30th Edition - January 2013 by Slidell Magazine

F R E E TA K E O N E

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF SLIDELL

Dedicated to the families of Newtown, CT

magazine Vol 30 January 2013

Our prayers are with them

TAILgating PAWty! Hosted by THE CAMELLIA CITY BARK PARK for KREWE DE PAWS OF OLDE TOWNE!

Sat, Feb. 2, 2013 • 10am - 2pm

Corner of Robert St. and Front St.

(in the parking lot behind KY‛s Restaurant in Slidell, LA.)

Come watch the local pups strut their stuff at the parade!!

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Camellia City Bark Park—the ﬁrst dog park in the city of Slidell!

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O H P

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Slidell Business Owners: Want to INCREASE your sales?

Size Celebrating the season with Charmagne Simon and Lisa Harris of Bayou Title, Inc.

Editor’s Letter By Kendra Maness

It was another amazing Christmas! And, I have Slidell to thank for it! I have a pretty small family (mom, 2 sisters, 1 nephew). We don’t do much in the way of celebrating Christmas – just a simple brunch, compliments of my sister, on Christmas morning. We reserve gift-giving for my nephew primarily and, as he’s grown (he’s now 13), even that has become less dramatic compared to the frenzy of his childhood days when we would gather to watch him tear open dozens of packages, with cameras ﬂashing to capture each moment of childhood Christmas excitement. Three years ago, when I ﬁrst moved back to Slidell, it was a pretty meager Christmas. I didn’t have many friends yet and I was in the hectic start-up mode of opening a new business, affording me very little time or money for holiday cheer. I felt lonely and sorry for myself. Fast forward to this year – CHRISTMAS WAS AWESOME! Did I suddenly win the lottery, become the most popular gal in town, and have a thousand new friends that I could

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lavish with presents? Not exactly. What I did have, however, was the accumulation of three years of living and working in a tightknit community that promotes business, charity and friendships. This year, I had invitations to more than a dozen Christmas parties – most of which I attended. (I was the one with the HUGE smile on my face, soaking in every minute of the Christmas spirit!) Every invitation was an added bonus to the relationships that have been built through the magazine and charitable work. I shared the holidays with people I had previously only known through business or networking, but now I can call friends. I met new people too, forging relationships that will grow over this next year. And it didn’t require a lot of money or presents. Instead, I brought my camera along and happily snapped pictures of the hosts and their guests. Not only did the pictures make great post-Christmas presents, they also captured permanent memories of a beautiful Christmas 2012, ﬁlled with love and friendship.

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Kendra Maness - Editor/Publisher Editor@SlidellMag.com Alan Lossett - Graphic Design Jennifer Rieck - Sales Photography: ImkePhoto.com Contributing Writers: Alex Carollo Gay DiGiovanni Nancy Richardson Lee Kreil Carol Ruiz Dr. Dennis Peyroux The Storyteller, John Case

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ef o

Extraordinarily Fascinating “Ordinary” Person of the Month

C.J. Bennett

by Nancy Richardson

January 2013 All that C.J. Bennett ever wanted was to be ordinary. And in his opportunities and struggles to attain that goal, he became extraordinary. C.J. Bennett is a coach, a referee, a mentor, a certiﬁed Olympic trial-level weight-lifter – all very extraordinary accomplishments. But his achievements become that much more impressive when you know that C.J. Bennett was born with cerebral palsy. A very self-determined individual, C.J.’s life story is compelling and inspirational. Growing up, there were no federal or state laws giving C.J. access to early intervention, education or other services. He had to do it on his own. And, boy how he did! As we begin a new year of resolutions, C.J.’s story is a reminder to all of us that, with enough hard work and determination, goals can be accomplished and dreams can come true. An accident occurred at birth, which threatened both his life and his mother’s life, and left C.J. with the crippling neurological condition known as cerebral palsy, a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions, such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking. Cerebral palsy is caused by injuries or abnormalities of the brain. Most of these problems occur as the baby grows in the womb, but they can happen at any time during the ﬁrst 2 years of life, while the baby’s brain is still developing. There are several different types of cerebral palsy, the most common being spastic cerebral palsy. With this condition, C.J. had

to overcome the tragic but common effects of the disorder, such as speech, hearing and vision problems, muscles that are very tight and do not stretch, tightened joints that do not open up all the way (called joint contracture), jerky and sudden movements, and extreme muscle weakness. There is no cure for cerebral palsy. C.J. has never let the condition stop him from an active life; in fact, it has encouraged him to improve the quality of his life through sports and fitness. Through his volunteer work, he has helped others improve their lives as well. “All it takes is determination and a willingness to do more than just wish it and dream it,” says C.J. “You gotta get up off your butt and quit feeling sorry for yourself!” “If you have CP or some other disability, the first thing you have to do is accept it and go on,” says a very positive C.J., as we spoke in his Slidell home. “You make the best of your life.” Making the best of things has meant a lot of hard work for C.J. His father died of tuberculosis when C.J. was eight years old. His mother had to go to work to support her two children, leaving C.J. alone with his younger sister most of the time. But when she was there, his mom did not treat him as someone with a disability. Always encouraging her son to do things for himself, C.J.’s mom was a major influence in his can-do attitude towards life and his situation. “You can do anything you want to, my mother told me constantly,” says C.J.

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Growing up in New Orleans, C.J. attended McDonogh #9, where all disabled children were put into a special class. By necessity, C.J. was forced to learn to do things for himself. This challenge, he believes, gave him the strength to deal with life successfully.

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C.J.’s volunteer work is legendary and long. As a board member of the Greater New Orleans Cerebral Palsy Association, C.J. was instrumental in founding the New Orleans Hurricanes, a group of area CP athletes who participated as a team in competitive sports. The philosophy of the program was that team members compete equally. To achieve this, they were categorized according to physical ability ranging from Class 1 participants, who had very little motor control and were conﬁned to wheelchairs, to Class 8 members, who were minimally disabled. C.J. was a Class 6 athlete, since all four of his limbs were involved but he was still ambulatory.

