Abscesses And Absences, Racists And Races, Geuydan And Lake Charles
The Duke was emergencily hospitalized, with an abscess that could have killed him; so, today, when Louisianians went to the polls to determine who the governor would be, I drove from the homestead to Lake Charles, my first time driving my own automobile on this route, which meant that I got out and explored and got a few pictures.
Here is Gueydan.
That is the old rice mill in Gueydan, and I would loved to have seen railroad action here!
I think that Southern Pacific abandoned this line, this part of the Midland Branch, in about 1978.
Here are some scenes from the middle of this small town.
We are looking eastward on Highway 14.
There is a bank!
This reminds me of some Great-Plains towns.
This place, as so many places around here, has potential.
Ah, that’s that guy who has that troubling bumper-sticker slogan.
I think about today, as a racist off-brand Ross Perot may soon be our next governor, depending upon what voters decide today.
Sadly, anybody campaigning on racism has a good chance of winning around here.
That’s who we are.
Some time, I should go inside of this place.
Yes, I am being repetitive here.
As I was walking around Gueydan, I was thinking about an autistic thing, about how there have been times in my life in which I said something that was in agreement with or affirming or validating something that somebody said, or even validating the person’s authority, only to have the person think and react just the opposite, that I was disagreeing and-or challenging the person’s authority.
Another related thing that I was thinking was how I am generally good or at least competent at many traditionally male activities as long as they don’t have to involve navigating the traditional intermale hierarchy! In other words, I can do many traditional male activities and do them well, as long as I can do them alone, on my own. Obviously, this presents some huge limitations.
Here is this neat little food store on the southern side of town, Lougon’s, but I am including the foreground asphalt because we are looking right over the railroad right of way; so, 50 years ago, there would have been a track in the foreground of this view.
I think that these are my first pictures in Gueydan itself, as opposed to the pictures that I have taken not far west of here and the pictures that I took just east of here.
I stopped at the Sonic in Lake Arthur, a neat place, and got a bacon cheeseburger toaster. The woman who handed me the bag apologized for the fact that it took a while, saying that there was a person ahead of me with a large order. She was very sweet and nice. Her name is Izzy. She’s not the same person who took my order. Somebody wearing an LSU jersey took my order.
So, here I am now on the eastern edge of Lake Charles and I find the rice mill there.
Yes, that is a self portrait!
This seems to be a bigger and more busy mill than the Abbeville mill, but it’s not nearly as neat looking, and, also, watching action here is very difficult, unlike in Abbeville, where the mill is so accessible.
I don’t know, but I think that the old Missouri Pacific Railroad mainline into town was right here.
Here is a respectable-sized line of cars at the mill.
I hope that that is not as good as it gets around here.
Yes, here is another self portrait.
Yes, I really do see myself in old railroad-owned hopper cars!
I took the long way to the hospital. I went by the Union Pacific Railroad yard.
You can Google the story behind the names in that sign.
Here is the yard.
Yes, I, too, was not really impressed.
Here, slightly more impressive, is the yard office.
Well, that is all for the pictures today. I got to see The Duke, and he was okay. The other news is that that racist jerk Rispone managed to make it to a runoff in the governor’s race; that’s not good.
It’s embarrassing, but it’s hardly surprising, given who my neighbors are.
Why does this happen?
There are some small glimmers of hope.
That’s all.
Jim
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
James:
Leave the liberal stuff off your postings and keep it trains. Come on, man!!! but I know your not going to do it. You have been brainwashed and you just don’t know it. The democrats started the KKK and the democrats owned slaves. Lincoln freed the slaves. Pull your head out your ass before you die. Keep drinking the kool aide. The democrats are the real racists.
To: An old friend. No point in arguing facts with you, if you wanted to know them they are at your finger tips. But shame on you for reading this, and the only thing you have to say is some asinine, ridiculous guilt trip, topped off with a rude comments. Do you feel better? Big man. Do you think your comment has any value at all, to anyone? You know damn well where racists are welcomed, and where they are not.