Baja St. Martin

This warm weather has been great but a bit unnatural and I’m wondering what will follow?
I had some plumbing problems the other day and while the plumbers were digging here and there I sat on the steps watching. The mosquitoes were horrible. And we were all plagued by swarms of little flies – gnats, maybe? Not biting critters, but in your face. Anyway, the plumbing issue was resolved – not cheaply, but at least satisfactorily.
Stephensville Elementary 4-H students collected canned goods for needy families for the eighth year in a row. This year the club expanded to the entire school. Dress down passes and wacky hair day incentives must have helped because the total was 500 cans brought in.
Stephensville has a French pen pal program for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. They write in French to an elementary school near Orleans, France, including photos and school pictures, menus, and area information. They are currently awaiting letters from their French friends.
S.E.S. also has a Subway restaurant project which I think is really neat. The 7th and 8th grade French students have to order a sub sandwich with all the trimmings plus a drink. The ordering has to be done in French using proper French greetings with correct pronunciation. Parents furnish the edibles. What a great way to practice French!
I recently read a quote by British mystery writer P.D. James, who just died at 94. She said, “When I first read about Humpty Dumpty falling off the wall, I immediately wondered if he fell or was pushed.” What a line!
I had a surprise and very pleasant Skype chat with my dear friends, photojournalists Yva and John , who were driving through Georgia on their way home to Hurley, N.Y. Among other places they’d visited on their travels was Bisti, New Mexico. I’d never heard of it but John told me a bit and after we said goodbye, I googled Bisti Badlands and was wowed with the images. These strange structures made when some rocks eroded leaving mushroom-like remains called Hoodoos. I’ve been in New Mexico but mostly in the south – Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Pueblo. I think Bisti is in the northwest corner near Colorado (or would that be NE?) Anyway, check out the pictures of the Bisti Badlands. They’re pretty incredible.
Yva and John have a home in upstate New York but spend most of the year in their Toyota camper truck, taking pictures often on speculation, sometimes on assignments, although John said, “We don’t take assignments much anymore. We just go where we want.”
Depending on your preferences, it could be a nice life-style, sort of wandering here and there at will, although I know finances demand concessions.
Sometimes I miss the days when we lived in the Atchafalayla spillway basin on a houseboat. It was not an easy life, but always interesting and mostly fun. So many things we take for granted were major issues then. Getting potable water, washing clothes, making electricity, catching food were the hard ones. Swimming, boating, exploring in the woods, jury-rigging ways and devices to be more comfortable – these were the fun ones. Reminiscing is wonderful but I know that I’m too old to live that way again. Memories are wonderful, though.
Even though most of you are far away from Pierre Part you might be interested to know that the famous Rainbow Inn has now closed. It was built in 1938 and was renowned for its food, music, and local color. Owner and operators were getting old, the place needed major renovation, so the doors closed last week with a huge crowd of well-wishers. People from all over the country had visited the Rainbow inn at one time or another. Farewell to an icon of the south!

Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be emailed at lcooke9417@bellsouth.net.