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Throughout his adolescence, C.J.’s doctors had been concerned about his light frame and had implored him to gain weight and improve his mobility with exercise. A fateful visit to meet his cousin, Don, in Shreveport, LA would change C.J.’s life forever. Don was a swimming instructor at the local YMCA and began weight training with C.J., strengthening many of the muscles which had been weakened as a result of CP. Returning home, C.J. continued his training at Lee Circle YMCA in New Orleans. Says Don, “I first met C.J. in 1959. At the time I met him, I can truthfully say that it appeared he had as bad a case of cerebral palsy as one could have. He could not eat by himself, dress himself, and it was difficult for him to walk or talk. At 18 years of age, he weighed only 118 pounds. I told him that I could only help him if he listened and did what I told him to do. He would have to be a regular [at the gym] if he wanted to improve his balance, coordination, flexibility, and strength. He started with a ten pound bar and iron boots. I don’t know how many times he went up and down the stairs with those iron boots on to improve the coordination and strength in his legs. He never complained and, from the start, he improved.” After only one year, C.J had gained 25 pounds and was on the road to becoming completely independent. He was able to dress himself, eat by himself, and his speech had improved. Inspired by the success brought to his life through training, he became very active in helping the new lifters and became well versed in body building and weight lifting. C.J. even got a new job, at L.A. Frey and Son Meat Packing Company, where he was, believe it or not, an egg packer!

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As his form and technique got better and he became stronger, an eager C.J was ready for competitive lifting – and winning! Each success propelled C.J. on to the next level. In weight lifting, the next level seemed to be coaching, then refereeing and judging, and ultimately, one of the most important jobs of all (especially in the Olympics), timekeeping.

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As a coach, C.J. recalls, “Three of my athletes competed in the 1988 Paralympics in Korea.” He coached the Jr World Games for all Cerebral Palsy Class VIII athletes, and in 1991, he served as assistant coach for the USA Cerebral Palsy Power Lifting Team at the Pre-Paralympics competition in Wolver Hampton, England where the team of nine athletes competed and brought home nine medals! C.J. boasts, “In 1992, two of my athletes made the Paralympics Team in Barcelona, Spain.” In C.J.’s ofﬁce at home hang dozens of Olympic badges, a testament to his world class abilities. Dottie, his wife of 32 years, enjoys and shares in C.J.’s enthusiasm for life. She says, “We begged, borrowed and hounded people for help to be able to send C.J. to these many Olympic contests around the world.” One of C.J.’s proudest moments was being selected to carry the 1996 Olympic torch into Jackson Square, New Orleans, for the 100th Anniversary of the Olympic Games. That impressive (and very heavy) torch rests on the Bennett’s hearth in their home in Slidell. A beaming C.J. proudly shows it off and jokes with visitors, telling them he had to buy it! Besides his main goal of striving for a normal life, C.J.’s second goal was to “pay it forward”. He has spent his entire life giving help, hope and inspiration to others with and without disabilities. He has always led by example, especially in his coaching work. C.J.’s infectious laugh and attitude have made him a most likeable guy. He also provides invaluable information to medical students on care and treatment of CP from the point of view of one who has had to deal with the condition his whole life. Recently, he happily provided coaching for one of the Cross Gates CrossFit trainers who was in training for a female weightlifting competition. Two years ago, at the age of 70, C.J. was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, which put a damper on some of his activities, such as dancing (which he and Dottie loved to do). But it didn’t stop him from continuing to coach, teach and inspire others through his public speaking. C.J. was admitted to Hospice early in 2012. His positive attitude connected with his caregivers who just would not give up on him. With help from his aides and an indomitable spirit, C.J. recovered. And, just in time to receive something very, very special!

C.J. was inducted into the National Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2012. As he was physically unable to travel to California to receive the honor in person, his cousin Wayne Vizzin, his sister Sandra, and numerous friends arranged to have the impressive plaque sent here by UPS, arriving just in time for the big celebration at South Side Café one Sunday afternoon in early December, 2012. Friends and family came from thousands of miles away to be there for C.J.’s big day, including his cousin Don, bringing C.J.’s career in sports full-circle. They all had stories to tell about their pride in C.J., his help in their weight-lifting careers and his friendship - testimonials to his “pay it forward” philosophy. In a testimonial letter on the occasion of his induction into the Weightlifting Hall of Fame, Cindy Arceneaux writes: “C.J. agreed to coach my son, Bobby, (who has, among other attributes, Autism) in weightlifting and it has made a huge impact on Bobby’s life. Bobby has trained and competed in Olympic Weightlifting and in Power Lifting and has learned the importance of working to achieve a goal—that people with disabilities can’t sit around hoping the world will knock on their door. Bobby has gained a great deal of self-determination from his experiences of being mentored and coached by C.J. I know Bobby will be very excited for C.J., as am I. No one deserves recognition for promoting and participating in USA Weightlifting more. Congrats C.J. – You done Louisiana proud!!” The national motto of the United Cerebral Palsy Sports Athletic Association is “Sports by Ability; Not Disability.” It could be said that this is C.J.’s personal motto as well. He also wants to help parents of CP kids face the reality of their children’s disabilities, and encourages the parents to allow their children

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to accept themselves. He says, “I tell them ‘It’s nobody’s fault; it just happened that way.’” C.J. is a believer in what he calls “hard love” – letting the person with CP struggle in order to grow in strength and self-respect. “It does the disabled more harm by helping them too much,” he comments. “Let them do things for themselves,” as his own mother did for him.

C.J. carries the Olympic torch into Jackson Square, New Orleans, in 1996

And, he takes life with a smile. “If you can’t laugh, you can’t succeed! You have CP, big deal! Pity is more limiting than the condition itself,” says C.J. He laughs, uproariously, unselfconsciously, contentedly for a life well spent and quite well earned. C.J. Bennett may have started out life with a huge bowl of lemons but he made one gigantic pitcher of lemonade! Congrats, C.J.! (And from all of us at Slidell Magazine, we say WAY TO GO!)

