louisiana jam, vol. 1, no. 2 - august 8, 2013

VOL. 1, NO. 2 / AUGUST 8, 2013

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AUGUST 8, 2013 Volume 1 • Issue 2

715 Kirby St.Lake Charles, LA 70601Phone: 337-436-7800Fax: 337-990-0262www.louisianajam.com

PUBLISHERPhil de [email protected]

EXECUTIVE EDITORLauren de [email protected]

GENERAL MANAGERMonica [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORS

ADVERTISINGTRAFFIC MANAGERSenaida Ortiz

SALES ASSOCIATESMitsi Brown • Michele Clack • Faye [email protected]

GRAPHICSART/PRODUCTION DIRECTORBurn Rourk

ART ASSISTANTSarah Bercier

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERDanley Romero

BUSINESSOFFICE MANAGERJeanie Taggart

Legal DisclaimerThe views expressed by Louisiana Jam columnists are their own and do not nec-essarily reflect the position of Louisiana Jam, its editors or staff.Louisiana Jam is solely owned, published by Jambalaya Media, LLC, 715 KirbyStreet, Lake Charles Louisiana 70601. Phone (337) 436-7800. Whilst every effortwas made to ensure the information in this magazine was correct at the time ofgoing to press, the publishers cannot accept legal responsibility for any errors oromissions, nor can they accept responsibility of the standing of advertisers norby the editorial contributions. Louisiana Jam cannot be held responsible for thereturn of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations, even if they aresent to us accompanied by a self-addressed envelope. The views expressed do notnecessarily reflect those of the publisher.

Copyright 2013 Louisiana Jam all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or inpart without prior written permission is prohibited.

George ClineAngie Kay DilmoreJulie FayJordan GribbleJen Kober

Mike McHughRoger MillerMary Louise RuehrBrandon ShoumakerKarla Tullos

August 8, 2013 • Volume 1 • Issue 2

On Cover: Women and Children’s Healthy Woman

Board Members

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7

20

13

25

6

18

COVER STORY10 Ladies’ Night Out: Third Anniversaryof Women andChildren’s HealthyWoman Program

REGULARS

4 Adoption Corner5 The Dang Yankee5 Tips from Tip6 Jen Kober’s Big Fat

Food Column8 The Sports Report9 Fish Tales

THE SPICE OF SWLA

14 Restaurant Guide16 Events Guide18 Red Hot Books19 Arts & Culture

Events Guide20 Family Fun Night

at the Movies26 Society Spice

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

4 The Red Beret Art Studio21 Banners Cultural

Season Preview23 Acting Up!24 Local Music Guide25 The Streetside Jazz Band27 Funbolaya

CONTENTS

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22

AUGUST 8, 2013 PAGE 3Volume 1 • Issue 2

Lauren de Albuquerque

Phil and I adopted twokittens this summer. Iknow; you’re going to saythat we needed them likewe needed a hole in thehead. But some of ourspecial ones passed on re-cently, and we had someroom to save a few moresouls. And there’s nothingmore fun than a kitten. Ortwo. Actually, it should al-ways be two. A kittenneeds another kitten tocuddle and wrestle with.

We acquired a brotherand a sister from our artdirector, Burn, whose cathad a litter. We put themin our bedroom to givethem a safe space to playand grow. I posted theirphotos on Facebook andmentioned that we hadn’tcome up with names yet. Iwasn’t asking for help, butI received it: Lisa Addisoncame up with the namesBarnum and Bailey. Per-fect!

From the beginning,they have lived up to theirnames: flipping and

swinging and spinningaround like contortionists.Flying over our heads inthe middle of the nightwith the greatest of ease.All they need are sparklyoutfits and a trapeze.

Bailey is tiny and femi-nine but made of steel.Out of the five in her litter,she was the first to openher eyes, the first to walk,the first to try somethingnew. She is fearless.

Barnum is a lot bigger,but he’s more timid. Hefollows behind his sister.He makes her do it first;when he sees that she’ssuccessful, then he’ll giveit a try.

At their first vet visit,Bailey let them poke andprod while she yawnedand looked around.When it was Barnum’sturn, he shook and cried.As soon as he was putback in his crate, Baileyran over to him, kissedhim and rubbed her headagainst him until hecalmed down.

