds to 11 reports every day of abused children in our area. Those reports led to 1,365 investigations. On average, there’s 474 kids in foster care in the Houma-Thibodaux Region. There aren’t enough homes for that amount of kids. All the while, people argued ferociously over a judicial decision that impacts future children. The overturning of Roe vs. Wade had everyone arguing. While we argued with one another, kids were still being abused and neglected. For the record, I’m pro-life and a foster parent. In the words of a preacher way smarter than me, I’m in it “from womb to tomb.” It was hard to sit under the accusations by so many that no pro-lifers sign up for foster care. I know so many precious foster families who have opened their homes and their hearts. I wish the people blindly posting on Facebook could know them too. I’ve been a foster parent for eight years now. We have housed more than 10 children during that time. Some long term (our current foster child has been with us for almost two years). Some short term. Even as short as one night. The children who have passed through our home have come to us abused, neglected or abandoned. It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s tiring. It’s sad. It’s emotional. But it’s become a part of who we are as a family. We love life. We love the unborn and we love those born to situations that we can’t even imagine. Will we foster forever? I doubt it. There’s days when I think we are almost done. But when we are done being a foster home, we will find another way
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to share our home and hearts. Abused and neglected kids aren’t just a news story. They’re people whose lives have suffered incomprehensible emotional and physical trauma. We read their story, but do we invite them into ours? Maybe you can’t open your home, but how can you open your heart? Foster care isn’t for everyone. I know that, and I would never assume that everyone should become a foster home. But can you reach out to hurting people in our community in some kind of way? Maybe it’s helping a struggling family. Maybe it’s giving your time to an after-school tutoring program for at-risk kids. Maybe it’s helping one person so they can help another. It’s one thing to pay for the Starbucks order for the person in the car behind you, but it’s another thing entirely to step into someone’s world and say “I’m not leaving until your world changes.”
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These news stories keep coming at us and breaking our hearts. It’s time we step up to the plate and quit waiting for the world to change. It’s time to do our part. All DCFS statistics were pulled from the web site: www.dcfs.louisiana. gov (Which is also where you can go to sign up if you are interested in fostering). POV
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WE SUPPORT A HEALTHIER FUTURE |
BY THIBODAUX REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM
CHECK OFF THE BASICS FOR GOING BACK TO SCHOOL There’s more to going back to school than buying Vaccines help protect children from severe school supplies. Here are five items to do now disease, hospitalization or death. Children and for a healthier student and a better school year. teens can: 1. See the Doctor
• Get very sick from COVID-19
Summer vacation is a good time to schedule appointments with the pediatrician or primary care physician for annual well checks and sports exams.
• Have both short- and long-term health problems
Typical wellness exams include: • Growth and development evaluation (height, weight, body mass index) • Blood pressure check • Hearing and vision tests
• Salads with your child’s favorite veggies or fruits • Baby carrots, broccoli and celery sticks with ranch dressing • Mini pizza on tortilla or pita bread • Water - no sugary drinks
• Spread the virus to others
4. Get Plenty of Sleep
• Discuss any questions that you have with your child's doctor. While COVID cases have declined, public health officials warn that the coronavirus is likely to linger for years. It’s important to know that COVID-19 vaccines can be given with other annual vaccines.
Children need set bedtimes. For better sleep routines, follow the same wake-sleep cycle even on weekends to help regulate circadian rhythms. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine children ages 6-12 should get 9 to 12 hours of sleep each night, while teenagers, ages 13-18, should sleep 8 to 10 hours a night.