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“Into the Woods” Slidell Little Theatre • 2pm

Hornets vs Houston HOME • 8pm

WED

Storytime • Slidell Library Ages 2mo–2yrs: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am

Hornets @ Los Angeles AWAY • 10:30pm

Storytime • Slidell Library Ages 2mo-2yrs: 9:30 AM Ages 3-5: 10:30am

Storytime • Slidell Library Ages 2mo-2yrs: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am

Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting H&R Block Premium 3-5pm

Hornets @ Utah AWAY • 9pm

Storytime • Slidell Library Ages 2-3: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am

Storytime • Slidell Library Ages 2-3: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am Children’s Program “Beautiful Snow” Ages 5-11: 4:30pm

Hornets @ Boston AWAY • 8pm

Storytime Slidell Library Ages 2-3: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am

Chamber Luncheon “Being an Economic Driving Force..” Lisa Babin Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting President, LA Sports HOF Express Party Supplies Young’s Restaurant • 11:30am 3-5pm

TUE

Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting Fox’s Pizza Den Sports Bar and Grill • 3-5pm

Storytime Pearl River Library Ages 0-5: 10:30 AM

Storytime Pearl River Library Ages 0-5: 10:30am

THU

Hornets vs Minnesota HOME • 8pm

Public Policy Committee Chamber Boardroom 8am

FRI

FEBRUARY

Krewe of Selene 6:30pm

“Into the Woods” Slidell Little Theatre • 8pm

Hornets vs Houston HOME • 8pm

“Into the Woods” Slidell Little Theatre • 8pm

Starry, Starry Nights in the East Chamber Annual Awards Northshore Harbor Center 7pm

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Every Saturday Camellia City Farmer’s Market

Krewe of Bilge 12noon

Krewe of Slidellians Ball Harbor Center • 7pm

Mystic Krewe of Titans 6:30pm

Krewe de Paws Olde Towne • 10am

“Into the Woods” Slidell Little Theatre • 8pm

Mona Lisa and Moon Pie Olde Towne • 7pm

Hornets vs Golden State HOME • 8pm

“Into the Woods” Slidell Little Theatre • 8pm

Krewe of Bilge Mardi Gras Ball Harbor Center

Volunteer Work/Play Day Bayou Lacombe Center

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Hornets vs Phoenix HOME • 8pm

Storytime • Slidell Library Ages 2-3: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am

Hornets @ Atlanta AWAY • 7:30pm

Krewe of Salt Bayou 2pm

Every Saturday Camellia City Farmer’s Market

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January 18th, 2013 • 7-11pm • Northshore Harbor Center

Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting Iberia Bank 3-5pm

Storytime • Slidell Library Ages 2mo-2yrs: 9:30am Ages 3-5: 10:30am

2 0 Starry, Starry Nights in the East 1 Celebrating our 50 Anniversary Chamber Awards & Membership Appreciation 2

Ambassador Meeting TBD • 12Noon

Hornets vs Sacramento HOME • 1pm

“Into the Woods” Slidell Little Theatre • 2pm

Events Committee Chamber Boardroom 8:30am

Hornets vs San Antonio HOME • 8pm

Events Committee Chamber Boardroom 8:30am

MON

Education Committee Chamber Boardroom 8:30am

Pearl River Lions Club Parade • 12 Noon

Krewe of Slidellians 1pm

Hornets @ New York AWAY • 12Noon

Krewe of Perseus Krewe of Dionysus • 1pm

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A New Years Story My Life as a Firework Terrorist would boil and bubble to the top with a dull thud. We would wait with heightened expectation to see what we had killed. Then the fish would float to the top, belly up. All we had to do was dip them out. We knew that fishing with dynamite was a felony. Virgil Greer’s daddy spent two months in jail for doing that, but it never occurred to us that we were doing the same thing, just on a smaller scale. If we had been political I suppose we would have been a 1950’s Timothy McVay. We did do some damage to a few mailboxes, but mostly our fireworks raids were harmless.

I liked it when my relatives gave me cash for Christmas. They probably gave cash because they had no idea what a boy my age would want or because they were too busy and did not have time to shop. I knew what I wanted and what I would buy with the cash. It would be fireworks. I loved fireworks as much as Purvis Smith loved his sawdust pile. I usually got a large pack of Black Cat fire crackers stuffed in a new pair of socks. That was a standard Christmas gift from my parents each year. I would light them on Christmas afternoon, and that just set the stage for the destruction and terror I and my friends would unleash on the community starting on New Year’s Eve.

Hopefully, I had saved a few dollars to add to the Christmas cash and with this money I would stock up with ﬁrepower. Cherry Bombs, Silver Salutes, M-80s, Roman Candles, Sparklers and Screaming Bangies would round out my arsenal. All this and we were only about ten years old. Our pyrotechnical education was self learned and it started with a Prince Albert tobacco can. We would put rocks in the bottom to weigh it down, poke a small hole in the top for the fuse and, for a dime, we had a depth charge that the U.S. Navy would have been pleased with. Drop one of these babies in a shallow creek and stand back. The water

In a year or two we stepped up to pipe bombs. With all the terrorist hype, pipe bombs have gotten a bad rap, but they were essential to our arsenal in those days. They provided a loud blast and when they worked, they killed more ﬁsh than the Prince Albert bomb. But due to waterprooﬁng, they were not as dependable. I think there is a federal law that forbids me to describe how we made them but everything we needed could be found in most homes back in those days. Back then adults could buy dynamite at the local hardware store. They would not sell it to us kids, but they would sell us the fuse. We probably used a mile of this fuse in our campaign of terror.

We learned if you really wanted to arouse the neighbors, you needed to make an acetylene bag bomb. Acetylene mixed with oxygen is a combination of gases that is very explosive and used in welding and the metal cutting process. Every farmer had an acetylene torch, so the gases were readily available. First, we got a plastic laundry bag from the dry cleaner. We taped all openings, as if to fashion it into an airtight bag, then filled it with the gas. We would coil some of the dynamite fuse under the bag and run it several yards away. Finally, it was the night of reckoning, the moment when we would announce to the world that a New Year had dawned. We would wait until we saw a few small bottle rockets being fired and heard a few small firecrackers. This meant it was close to midnight. None of us had a watch, so this was accurate enough. We would draw straws to see who would light the fuse and, while the sparkle of the fuse was racing its way to the bag, we were running to put a lot of distance behind us. Finally, there was the explosion. For a second, everything was dead silent. Our world was in shock. Then the world came alive with the barking of dogs, the screaming of neighbors and cattle stampeding. Within minutes, pickup trucks were circling the area to see what had exploded and how much damage had been done. Some of these first responders would only be dressed in their night clothes. Our band of disturbers-of-the-peace was hidden in a nearby culvert, watching and filled with pride on a job well done. We called this our “moment of terror” and we must have done it for five or six years. Never did we do it in the exact same place and never did anyone find out who was doing it, but they were suspicious. Next, we built hot air balloons. Again, we started with a dry-cleaning bag and fastened a light circular wire to the mouth of the bag to keep it open. To this wire, we attached a gondola made of aluminum foil and filled it with sterno. With luck, the heat-filled bag would ascend and the glow of the flame flickering off the plastic bag made a ghostly sight as the wind took it across the sky. There were a lot of superstitious people that lived near us. We imagined that some people thought Jesus was descending on a pillow of fire, but mostly we just enjoyed the success of having it work successfully. When we were about fourteen we decided that NASA had nothing on us.