I love watching thesetwo together. It’s calmingand peaceful and enter-taining all at once. Theymake me want to go homein the middle of the dayand just observe them.Better than a coffee break.It’s a kitten break. Andthey’re always up to some-thing.

There’s the litter situa-tion. The Circus Catssomehow think that theymust use the box ASSOON as I finish cleaningit. As if it’s some kind ofinvitation for them to go.No sooner am I finishedscooping then one ofthem jumps in, while theother hovers outside thebox, waiting. It never fails.

When I get in bed, Bai-ley often jumps on me andsettles on my neck. Godforbid if I try to text orread. She pushes thephone or book away withher head, and walksaround in impatient cir-cles on my chest. Then sheplops herself down again.

And repeats the routine.She’s stubborn. Some-times, I let her win. Thenher brother crawls up mylegs and settles right un-derneath his sister. And Ihave two small souls onme, sleeping peacefully.What a feeling.

Of course, the peacefulsleeping doesn’t last verylong. Somewhere it iswritten that kittens mustawaken in the middle ofthe night and scale theheights and navigate thedepths of the bedroom.Knock water and foodbowls over. Dig aroundunder the bed for Godknows what. Jump on myhead and chew my hair.Open cabinets and throwtheir contents on the floor.They’re like monkeys. Cir-

cus monkeys. Exceptthey’re not trained.

Barnum and Bailey aregrowing up fast, andpretty soon they’ll be bigenough to join the rest ofour cat family. For now,we’re keeping them closeand giving them as muchlove as they’re giving us.Do yourself a favor andadopt a homeless cat ordog today. You will be re-warded with more lovethan you’ll know what todo with.

A Note From Lauren

At Home With the Circus Cats


By Angie Kay DilmoreWhen Allison Milliron

and her husband moved toMoss Bluff in 2009, thistrained artist knew shewanted to open an art studiothat would benefit her newcommunity. Her goal was re-alized in August 2011 whenshe opened the Red BeretArt Studio.

“I really want to be ablessing to the people ofMoss Bluff,” she said. Wordof her studio is gettingaround and she has manypatrons from Lake Charles,as well.

The studio has a uniqueconcept. Milliron’s sonearned a black belt in karate,which gave Milliron an ideato motivate her students. “Isaw how much having re-wards to work towards helpsa student to focus on goals,”she said. Just as karate stu-dents earn different coloredbelts, Milliron’s art studentsbegin with a white beret andearn different colored beretsand pins for their beret.

“When a student com-pletes a course, he or she re-ceives a pin for the beret,”she explained. “After twopins are achieved, the stu-dent moves on to the next often colors.” Like the artistGauguin in Van Gogh’spainting, a red beret is theultimate goal.

While Milliron offers artclasses to youth and adults,her focus is on after-schoolclasses for kids of all ages.She also offers day classes forhome-schooled children.Classes take place on Mon-

day, Tuesday and Wednesdayafternoons. Most classes areonce a week for six weeksand focus on the art andstyle of a particular famousartist.

The fall classes begin Au-gust 26 and will feature theartwork of Laura Burch,popular for painting colorful,quirky cats. In the second fallcourse, students will studyMarc Chagall. Milliron does-n’t want to simply teach arttechniques. She also wantsher students to learn art his-tory – insight into the greatmasters and the stories be-hind their creations. She in-corporates art education intoall of her art classes.

Art to CelebrateMilliron hosts art parties

for children on the week-ends. These two-hour partiesinclude not only art, fun, andcake, but also some art edu-cation on the side.

“For instance, if it’s a tie-dye party, the students willlearn about the artists of thesixties, such as Andy Warholor Peter Max,” she said. “If it’sa duct tape party, they learnabout sculpture, three-di-mensional art, and an artistfamous in this genre.” Mostof her parties for childrenfocus on watercolors orcrafts, depending on theages.

Art as TherapyArt can be used as a form

of healing therapy in manyways. Milliron witnessed thisin one of her adult students

this summer. JonMarie Gearenhad a stroke in2008 at the ageof 44. She was asouthpaw, butthe stroke causedparalysis on herleft side. Shestruggled totrain her right hand to writeand do the other tasks herleft hand had always done.Then one day she went toRed Beret Art Studio with afriend to take a class.