3. Eat Healthy Meals
• Required immunizations and optional vaccines such as COVID-19 and HPV
Start the school day with a healthy breakfast, which positively affects a child's learning and behavior. Children who do not eat breakfast • Preventive care are likely to be less physically active and have • Review of medications and family health a lower cardio-respiratory fitness level. A history breakfast of whole grains, high fiber and protein• Screening for behavioral or emotional issues rich foods helps them in the classroom and on the playground. • Spine check for possible curvatures For a list of local healthcare providers including Encourage children to also make healthy and primary care physicians, go to our website, nutritious choices at meals and snack time. When packing lunch, keep it as varied as your https://www.thibodaux.com/find-a-doctor/ children’s tastes. Here are some options: 2. Get Vaccinated • Turkey and cheese rollups, fresh fruit, and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yogurt cup (CDC) recommends two doses of COVID-19 • Hummus and pita bread vaccine for everyone 6 months and older • Cheese quesadilla and boosters for everyone 5 years and older. All children are eligible for free vaccines in • Nut butter (check school restrictions) and Louisiana; find a location at https://ldh.la.gov/ banana pinwheels on tortillas page/4307.
And this means...
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5. Stay Active Guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services say preschool-age children, ages 3-5, should be active throughout the day to enhance their growth and development. Children and adolescents, ages 6-17, need at least 60 minutes or more daily of moderate-tovigorous physical activity. Encourage your child to participate in some type of organized sport, dance or other activity that involves aerobic, muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening exercise. Limit their screen time and repeat what your mother told you, "Go play outside!"
For more information contact the Wellness Education Center of Thibodaux Regional, 985.493.4765.
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UNDER THE SCOPE |
BY JOHN DOUCET
RIGHT TURN AT
ALBUQUERQUE I’m writing from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: Why in the world would I leave the comfort of PoV country, with its daily 90to 100-degree heat indexes, to travel out west and visit a desert? Maybe it was the promise of lower humidity. Maybe I was tired of Burger King breakfast burritos and longed for one from the place that invented them. Maybe it was just the querque name of the city. Or maybe it’s because Bugs Bunny was here. Yes, Albuquerque lies in a desert--not the more famous Sonoran or Mohave Deserts but rather the Chihuahuan Desert. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: The place is overcome with a million little short-legged canines barking nonstop and running around the streets like poster dogs for an SPCA spay-and-neutering program. Well, you would be thinking wrong. It’s not much of a desert after all. In fact, nights are quite cool and breezy—so nice and comfortable that advertisements for local realtors pop-up on your iPhone at night. They’re gone by the next noon.
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Albuquerque is 5314 feet above sea level, and the desert air is considerably thinner and drier than we bayou folk are accustomed to. And so is the bacon at the hotel’s complimentary breakfast. If you think Louisiana thin-fried catfish is a marvel of meat carving, you should see these transparent slices of pork. You can actually read tourism brochures through the fatty slats between slivers of muscle. Since your hands are parched and peeling from the dry climate, you must always be careful handling this bacon to avoid cuticle cuts. Try using gloves. Or a fork. Speaking of cooking things, the television series “Breaking Bad” was filmed here. It’s something the small businesses in the Old Town make market of, selling black t-shirts with images of the show’s star, Brian Cranston. There’s even a Breaking Bad tour, and the tour bus is decorated like Cranston’s motorhome lab. I did not attempt to go on this tour, by the way. Bugs Bunny’s travel dilemma at Albuquerque derives from the history of the U.S. Highway system. Some readers may remember the 1946 Nat King Cole hit that went “Won’t you get hip to this timely tip / When you make that California trip / Get your kicks on Route 66.” Apparently, the stretch of Route 66 west through Albuquerque was added in the 1930s, a decade or so after the Route had already been paved down the center of the city, suddenly giving drivers two choices after many years. And since the new stretch was only a slight turn off of the older stretch, drivers were confused and frequently took the wrong exit. It became a long-running problem for tourists as well one burrowing rabbit, who made it a national punchline. And, since I have you humming famous American songs from 1946, here’s another one relevant to Albuquerque’s history. This one’s an Oscar winner for Johnny Mercer: “Do ya hear that whistle down the line? / I figure that it’s engine 49 / She’s the only one that’ll sound that way / On the Atchison,
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Topeka, and the Santa Fe.” The Santa Fe Railway crossed Albuquerque in the 1880s, bringing lumber, glass, and commercial plaster to the city’s hungry construction industry. And that musta been a whole lot of plaster over the ensuing century of railway service, because the outsides of thousands of buildings and homes are smooth-edged, adobe-style terracotta.