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We would make a rocket. All the ingredients you needed to make the fuel could be bought at the local drug store. No questions were asked, regardless of how young you were. There were three main ingredients, which a wiser me refuses to divulge, as my grandchildren may read this someday and want to be just like their granddad. We did not hide our amateur rocketry, as we deemed it scientific. Our rockets had little or no science behind them. We would make the body of the rocket out of the cardboard center from a roll of paper towels. We would then line the interior and exterior with aluminum foil to make it fire resistant. Finally we would devise a nose cone and add some stabilizing fins. We would then pack it with powder, take it to the launch pad (also known as the front yard) and fire it up. The word got around about what we were doing and it was not uncommon to have thirty or forty spectators on launch Saturday. There would be as many adults as children and they mostly left disappointed. As I recall, we never got one to go more than a foot off the ground, but we would tell the crowd that they should have been there for the test launch earlier that morning. We told them the earlier rocket went at least a mile high.

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Probably our most dangerous invention was building the “Hell Senders”. We would take the inner tube from an automobile tire and fill it with gasoline. Gas was cheap then. There was no tax on farm gas, so it cost about fifteen cents a gallon. If we could not afford it, we would siphon it from some unattended tractor. We would then place it on the highway right of way about thirty feet off the road. We would light a cigar and place it under the inner tube. When the cigar burned through the tube, it would melt and explode. Flames would shoot forty or fifty feet in the air. Imagine some random, unexpecting motorist passing by when this happened. He or she had no idea what kind of phenomenon they had just witnessed. The next morning, an embellished account of the explosion could be heard at the local service stations and cafes. The possibilities were endless - from a small plane crash to a UFO. I truly believe most children have a guardian angel. We never got injured in any way and, as I said, we did not cause any lasting property damage. Well, that is not totally true if you consider Purvis Smith’s sawdust pile. To understand Purvis Smith you have to know a little history about southern Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana.

Around the turn of the century, there were several large sawmills scattered around the country side. Virgin longleaf pine was in great demand in the north and the lumber barons made and lost fortunes in its harvest. Combined, these mills had hundreds of miles of small gauge railroads that extended into the woods in order to transport the logs back for processing. With this equipment, most all the timber that was deemed worthy had been cut, and the mills closed by 1925. Engineers, loaders, sawyers and ﬁlers were laid off. Within a few years after their closing, small sawmills began to spring up all over the community. It was an attempt to make a living cutting the sparse amount of timber that remained. They were called “Peckerwood” mills - so named because they could not cut much more timber than a woodpecker. Owning a Peckerwood mill, however, did give the entrepreneur some degree of status. He at least owned something. Owning something was not a luxury everyone in the south had in the 1930’s. The depression was at its height. A few mills did well, but most only lasted a few years and closed.

Regardless, where they stood they left behind a large pile of sawdust. These piles may be as tall as a three story building and have a base 200 feet across. Having one on your property was a testament of success and those owners, now old men, wanted to preserve them. It was their monument, visible evidence that they once owned something. They had been standing for years when we were kids. They were considered dangerous, as they would rot from beneath and if you climbed on them, you could fall through and suffocate. It had happened more than once to people we knew of. That sounded like a bad way to die so we stayed away. Occasionally, these sawdust piles would catch fire from no apparent cause. Each year, a few more caught fire than the year before. A pile could smolder and smoke for years and it was a serious nuisance. It was such a nuisance that the state sent investigators and it was determined they were igniting due to spontaneous combustion. The heat produced by the rotting rich pine sawdust would finally catch fire.

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His wife had left him when his mill closed down and ran off with one of the sawyers. Now he lived alone. From sun up to sun down he sat on his front porch watching his sawdust pile and a couple of dozen cows he pastured. He was a bitter old man to say the least.

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Purvis Smith had once owned a Peckerwood mill. He probably never was a very likable person but by now, he was the most disliked man that you have ever met. He did not like kids and in fact, I’m not sure he liked anyone. He shot any dog that happened to cross his property and if a neighbor’s cow got out of its pasture, he would put it in his own pasture. By the time the owner found out where the cow was, Purvis would claim large boarding fees and, more likely than not, the farmer just walked away.

After all these years I would admit it, but this was just not true. If it was a balloon, it was not ours and I don’t think anyone else knew how to make one. We did not have any defense however. When questioned by the sheriff, we admitted we had been responsible for the “moment of terror”, the hot air balloons and, in our confession, we even admitted to bombing the ﬁsh. But we denied we had ﬂown a hot air balloon that night.

Saturdays we had to do community service. We didn’t like it, but it was better than six months at the county farm where they sent small time criminals. We served our sentence - not patiently - but we served it. Each weekend that we could not be with our friends gave us more reason to hate that old man. When we had served our punishment, we had revenge on our minds. Purvis Smith had been one of those who did not believe in spontaneous combustion. He reasoned that nothing just caught fire and started making accusations that we had been responsible for the dozen or so sawdust pile fires in the last couple of years. This literally added fuel to the fire. So we planned our mission carefully. On a hot August night, we proved him wrong about spontaneous combustion. His sawdust pile just caught fire. After acquiring a tube, gasoline and a cigar, we watched the flames from a hillside a quarter of a mile away. Even at that distance, we could hear the old man cursing.

We were taken to a juvenile hearing and circumstantial evidence convicted us. Our parents did not protest our conviction, as I think they thought we may be guilty. The judge slammed his gavel and said six months. We were stunned. But then he explained that we were grounded for six months. We had to be home by 6pm, unless in the company of our parents, and

That sawdust pile was still smoldering when I graduated from high school.