“The art classes havegiven me more confidenceand helped me with my dex-terity in my right hand,”Gearen said. She had neverpainted before, but she re-cently sold the second paint-ing she created in Milliron’sclass to a fellow student fromAustralia who was visitingher daughter for the sum-mer.

Art to SocializeOn Friday evenings, Mill-

iron offers JAM Nights (JustArt-Making) for the over 21set. “This gives adults achance to just come out andpaint and express them-selves,” she said. For $30 aperson or $50 a couple, shesupplies everything you needfor a fun evening out withthe girls or a special date.

Milliron’s OriginalsMilliron began painting

at the age of ten in hergrandmother’s art studio. Sheattended Alabama School ofFine Arts in Birminghamduring high school and

earned a degree in Fine Artsfrom Auburn Universitywith an emphasis on sculp-ture. After that, she went toAsbury Theological Semi-nary and earned a Master ofDivinity degree. “I love usingart together with ministry tobless people,” she said.

Between her many artclasses and her work at MossBluff United MethodistChurch where she is a part-time children’s director (herhusband is the pastor there),it’s hard to imagine how Mil-liron has time to create artherself! Yet she intentionallycarves out niches of timeduring each week to focus onher own artwork.

Milliron specializes inportraits, murals and Chris-

tian scrolls. The scrolls are aunique trademark art formshe uses to tell Bible stories.“I enjoy doing art that minis-ters to people and touchestheir heart and soul and en-courages them to be all thatGod created them to be,”she said.

Milliron’s work and in-formation on classes can befound on her website,www.redberetartstudio.com.You can also find the RedBeret Art Studio on Face-book or call (337) 244-5483. The studio is locatedat 1435 Sam Houston JonesParkway, Suite D, in MossBluff. Classes are limited to12 students and they fill upquickly. Call soon to makeyour reservation!

Red Beret Art StudioCreativity in Moss Bluff

What a love! Thissweet boy came to uswith a (non-contagious)skin condition we are

working to clear. Weknew this would take sometime but soon discovered that

he had a conditionknown as "entropian"where eyelashes havegrown inward insteadof on the outer eye-

lid. He has had the surgeryand is doing well! His eyecondition in no way impairshis ability to play. In research-ing the breed, he seems a littlelanky to be a purebred but hesurely does have that preciousShar-Pei face! Sheldon is okaywith other dogs but would loveto be your one and only. He isgreat with cats. He is perfectlycrate-trained and ready to

move on to a new life. Beingeager to please his person, hewill do well with obediencetraining. To get more informa-tion, call 478-7294 or [email protected] and Shel-don's foster will be delightedto tell you all about him! Ifyou are a Shar-Pei lover andwould care to foster Sheldonuntil his forever person ar-rives, let us know!


Sometimes I wonderhow married couples areable to communicate. I saythis because depending onwhether you are the wife orthe husband, words canhave completely differentmeanings. For instance, toa man, the word “savings”means putting a few hun-dred dollars away in a bankaccount. To a woman,however, “savings” meansspending the same amountof money on an outfit that’sbeen marked down 20 per-cent.

Nowhere is the languagebarrier between husbands

and wives vaster than whenit comes to the subject oftime. It’s that way in mymarriage, at least. For thefirst several years, when-ever we’d prepare to go outfor an evening, I could notfigure out exactly when shewould be ready to leavebased on the words sheused. “It won’t take melong,” she would often say.I failed to realize that shewas using the word “long”in a biblical sense, as in the969-year life span ofMethuselah. He reportedlydied several days before theGreat Flood, eventually

running out of patiencewaiting for his wife to pickout something to wear onthe Ark.

I have since learned howto properly gauge my wife’sstatements so that I can in-terpret them with somesemblance of accuracy. Inow know that when shesays, “It won’t take melong,” it actually means thatI have time to catch an en-tire baseball game on TV,including extra innings if itgoes to that.

Likewise, “I’m almostready,” means that I haveample opportunity to give

the truck a wax job andvacuum the interior beforewe hit the highway.

“I’ll be ready in fiveminutes,” is similar in du-ration to “I’m almostready,” the difference beingthat the former phrase ismore definitive. What youmust understand, however,is that these five minutesdo not include the time-outs. Marriage is muchlike a basketball game inthis way. And wives willtypically save their time-outs until just before it’stime to go somewhere,making those last few min-utes just like the ones in agame on TV that goesdown the wire, where thereare more beer and truckcommercials than actionon the court.

