What should a family of four--two adults, one teenage boy who eats like a bird, and an infant--expect to pay for groceries in New Orleans ( Read more... )

I had an awful experience yesterday morning.  The neighbor's cat, a near-grown male kitten, was cornered by three stray dogs in the alley next to our house.  I watched helplessly as a burly black Labrador teaming with two other mutt-looking dogs cornered the kitten against the chain link fence, three feet out from the kitchen window.  I ran ( Read more... )

I was talking with a French Quarter restaurant owner this morning, and I realized that my sunny perception of New Orleans right now is learning toward the optimistic side.  Business for them is coming back, but it's feast or famine.  Before Katrina, the convention business was constant and yielded a steady stream of business.  Now they experience ( Read more... )

Two postings on here--one about memories and the other about that hotel on the hill in Chattanooga--stuck with me for several days in such a nagging way that I was finally compelled to created a username here and get this stuff written down.

First, that hotel in Chattanooga.  For many years, it was called the "King's Lodge" and had a very bright ( Read more... )