John Case January 2012

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Making ₵ents

of your money by Mike Rich

PAINT A NEW FINANCIAL PICTURE IN 2013 My daughter Heather is a fitness and wellness consultant. Now, I know a lot of people, when they read “consultant”, actually think “unemployed.” I’ll admit, I do too, sometimes. But, Heather is different. She is a fitness consultant and certified wellness coach who gets paid to help people get and stay fit and well.

She built her business from scratch after leaving a very well-paid corporate job more than a year ago. Business is booming, she tells me. How did she do it? She had a vision, and she acted on it. Heather told me that she was tired of what she called her “full-time, life-sucking, no-future, no-ﬂexibility,

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depressing, and frustrating job” (during this rant, she forgot that it paid extremely well), and she wanted something different. She wanted to work less, earn the same amount of money (or more) while working from home so she could spend more time with my two beautiful grandsons, do the work she really wanted to do, and basically, escape the rat race and follow her passion for making and keeping people healthy. To reach her goal, she created a “vision board.” It’s nothing new, and you can find lots of references to vision boards on the Internet. The difference with Heather is that after she created her vision, she actually followed through on it and built a successful business. By the way, if you want to meet her, do an Internet search for “Healthy Heather.” Like Heather, lots of successful people use visualization to achieve their goals. Athletes, movie actors, artists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and a whole host of other movers and shakers swear by it. They paint mental and physical pictures (their vision boards) of what they want, how they will get it, how they will feel when they get it, and what they’ll do after they get it. Here at Pontchartrain Investment Management, Andy, Chris, Steve, and I are big on visualization. The way we see it, mental pictures can work wonders for our clients by helping them see how – with some effort and commitment – they can work towards financial independence. Plus, there’s no better time than at the beginning of a brand new year to make a positive change in the way you look at money. Consider these financial pictures for 2013 – and beyond: 1.) Picture yourself paying for an emergency repair at your house without having to use a credit card. One of the foundations of a solid financial plan is to make sure you have enough cash on hand to handle emergencies. Out there in the financial world, you can read all kinds of guidance about having two, three, or six months of living expenses on hand. If that seems overwhelming, then start with a few bucks in a jar in your kitchen cabinet. Build it up every month from there, and keep it only for emergencies. Note: a pizza delivery during the Saints game is not an emergency.

2.) Picture yourself receiving a check in the mail every month for the rest of your life. Employer pensions are disappearing, and fast. If you don’t have one, you can build one yourself. Our guess is that getting a check in the mail or your bank account every month during retirement (and maybe for as long as you or your spouse live) will paint a pretty nice picture for you. If you agree, call us, and we’ll discuss several strategies with you. 3.) Picture yourself with a “permission slip” to spend your assets freely during retirement. By using plain old, boring whole life insurance, you might be able to increase your cash flow during retirement. Visualize what that might look like: more cruises, gifts for the grandchildren, a new fishing boat, whatever. Here’s how it works: When you are no longer around to enjoy that extra cash flow, the death benefit replaces the money you spent so your spouse can live out his or her days with dignity and financial security.1 This is a pretty cool strategy, and a lot of people don’t know how incredibly powerful it can be. Now you do. Call us to find out if it can work for you. 4.) Picture a time when you can no longer take care of yourself. This is a biggie, folks, and it’s getting bigger. Many of us are likely to live longer, but we’re not necessarily living any healthier. Seven out of ten of us are going to need some type of long term care,2 and the costs are shaping up to be staggering. So, draw a mental picture of yourself when you are old and might need care. What does it look like? How do you want to receive care? Who’s going to provide it? How will you pay for it without ruining your retirement and maybe putting your spouse in a financial pickle? If you don’t have good answers for these questions, call us and we’ll help you figure it out. 5.) Picture yourself working with a financial advisor who takes the complexity of designing and maintaining a financial plan for you and your family off your plate so you don’t have to worry about it and can enjoy life. You are not alone. You are expected to be an expert in your job, but you don’t have to be one about money. Let us handle it. It’s what we do, and it’s our passion. My daughter Heather can tell you from experience that the problem with all this visualization stuff is that it’s easy to do, but not so easy to make real. It takes work, discipline, commitment, and implementation. We can’t help with the first three, but we can help you implement your vision and keep you on track.

Call us, and we’ll start painting your new ﬁnancial picture.

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Frankly By Frank Davis

Huntin’ for the Elusive Brer Rabbit! “Ya’know why that is, huh Frank?” I remember my old hunting buddy Glenn Brock once telling me, as we put together a big ol’ pot of Rabbit Sauce Piquante in his kitchen. “It’s because of what we’re doing right now, converting a bunch of these little hippity-hoppers into Southern gourmet tablefare. And we’re ﬁxing to put a whole potful of ‘em on the table in just a little bit! So get the French bread out of the oven, Frankie!”

And the story goes. . . “Do what you want with me, Br’er Fox,” Br’er Rabbit pleaded. “Drown me, skin me, hang me, roast me over a hot fire, but please, Br’er Fox, whatever you do don’t fling me into that briar patch!” With that Br’er Fox snatched Br’er Rabbit off the tar baby and flung him right into the middle of the briar patch! There was a flutter where Br’er Rabbit landed, then “Ooo, Oww, Ouch” he screeched and squalled. Then by and by, after a while there was only a brief whimper from under the briar patch. And Br’er Fox listened. “I got him,” Br’er Fox shouted. “Br’er Rabbit is dead!” But then Br’er Fox heard a scuffling away at the other end of the briar patch. And low and behold who does Br’er Fox see scrambling out of the briar patch but Br’er Rabbit hisself! “Born and bred in the briar patch, that’s me,” laughed Br’er Rabbit. “I told you not to throw me in there! But you did. . .and in the entire world that’s the one place I love best!” Then Br’er Rabbit, with a lippity clip, hopped away! So there, from the original Uncle Remus writings of author Joel Chandler Harris way back when, we know and have always known, that the best-est place in the whole wide world to find (and hunt for) rabbits is the famed, notorious, briar patch!

