First You Make a Roux
A roux is an amalgamation A beginning is required The middle must be done correctly
Winter in Louisiana
by Robert D. Bennett Winter arrives in Louisiana, when it gets damn good and ready. We can't count on cold weather for Halloween Or Thanksgiving Or Christmas or anytime specific. The only thing we can count on is The heat. Always, The heat. We occasionally get respites. Brief interludes of crisp goodness Trickling down from way up north. Rarely, winter rushes in, A blue norther dropping the temperatures Quicker than the days pass for an old man. The shorts in the morning changing to a parka in the afternoon. But only for a short while Then The heat. Always, The heat. At times suffocating, heat and humidity together combining to form a gumbo of air, breathing requiring effort, walking, a sweat drenched endeavor. From the pine woods up north To the swamps of the south Louisiana is unique. The people vary as much as the terrain. There is only one constant in Louisiana The heat Always, The heat. Robert D. Bennett is proud to be from Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he spent his childhood. His diverse work history has taken him across the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean as well as England. "If I write about a place, it's because I've visited there and either the place or the people left an impression," he says. Bennett now resides in Texas and is currently promoting his book, "The Bottle Tree," set in the Kisatchie forest region of Central