When she says, “I’mwalking out the door,” itmeans that she is headingin the general direction ofthe door, with detours tofind her keys and cellphone, and sometimes atrip back into the bedroomto swap out her earrings

because they clash with thecolor of her eye shadow.

By the time we are fi-nally in the car, I generallyhave, at best, about tenminutes to make it on timeto our destination, whichwould be at least a half-hour’s drive in decent traf-fic. Of course, I am fullyexpected to make this timeup along the way—some-thing Jimmy Johnsonwould have trouble doing.This is despite the fact thatwe also have to drop off thedry cleaning and pick up adessert at the supermarket.Lord help me if I also needto get gas. Even Jimmy’s pitcrew wouldn’t be able tobail me out on that one.

I believe this is why,when you schedule a partyto start at, say, 8 PM, peo-ple don’t start arriving untilat least 8:30.

And I don’t know aboutyou, but now that we’reinto hurricane season, I tryto get my wife started mov-ing for a possible evacua-tion right around when astorm approaches Cuba.

Ready... Or Not

TRAFFIC LIGHT WOESThere can be many

frustrations while drivingabout town, some defi-nitely more bothersomethan others. On our dailyroutes, we become accus-tomed to the patterns oftraffic and the signal lightswe encounter. In addition,the time of day will dictatea great deal of change inthe patterns and flow of

traffic. When thosepatterns becomedisrupted, thechange may be-come a distrac-

tion (a popularterm in

drivingcirclesthese

days). Some traf-

fic lights havesensors that cantrigger different se-quencing of thesignals. As we be-

come familiar with howthe lights function underdiffering traffic flows,every once in a while, thepowers-that-be makechanges in the way that acertain signal light re-sponds. They sometimesre-sequence the pattern ofthe light entirely. Often,there appears to be norhyme or reason to thesechanges.

I offer the intersectionof Prien Lake Road withSale Road as an example.The southbound PrienLake Road traffic has asignal with a left turn lightto eastbound Sale Road.The signal to make thisturn was previously acti-vated by a vehicle enteringinto the turning lane. If novehicle was there, the leftturn signal did not display.It now activates whetheror not there is a vehicle inthe turn lane, therebykeeping the northboundtraffic sitting idly to waitfor no traffic to turn be-fore getting the green lightto proceed.

The former problemintersection at Lake Streetand Sale seems to havevery efficient traffic lightsensors and appears to bewell adjusted. Many of ourlocal traffic lights could beturned into flashing yel-low and red signals in the

low-traffic-volume, late-evening hours. There areareas of town where thetraffic flow has decreasedover time, yet still havethe signals controllingthem as if they were mainstreets during rush hour.

SUPERMARKETROUNDUP

The response from theFrozen Dog Treats thatwas recently featuredmade me think of check-ing out some pricing ofpet food items for thosemost important familymembers. As usual, I willsurvey supermarkets, real-izing that there are othersources of these productsthat many of you patron-ize. The prices were ob-tained on Wednesday, July31, and reflect the postedprice on the shelf wherethe product was placed forsale. The stores for thissurvey were: Albertsons,

Ryan Street; Market Bas-ket, Lake Street; Kroger,McNeese Street and Wal-mart, Nelson Road.

Kibbles ‘n Bits DogFood, Original, 16-pound bag: Albertsons,$13.99; Market Basket,$10.59; Kroger, $11.98;Walmart, $11.98.Milk Bone Dog Treats,Original, 24-ounce box:Albertsons, $3.49; Mar-ket Basket, $4.27;Kroger, $4.19; Walmart,$2.88.Meow Mix Cat food,Original, 3.15-poundbag: Albertsons, $5.99;Market Basket, $ 5.29;Kroger, $4.24; Walmart,$4.24.Whiskas TemptationsCat Treats, various fla-vors, 3-ounce package:Albertsons, $2.29; Mar-ket Basket, $1.99;Kroger, $2.99; Walmart,$1.50.