Down through the eons, though, South Louisiana hunters (and especially St. Tammany Parish hunters) have discovered many, many other habitats that native marsh rabbits have come to claim as permanent residence. Among the sites are thickets, ﬁeld edges, fence rows, brush piles, railroad rights-of-way, back-road farm lands, scattered honeysuckle patches, blackberry bushes, downed treetops, public wildlife management areas, dried out stretches of marshland, and yes, briar patches - the thicker and thornier the better! Looking back through the annals of history, it appears that from the beginning of time, we (and I’m referring now to the entire brotherhood of man) have always maintained and cherished our relationships with rabbits. I mean, after all, look how many of the critters we’ve been introduced to in almost every situation! In addition to Br’er Rabbit, there’s been. . . Roger Rabbit, Peter Rabbit, Bunny Rabbit (Captain Kangaroo’s buddy), the White Rabbit (from Alice in Wonderland), The Trix Rabbit, Harvey the Rabbit, and Thumper the Rabbit, to say nothing of Bugs Bunny, the Easter Bunny, the Energizer Bunny, and, thanks to Hugh Hefner, the Playboy Bunny! But aside from the rogues gallery of the ﬁctional rabbits we all grew up with, the hunting genre is well aware of two species prevalent in Slidell and its surrounding environs: the native marsh (or swamp rabbit) and the cottontail rabbit.

The fact is... me and you and your brudder-in-law and all his friends aren’t the only ones who relish the exquisite taste of well-prepared rabbit. Biologically, the furry creature is on the menu of just about every carnivorous predator in the wild. Rabbits are a principal species on which the rest of the meat-eating wildlife world sustains its existence. Rest assured too, that they, and we, aren’t gonna run out of supply any time soon (rabbits can have six litters a year and their gestation period is only 28 days). Of course, with us - me and you - being at the apex of this food chain, it only stands to reason that we would continue to convert the plentiful critters into tasty and highly nutritious foodstuffs for us and our families. And here’s the good news - even if you don’t hunt the wild ones at some of the places I pointed out earlier, you can attain the very same end result by retrieving a butchered, cleaned, and frozen rabbit from the freezer case at your neighborhood superstore. And remember that cooking techniques are exactly the same for wild or domestic animals. So, may I make a suggestion? With the present Louisiana rabbit hunting season extending through February 29, and with the state allowing us a daily bag limit of 8 and a possession limit of 16, why not haul out the hiking boots, the briar-buster pants, a hunter orange jacket, your 16 gauge over-and-under shotgun, and a pocket full of #7-1/2 shells and head out to collect the prime ingredient for a great winter’s meal!

Here’s one of my favorite ways to prepare rabbit, deep fried!

Frank’s Deep-Fried Country Rabbit

St. Margaret Mary Catholic School

Marinate a batch of young, tender, cut-up marsh rabbits in milk and onions, dust them with a spicy flour coating, and deep fry them until they’re golden brown and crunchy-crispy. . .and you got some finger-lickin’ going on there, son! 2 or 3 young wild or domestic rabbits, cut into pieces 2 cups coarsely chopped yellow onions 2 cups evaporated milk 4 teaspoons Louisiana Hot Sauce 4 cups all purpose flour, sifted 3 tablespoons kosher or sea salt 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper 2 teaspoons coarse-ground black pepper 1 quart peanut oil for deep-frying First, take the rabbit pieces and wash them thoroughly under cold running water, making sure you remove all the globular fat, mucus membranes, silverskin, and other residuals that may not have been removed during field dressing or kitchen processing. Then, after they’ve been totally cleaned, set them into a glass, Corningware, or stainless steel bowl. At this point sprinkle the chopped onions evenly over the rabbits and immediately mix them in with your hands so that each piece picks up the flavor of the onions. Then, in a separate bowl, blend together the evaporated milk and the hot sauce and pour it over the rabbit pieces and the onions to form a marinade. If you can allow the rabbits to marinate overnight, that’s ideal. If overnight is not do-able, at least let them soak in the marinade for about 3 hours. When you’re ready to fry, heat the peanut oil in either an electric or stovetop fryer to 350 degrees. Then pour the all purpose flour into a high-sided bus pan and sprinkle on the salt, cayenne, and black pepper (it’s important to take a moment to blend everything uniformly to disperse the seasonings throughout the coating). All that’s left now is to lift the rabbit pieces from the marinade, liberally dust them in the coating mix, shake off the excess flour, and drop them into the hot peanut oil, one piece at a time. The cooked rabbit will come out just perfect if you allow the pieces to fry for about 16 to 22 minutes. The outside should be crispy and golden brown, the inside should be light and delicately tender from the onion marinade. And each bite should be rich with natural juices!

Chef’s Notes: 1. I suggest you serve the rabbit pieces piping hot right from the deep-fryer after draining them for a moment or two on several layers of paper towels. 2. Electric deep fryers are okay, but for best results I recommend a black cast iron Dutch oven. It distributes heat evenly, cooks the rabbits uniformly, and doesn’t give you “hot spots” that will burn the batter. Of course, if you don’t have cast iron, Club aluminum is a good second choice. 3. The only way to get perfectly-fried rabbit (or chicken, or shrimp, or anything for that matter!) is to be sure the frying temperature is perfect. And to do that, you gotta use a thermometer —you can’t guess at it. Clip it to the side of the Dutch oven so that the tip is fully submerged in the oil but doesn’t rest on the bottom, and be sure it reaches 350 degrees before you drop in the ﬁrst piece of rabbit. Do it this way and you’ll be guaranteed your rabbit won’t be greasy!

