Is this the Amazing Race?

Many of you know that I've been creating my own Amazing Race.  This past week Phil and I traveled to New Orleans for a fun vacation.  In the past all the legs I've counted as my Amazing Race have had something to do with serving in some type of ministry.  I've had to make a decision about if trips for fun count as legs of the race, and  I've decided they do (especially since I'm just making this up as I go along).  So here's a run-down on our fun little trip.

On Tuesday we spent the afternoon at Oak Alley Plantation just outside of New Orleans.  To step into such a place is quite an unsettling experience.  It was a beautiful place with lovely grounds all around.  But there was no escaping the reality of all the suffering that took place there.  This was a sugar plantation, and the work was hot, dangerous and brutal.  In peak season slaves worked 18-hour days, seven days a week.

Oak Alley Mansion

The pathway leading up to the mansion was lined with spectacular live oaks.

Several slave cabins were on exhibit.

In the evening we walked down Bourbon Street and heard a lot of live music along the way.  It was not very crowded, and I think I wouldn't have liked it at all if it had been.  But it is quite an experience.  We visited an art museum and the huge WWII museum, had coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde, walked along the Mississippi and just took in the sights and sounds of NOLA.

We had lots of good food and this
is one of the places we ate.  Here
I had shrimp and grits Napoleon.

You just see how little it would take to flood this city.

Phil with one of the museums in the background.

Andrew Jackson

On our way home we stopped in Montgomery and took in the Legacy Museum and the Peace and Justice Memorial that pays respects to all the people who have died by lynching.  It was a somber place to be on the holiday weekend, and great to walk the streets where the bus boycott that really started the whole civil rights movement took place.  

Every county in the United States that had a
lynching had one of these markers and the names
of the victims engraved on them. This one is
for Hamilton County.

Bledsoe County

Rhea County

The man behind this monument is Bryan Stevenson.  I learned about him and his work through his book, Just Mercy.  I have great respect and admiration for this man, and I highly recommend this book.

Poetry, Prose and Pie 3

I have been remiss in that I have failed to keep up with my activities here on the blog.  Back on December 29 I hosted another edition of Poetry, Prose and Pie.  Once again we had a good turnout of about fifty people.  Many guests contributed pies this time which was a welcome treat.  I need to remember in the future to have someone take pictures for me because I have only a few and none of the speakers.  It was another wonderful evening filled with art, music and beautiful words.

Ruth Burton, a friend from Pikeville, read the beginning of her book, The Benefit of Grace. It is available on Amazon if you'd like to read it.  It is a very enjoyable story.

Anthony Sullivan, a freshman at Lee University and one of my former students in Bledsoe County shared the story of learning to make biscuits with his grandmother and shared his passion for becoming a teacher.   Natalie Jenkins Kimball read portions from her wonderful short story called "The Wedding Dress."  Denis Kiely shared a memoir about his grandmother, which was sweet and poignant.  One of the friends I invited to share was not able to attend at the last minute.  Margaret Lane was gracious enough to step in and share two short stories, one about her family in Sullivan's Hollow, Mississippi, dubbed the meanest place in America by Life Magazine, and the other about how to hypnotize a chicken.  I was able to fill the last spot of the evening with some of the poetry I have written over the past year. 

In addition to the writers, Marsha Pickett displayed several of her paintings for our enjoyment. Ashley Cofield and her uncle, John Cofield, shared their talents on the violin and guitar.  These elements rounded out the evening nicely.

Some of Marsha's art on display

Ashley and John sharing a song

I can't tell you what a pleasure it was to share my poetry, and it gave me so much joy to host this event once more.  It has come to be one of the things I enjoy most in my life right now.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to make a space for art, music and literature that is locally created to blossom in our community. I can't wait to make it happen again!