Last week's column wasa droolingly delicious raveabout one of the great NewOrleans Steakhouses, Mr.John's. Immediately aftereating that meal, I wasback in my hotel room atInternational House (a fan-tastic boutique hotel lo-cated at 221 Camp St.)frantically typing my arti-cle for The Jam. I thought Ihad just had the best mealof my life. Little did Iknow that an even bettermeal awaited me on nightnumber two in The BigEasy

Our family weekend inNew Orleans was inspired,in part, by my grand-mother's upcoming 88thbirthday. My mom's momspent most of her life inNew Orleans, where sheowned several couturedress shops. She has livedwith my parents here in

Lake Charles for over 20years, but I can tell shemisses the city.

Like most grannies, sheloves to tell stories of herlife, and no matter howmany times I have heardthem, I can't get enough ofthe rich details she alwaysspeaks of when she talksaboutNew Or-leans: theheat, thecrowdedstreets,the mas-sive un-endingparades,dressingeveryonefrom dragqueens toElvis. Mygrandma might not re-member what she had fordinner last night, but she

can describeevery beadon a MardiGras gown she designedfor the Queen of Baratariain 1968. So with her birth-day approaching, it seemedonly fitting that we bringthe old lady along as wemade plans to explore New

Orleans asonly theKoberscould.

Saturdaymorningwe jumpedout of bedand metthe wholefamily inthe lobbyso we couldcaravanover to

Cafe Du Monde and getmy little niece her firstbeignet. I love Cafe Du

Monde. Those hot fluffybeignets covered in amountain of powderedsugar and chased downwith an ice cold chocolatemilk out of the glass that Isip through a bendy straw.Delicious.

After walking aroundthe French Market for a bit(and running into severalLake Charles folks) weheaded to lunch at Bour-bon House on Bourbon &Iberville. We had originallywanted to go to Deanie'sbut the wait was over 90minutes, so we walkeddown to Bourbon Houseand grabbed up a table for10 and a half. I had a killercrab finger appetizer,smothered in a lemon but-ter garlic sauce and chilled.They were so refreshing

and so meaty! I have anaffinity for shrimp poboysthat is unparalleled. Sowhen there's a shrimppoboy to be had, you canbet it's what I'm ordering -and this one was excep-tional! TONS of perfectlygolden fried shrimp on aflaky French baguetteslathered with ice-cold tar-tar sauce. When the hotshrimp hits that cold tartarthe magic in my mouth ismagnificent. A victory forshrimp poboy loverseverywhere!

After that, it was backto International House fora nap and a Law & Ordermarathon before our bigbirthday dinner withgrandma that night atRoot. My girlfriend Susan

Back to My Roots


knows one of the sous chefat Root, and she has beentrying to get us there tocheck it out for some time.So I Googled it, to makesure it was something wewould all eat. Rootsounded like it might besome weird vegan raw pulpthat my parents wouldnever enjoy. The websitedescribes it as "modernAmerican cuisine rootedin traditional flavors andtechniques.” So, I made areservation for 10.5 peopleand we headed out to whatwould be the most fasci-nating unique yummy din-ing experience ever.

Located at 200 JuliaStreet in the heart of theNew Orleans warehousedistrict, Root boasts an in-credible menu full of fare Ihad never tried, and muchof which I had to askabout. The servers wereincredibly knowledgeableand explained each dishwith such delicious detailthat we all ordered some-thing different just so wecould taste everything.This was not just a meal, itwas a feast fit for a king.

Everything we orderedwas fantastic, but my per-sonal recommendationsare these:

Menage a FoieBy now you have gath-

ered I am a lover of foiegras, and this special chef 'spreparation was without adoubt the most off-the-hook foie EVER. As thetitle suggests, it is foie pre-pared three ways, but oh,

the ways are whacky! Firstwas a frozen square of foiethat had been rolled in wa-termelon pop rocks andwrapped in foie gras fla-vored cotton candy servedon a lollipop stick. Thesecond foie was a terrine offoie and wild mushrooms,and the final preparationwas foie gras dippin' dots(yes, that says dippin'dots). It was actually tinyfrozen beads of foie grasserved with a warm blue-berry compote on top.SUPER DELICIOUS andso original! It is rare thatfood surprises me, butthat's just what Root did.