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acts W

We have all heard sports heroes, actors, or wealthy businessmen say they want to “give back to the community,” especially here on the Gulf Coast. We have been the recipients of many people giving back to us. I speciﬁcally remember a man returning home from Indiana, barely a week after Hurricane Katrina, making a huge pot of jambalaya from the back of his truck in the parking lot of Bethany Lutheran Church. He was compelled to help and knew just what we needed - good New Orleans comfort food, when no one had electricity

by Gay DiGiovanni and many had no clean pots. How grateful I was for his kindness, and that of many, many others who selﬂessly came to help during that dark time. Some of you may have seen the movie Pay It Forward, released in 2000 staring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment (the boy who saw dead people). The young boy was given an assignment in school to devise a plan and put into action something that would change the world. His idea was that when someone does you a favor, don’t pay it back, pay it forward, by doing something totally unexpected and generous for another person. The movie progresses and the chain of events is revealed as more and more recipients follow through to “pay it forward”. After the tragedy in Connecticut, we now have “26 Act of Kindness” going virile on social media. Started in a

tweet by journalist Ann Curry, it tells us of people and their acts of kindness in honor of each victim of the school shooting. Bringing blankets to the homeless, teddy bears to the rest of the children in Newtown CT, a policeman giving his boots to a shoeless man. These are just a few of the 26 Acts described. When faced with unimaginable tragedy with no way to “fix it”, we are left with feelings of shock, anger… helplessness. This tragic shooting has touched a friend in Slidell, whose great-nephew was one of the children who died. From Grace Marshal, “As broken as my heart is, it is also full of pride for my niece.” Her niece, Nicole Hockley, mother of Dylan Hockley (a beautiful, blue-eyed 6 year-old boy who was diagnosed with autism) wrote in a statement obtained by NBC news, “We take great comfort in knowing that Dylan was not alone when he died, but was wrapped in the arms of his amazing aide, Anne Marie Murphy. Dylan loved Mrs. Murphy so much and pointed at her picture on our refrigerator every day. Though our hearts break for Dylan, they are also filled with love for these and the other beautiful women who all selflessly died trying to save our children.” Nicole Hockley bravely chose to focus on the love she has for those who have helped her, rather than anger

towards the one who has caused so much hurt. She closes her statement, using Dylan’s nickname, “We love you Mister D, our special gorgeous angel”. This tragedy has touched us all. We all have at least one child in our life and somehow can’t help but imagine, What if that happened to my child, my grandchild, my niece, or nephew or neighbor? The image that comes to mind is horriﬁc, and hard to erase. We can’t make sense of it. What can anyone say or do that will make it better?

under Acts of the Apostles, 2:26 for guidance. These are King David’s words as he speaks about Jesus after his death and resurrection: “My heart has been glad and my tongue has rejoiced, my body will live on in hope.” We can pray that Nicole Hockley is correct, and that little Dylan is an angel and is rejoicing in God’s presence.

We can talk about gun control, or mental health screenings, or registration requirements for all gun owners. All of these things should be in the conversation about reducing gun violence, so maybe this won’t happen again. Changing policies and laws are up to our legislators and leaders, and it is important to let them know how we feel. For most of us, though, this plan of action seems out of reach, and out of our control.

And maybe we can do more. Just a simple act of kindness will restore and reinforce our belief that people are good. Here in the Gulf South, we know ﬁrst hand that although bad things happen - people are overwhelmingly good, and tragedy can bring out the best in all of us. Person to person connections - the act of giving and receiving - seems to restore the balance of good over evil. Perhaps you can start your own list of 26 Acts of Kindness. It sounds like a simple idea, but it’s not easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is. This requires creativity, compassion, commitment to action, and the courage to be uncomfortable. The rewards could change your life, and just maybe change the world.

We can pray. Inspired by the 26 Acts of Kindness and remembering there is a chapter of Acts in the Bible, I looked

This is my ﬁrst Act of Kindness to Kendra, our editor, and to her readers. 25 more to go, and maybe more than that…

Editor’s Note When Gay DiGiovanni called me, just days before this edition went to print, and proposed that she write 26 Acts of Kindness, my ﬁrst thought was…Slidell Magazine is supposed to happy. I can’t run a sad story like the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary. Being the eternal optimist that I am (sometimes to a fault), I talked to Gay about writing the story with a positive view, shying away from the horrors of reality. The story was already written, she said, with the positive view I was asking for. However, she reminded me (in the thoughtful and loving tone she is so known for), I couldn’t hide from or ignore bad things. I can’t live in a bubble of sunshine, going about my daily work, pretending this never happened. And neither can the magazine. Slidell Magazine was created to represent our beautiful, loving and caring community. To ignore the tragedy in Newtown would not be representing Slidell. America is in mourning, and our community mourns with her. Gay’s call affected me deeply. Later that night, while researching another story, I saw the news reel on the side bar of the Google browser. The top 5 stories were all about the funerals being held for the Sandy Hook Elementary children. For the ﬁrst time since the tragedy, I found myself crying, giving in to the overwhelming sadness of losing so many innocent young lives.

After allowing myself to feel what I had done so well to ignore, my next feeling was just as Gay had said – I have to do something. I began searching for the words and images to express my feelings about the shootings. For the ﬁrst time ever, we actually “stopped the presses” on the magazine and scrapped January’s original cover design. It was replaced with the simple, sweet, and sorrowful child angel that appears on the cover of this month’s edition. It is our way to pay respect to the children and the community that we had never heard of before December 14, 2012 - but now we will never forget. We also opted to remove the Slidell Magazine motto, “We Say Keep It Fresh, Keep It Positive”, which has been on every cover since the ﬁrst edition. Instead, the motto appears below, contained in this story about the good deeds to be done and the optimism that our community will rise to the challenge and do them. Just like they always have done before.

WE KEEP IT FRESH

SAY KEEP IT POSITIVE 23

acts ‘If you do good, you’ll feel good’: Ann Curry explains origins of #26Acts of Kindness (nbcnews.com) A massive, unexpected wave of goodwill began online with a simple idea: “Imagine if we all committed 20 acts of kindness to honor the lost children of Newtown.” NBC News National and International Correspondent Ann Curry sent the message on Twitter and Facebook. The idea has evolved into a viral effort known as “26 Acts of Kindness,” in honor of the students and faculty who died at Sandy Hook Elementary. By Ann Curry, NBC News After being in Newtown, I woke up the next morning and thought about what could be done. What is the answer to this kind of national suffering? And I remembered a moment on the edge of Darfur, when I came upon a woman who was elderly and in the hospital, recovering from burns after an attack by Janjaweed militias. She was surrounded in the hospital, by younger

women carrying babies, and I asked her to tell the story of how she had suffered these terrible burns all over her body. I learned that she had tried to rescue her invalid husband when her village was attacked and her house was set on fire. She tried to carry her husband out of her house and stayed so long that the thatched roof of her house came down, the hot embers giving her 3rd degree burns. But she was unable to save her husband. Her husband died. I remember walking out of that hospital, and the producer saw the look on my face. He said, “Are you okay?” And I said, “No.” And without even thinking, I remember going to our team van and pulling out a Polaroid camera I had brought on that trip. And then I went to all of these women with their children who were in the courtyard of the hospital, knowing that they had never owned a photograph – ever – of their child. I went around from woman to woman, and I took pictures of them, I took pictures of them with their child, or just of their child alone – without even thinking, just snapping pictures. The first time I did it, I remember giving a photograph to a woman, and she looked at this black square with this quizzed look on her face, and I said, “Just wait one minute! Just wait one minute,” holding up one finger. And then I watched her face melt as she watched her child’s face slowly appear on that Polaroid. It made me feel better. So I went from mother to mother to mother until I ran out of film.

