RIGHTING THE WORLD

August is a month of many seasons. For one, it’s the peak of “hot” season in Louisiana. For another, it’s the start of white shrimp season. And, of course, it’s the start of school season. Now, the box stores tell us that school supplies are currently on sale, but I say they’re “on sail,” as prices have soared, blown by some uncontrollable wind in our household canvases, pushing our spending ships into uncharted waters. Nonetheless, we buy because nobody wants to send their kids to school without the right stuff—like crayons, pencils, composition books, loose leaf paper, binders, and, for the more fortunate, maybe an iPad or laptop computer.

Protractors are one of those supplies. This neat, plastic, half-circle can measure length on the flat-side ruler and angles on the round-side arch. It can measure “right” angles, the lines for which are 90 degrees of arc from one another—like the two sides of a square—and any “acute” angle, which would measure less than 90 degrees, and any “obtuse” angle, which would measure more than 90 degrees. The better protractors have a series of lines emerging from a center point just like rays from the sun on the horizon at morning—an ingenious, symbolic message to help keep students awake during that painful, early-morning geometry class at first period.

The protractor that we know today was invented way back in the 16th century. But way, way back, our more distant ancestors also needed to measure angles to build the Ancient World. Whether it was right angles for defensive stone walls protecting their cities from invaders or acute angles for the sloping walls of pyramids protecting their dead, ancient builders constructed a diversity of angular structures relative to the local plane of the earth. They employed skilled geometricians who measured angles by such early instruments as the outdoor Groma—four weights hanging by ropes from sticks fixed at right angles, or perpendicular, to one another. The Groma wasn’t very accurate, as you can imagine (especially when it was windy) and yet, ironically, many ancient structures still stand after thousands of years.

Rather than ancient builders, however, it was those Ancients peering into the skies who were the earliest masters of angles. Some measured the Sun’s shadow against marks on stone tables to determine time and season. Others measured and recorded eclipses, the motion of the planets, and the rising and setting of stars and planets beneath what they believed was a grand celestial sphere. And those stars and reflective planets known to the geometrically curious Ancients are the same as those we saw in late summer two year ago—sometimes seen between the rafters of our roofs and sometimes made more brilliant in the dark, unelectrified world of late August 2021—in yet another of August’s seasons.

We live in a perpendicular world, with homes and their walls sprouting from the earth at right angles. Just like trees. And it’s the same way we raise radio towers and bury electricity posts: at right angles to the local plane. Even plants and flowers grow at right angles from that plane upward toward the thing in the sky that excites the electrons in their chlorophyll. But hurricanes—the bane of PoV country—fight and often beat down our perpendicularity. By late August 2021, most right angles along the bayous were rendered acute. Poles and posts and trees and walls—all those things that stood upright like the Ancients built their protective walls— were bent and broken. Roofs with acute slopes like the Pyramids were ripped from their underlying wall supports. Some remain so. Others are only recently repaired. Still others are gone forever.

But here in PoV country, we've solved our acute angle problems before--just as we had for Hilda in 1964, Betsy in 1965, Allison in 1992, Katrina in 2005, and now Ida in 2021, as well as every other weather system that disrupted our peace and perpendicularity. And here’s a funny thing about those words used to describe angles. “Right” doesn’t simply describe a 90-degree angle or a structure perpendicular to a plane. It also means “correct” or “normal.” And “acute” also means “temporary” and not “chronic.” These words also describe our resilience to storms: Our disruptions are acute, and our bayou world will be made normal again. We will gaze at the celestial sphere the same way as we did before and with the same ancient curiosity and angles.

So, when shopping for school supplies this season, remember to buy your kid a protractor and thereby invest in the training of those carpenters, construction workers, engineers, and resilience leaders who will fix our future acute angles and right our world once again. Because of those folks, we don’t use ancient Gromas to measure angles any longer. Weights hanging by rope from a stick? We can use that to catch fish, instead. Nothing “obtuse” about that. POV

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.

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®

Bayou Country Children’s Museum Geared Up!

Touch A Truck

August 5, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Bayou Country Children’s Museum

Children will enjoy climbing and interacting with vehicles and equipment while learning about careers in agriculture, oil and gas, marine, construction, first responder and other local industries. There will also be hands-on activities to educate them on the mechanics of how it all works. Tickets are $12 each.

Cajun Linen Night

August 11, 5–8 p.m.

Historic Downtown Thibodaux

Join the fun in Historic Downtown Thibodaux as we celebrate the long, lazy days of summer - Cajun style! Enjoy extended business hours and specials, a variety of local vendors, live music, and fun for all ages. Dress cool and comfy or come decked out in your best Cajun-inspired ensemble...you're sure to pass a good time.

Hercules Festival on the Bayou

& Fishing Rodeo

August 10–12

Barry P. Bonvillain Civic Center

The 35th Annual Festival on the Bayou and Fishing Rodeo will offer live music, a live auction, a jambalaya cook-off, and cash awards for saltwater, and freshwater fish. Total cash prizes available are $12,575!

The music line up includes Shorts In December, Tet Dur, and Thomas Cain. The cover charge is $10 each day for the performances, or free admission for those with fishing rodeo tickets.

Pairings for a Purpose

August 11, 6:30–9 p.m.

HTV10 Studio

Enjoy an evening with live entertainment, and delicious food and cocktails while supporting local children in foster care. CASA’s second annual event will showcase some of the best food our community offers and serve flavorful tastings from locally owned restaurants. Tickets for the event are $75 per person.

Mighty Moms Brunch

August 19, 9 a.m.–12 p.m.

Cuvée Wine Bar & Bistro

Created for mothers with challenged children, the event will offer opportunities to find a personal and professional network. A panel of specialists will discuss relevant topics for mothers of challenged children, particularly those with emotional, physical, physiological, or health obstacles. Tickets are $35 each, brunch is included.

Bayou Lafourche Boat Parade and Poker Float

August 26

Bayou Lafourche, Thibodaux

The free event is open to power-paddled and motorized boats. Participants will cruise along beautiful Bayou Lafourche while listening to live music, and have the option to participate in a poker float for $10 and win prizes. Grab some friends and get out there! POV