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Albuquerque has lots of rocks. Where we have marsh clam shells, they have rocks. When building, you use what local materials you can find. After all, this city lies beneath mountains, and we lie atop a marsh. Those mountains, by the way, are the Sandia Mountains, which have the stunningly beautiful trick of glowing pink in the sunset due to feldspar crystals embedded in their granite peaks. Our marsh clams also glow pink, but that’s when they’re in love. The peak of Sandi Mountain, which stands 10,378 feet above sea level, is reached by the longest tramway in the U.S. Once up there, you’ll experience lots of rocks and chipmunks, miles of mountain and forest trails, and breathtaking views of the valley— breathtaking because there’s 18% less oxygen and 30 fewer degrees Fahrenheit up there. Interestingly, they sell one-way tickets. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: You may not hear from me next month. Albuquerque is a city where “red or green” is a less important question for traffic intersections than it is for waiters offering you chile peppers. And speaking of bipeds and plant foods, there are no carrot-chewing, wisecracking rabbits walking upright here, much to my disappointment. However, there are certainly roadrunners scurrying around that “never bother anyone / Just running down the road with the idea of having fun.” POV
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RENDEZVOUS |
WHERE YOU NEED TO BE AROUND TOWN
THE LARGEST SELECTION ON THE
Terrebonne 200: Evolution of Education and Governing the Good Earth August 4, 6 p.m. Evolution of Education August 11, 6 p.m. Governing the Good Earth Barry P. Bonvillain Civic Center, Meeting Room 3
In honor of the Terrebonne Bicentennial Celebration Year, presentations will be conducted throughout the year in celebration of 200 years of prosperity and growth. This month two presentations will be held.
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Pairings for a Purpose
August 12, 6 - 10 p.m. Bayou Terrebonne Distillers, Houma CASA of Terrebonne will host its first Pairings for a Purpose event. It will be a fun evening to eat, drink, and help the local children that are in the foster care system. There will be live entertainment, signature cocktails paired with local food delights, and an auction. Tickets for the event are $75 per person.
Cajun Linen Night August 12, 5- 8 p.m. Downtown Thibodaux
Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center, Thibodaux Join Thibodaux Main Street, Inc. in historic Downtown Thibodaux as they celebrate the long, lazy days of summer - Cajun style. Enjoy extended business
hours & specials, a variety of local vendors, music, games, and fun for all ages! Dress cool and comfy or come decked out in your best Cajun-inspired ensemble.
Bayou Region Nonprofit Reboot Conference
August 18, 8 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Fletcher Technical Community College, Schriever The nonprofit conference hosted by the Bayou Community Foundation (BCF) will return in-person this year. BCF invites local nonprofit professionals to attend “Reboot” allowing organizations to reconnect and discover how to rejuvenate programs, fund development, and management. Breakfast and lunch are included with registration for the one day conference. The deadline to register is August 16.
Dancing with the Stars
August 20, 7 p.m. Barry P. Bonvillain Civic Center, Houma Dancing with the Stars is Junior Auxiliary of Houma’s premier fundraising gala featuring a dance-off with local celebrities and professional dancer couples. Guests will also enjoy a silent auction, prize drawings, food, drinks, and more. All proceeds go directly to the chapter’s service projects and benefit many of all ages in the area.
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LOOK TWICE |
WIN A $50
COURTESY OF SYNERGY BANK
GIFT CARD
Find the six differences in this photo from our feature on page 10. Email your answers to us at looktwice@povhouma.com or drop it in the mail: Rushing Media, P.O. Box 5013, Houma, LA, 70361. A winner will be picked by random drawing August 15. The winner will receive a $50 Visa® gift card courtesy of Synergy Bank. Participants must be 18 years or older.
Congratulations to Gwen Boykin for winning last month’s contest.
ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S CONTEST 1. Removed number "0" on Jeep 2. Changed number "10" to "11" in yellow circle 3. Removed star on flag 4. Changed photo in picture frame 5. Changed color of flowers 6. Changed letters on plane wing
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