Mark A. Myers Civil Mediator Divorce Mediator Elder Mediator Arbitrator Attorney*/Notary Public

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After the experience in Newtown, I thought, “What if? Imagine if everyone could commit to doing one act of kindness for every one of those children killed in Newtown.” So that’s what I tweeted. And guess what? People committed. I said in my tweet, “I’m in. RT if you’re in.” Not only did they commit to 20 acts of kindness, they wanted to up it to 26 acts of kindness for every child and adult who was lost at the school. Some even debated maybe we should include the mother, who died, at 27 acts. Some debated maybe we should include the killer as well as he was struggling and in pain. What’s really remarkable to me is how many people responded. They are the ones who carried the ball. They are the ones who chose what to do. People would tweet back, “I’ve done two!”, “I bought coffee for a guy in line!”, “I bought toys for homeless children!”, “I’ve got 18 more to go!” or “24 more to go!” – whatever number they were trying to reach. I was inspired by them. So I started tweeting about what people were doing. Some people thought it was boasting when they would say “I’ve done this” or “I’ve done that.” I don’t think so. I think that whenever you show by example an act of kindness – big or small – something that spends a lot of money, or because you don’t have the money, something that doesn’t, all of it is welcome. There is no judgment. I think that’s the key. If people want to do it, great. But I think that if they do it, something great happens to you. When I was tweeting, I noticed that the number one trending topic was something like “ThingsIlikeaboutmyself.” I thought, “Well, if you do an act of kindness, I bet you’ll like even more about yourself.” So that’s what I tweeted. I know the truth: if you do good, you feel good. It’s the most selﬁsh thing you can do. Right now, this country wants to heal. I think the only thing comforting in the face of a tragedy like this is to do something good with it if you can. Be a part of that wave.

Health & Fitness By Dennis M. Peyroux D.C. It’s that time of the year again! Your pants feel tight around your mid section because you went to every holiday party and sampled every holiday goody that was made available to you. You’ve been drinking

and eating like a Viking for over two months. And, your New Year’s resolution remains the same ever year. How do you lose those extra pounds you put on and get back into shape?

Get ready, here it comes: “The Five Secrets to Permanent Weight Loss.” 1. Stop dieting! A breakthrough study by Dr. P. Webb published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, revealed that calorie intake alone was not sufficient to predict weight loss. It is a proven fact; the reduction of calories alone can not be sustained for long periods of time. It is almost impossible to starve yourself and sustain permanent weight loss without experiencing the “yo-yo” effect. The secret is in your metabolism. How does your body convert food into energy or fat? Your metabolism is dependent upon the amount of muscle you have and whether your hormones are in balance. 2. Eat and drink only those things that are healthy for your body! When shopping at the grocery, a great thing to remember is to stay on the outside perimeter of the store. Remember processed foods, foods high in hydrogenated oil, foods full of imitation flavorings and colors, and foods with little or no nutritional content can be found up and down every aisle in the grocery. These foods are not good for you and should be avoided. The average American drinks mostly carbonated sodas, fruit juice, milk, coffee and tea. Most people do not drink enough plain, crystal clear water. Yes, water has numerous beneficial effects on the body. Water is the most important way to maintain proper hydration, even on a cellular level. Most people are not properly hydrated. A good rule of thumb is to drink approximately one half of your body weight in water measured in ounces each day. Your body will thank you. 3. Avoid unnecessary drugs! All medications have side affects. Even over-thecounter drugs can be potentially harmful for people, especially when abusing the recommended dosage. Health Sciences University estimates that drugs like Ibuprofen are responsible for as much as 20% of all end-stage kidney disease in America. Doctors have known for years that people with chronic pain tend to develop a tolerance for certain medications and must increase the dosage to experience the same effect. Most of the side effects of these drugs are worse than the actual condition that people are taking the medications for. 4. Move your body every day! A ten minute walk is enough to increase energy, alter your mood, and affect a positive outlook for up to two hours. Therefore, to lose weight, you must first examine how active you are. All exercise programs should begin on a gradient scale. This means the exercise program chosen must gradually become more intense as your fitness level improves. 5. Get out of pain! The primary cause of pain is physical damage to the muscles and nerves. Most musculoskeletal pain is considered mechanical in nature. With the proper techniques and the right work, pain can be reduced which helps the body to function more efficiently. Through Chiropractic care, massage therapy and exercise therapy, you can prevent injuries - which allows you to stay in top physical shape.

So, when you are making that New Year’s resolution to lose weight, review these ﬁve secrets to permanent weight loss. If each secret is followed, you will be on your way to a healthier, happier, and more productive life in 2013.

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436 Old Spanish Trail, Slidell (Behind Kenny’s Seafood)

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The weight of the box, a lifetime of dreams encased in cardboard, mirrored the heaviness she must have felt in her heart. Her head hung low, she finished her solemn march to the elevator with the ding of the elevator door. Going down was much more than just a press of a button, it was what she had to look forward to at present and for the future. As she turned and commanded the elevator to the ground floor, I swear I saw the gleam of a tear on her face as the doors slid shut. It was the first and hardest step of a glorious rebuilding process, but Rita Benson LeBlanc and I both knew there was only room for one future owner in Benson Tower and that was me. I, Corey Hogue Benson, the son of the nephew of the cousin twice removed of Tom Benson, was the right man for the job. I returned to my corner office with the next most important priority on my first day, my resolutions for our New Orleans Saints. ...Ok so I’m not the new head of the Saints organization (can you see me frowning?). But something that all Saints fans can agree on is that some changes need to be made after the season we have had to endure. What with the bounty mess, the contract of Drew Brees, and the dreadful losses, things cannot be expected to stay the same. But a new year brings a fresh slate and what better way to