Root VegetableSalad

Heirloom car-rots, charred fen-nel, vegetable ashpuree, pickledcelery root,smoked rutabagapuree, lemon ver-bena thyme vinai-grette. I don'tknow how all thisveggie crap tastesso good, but that

may have been the bestsalad known to man.

Korean Short RibClay Pot

Farro fried rice, Chi-nese sausage, charred scal-lions, “6-Minute Egg, andabout 13 different kinds ofcrazy tiny mushrooms.Simply divine.

It's a pricey place, but Ipromise it is worth everypenny. With each bite yourealize you never want toeat regular food again.Viva New Orleans!

After eating our waythrough the city, we finallygot home and askedgrandma what she thoughtof New Orleans now. "Toomany people with tattoosnow. They all look mean.I'm glad to be home. Butthe food was really good." Icouldn't have said it bettermyself.

Happy Birthday,Granny.

A culinary creation from Root

Joe Racca, a visual artsmajor at McNeese State Uni-versity, won a Student SilverAddy award at the recentAmerican Advertising Fed-eration’s national confer-ence. This is McNeese’s firstnational student AddyAward.

Racca, a junior from Sul-phur, received his silverAddy for his color photo-graph titled “Alley Cat.” Hisaward-winning photo fea-tures his friend Barret Istretaken in a downtown LakeCharles location with juststudio lights and a batterypack, using a slow shutterspeed.

Awards for advertisingcreative excellence for bothprofessionals and studentswere presented at the con-ference in Phoenix thatRacca attended. Entries werejudged based on creativity,originality and creativestrategy and the juryawarded 19 Student GoldADDY Awards and 39 Stu-dent Silver ADDY Awards.

The AAF competitionincludes three rigorous lev-els of judging. Entries arefirst judged at the local AAFlevel, with winners then ad-vancing to one of 15 districtcompetitions. District win-ners then advance to the na-tional finals.

At the local level, Raccawon three gold Addys – in-cluding one for “Alley Cat” -at the competition spon-sored by the Lake Charleschapter of the AAF, andthose entries advanced tothe 10th District competi-tion in Tulsa, Okla. There,he received a gold Addy for“Alley Cat,” which qualified

him for nationals,and two bronzeAddys for his otherentries.

Another McNeesevisual arts student,Alan Myers, ofGrand Lake, won aBronze Addy in dis-trict competition forhis “Pelican Pete”entry. This entry wona silver Addy forMyers at the locallevel, which qualifiedhim for district competition.

Racca said his awards atall levels were a pleasant sur-prise. “This was my firsttime to enter the studentAddy awards competition,”he said. “My professors en-couraged me to submitsome of my work and I’mglad they did.”

Racca remembers alwaysbeing interested in photog-raphy and he took photogra-phy classes at Sulphur HighSchool. When he enteredMcNeese, Racca took a cou-ple of photography classesbecause of his interest.

“When I received posi-tive feedback from my pro-

fessors, I began to realizethat I could have a career inthis medium,” he said. So, heswitched his major to visualarts with a concentration inphotography.

"We are very excited andproud of Joe Racca for ac-cepting the challenge, enter-ing the competition andultimately winning a na-tional Addy award,” saidMary Kaye Eason, facultyadviser to the AAF studentchapter at McNeese and uni-versity intern coordinator inthe Office of Career Serv-ices. “His work brings na-tional attention to thequality of the McNeese vi-sual arts program.”

Joe Racca

McNeese Student WinsStudent Silver Addy

“Alley Cat” by Joe Racca


Cecil Collins is finally, atlong last, a free man.

Collins was released backto his home in Florida earlierthis month when a BatonRouge judge refused to re-voke his probation and al-lowed him to leave the stateof Louisiana with his wife.

Of course, there are cer-tain conditions he must ad-here to and he is only freewhile awaiting a nominal ap-peal from the state, but thechances he’ll end up back inprison are slim consideringhow much time he’s servedalready and that he seems tohave turned his life around.

Collins served moreprison time (13 ½ years)than former St. Louis Ramsdefensive end Leonard Little,who killed a woman whiledriving drunk and then gotcaught driving drunk sixyears later.

He’s free from prison,

both the physical place andfrom the character known as“The Diesel.” Collins says hekilled “The Diesel” while inprison; maybe it was withthe splintered chicken bonethat nearly took his life.

Sadly, Collins will neverbe free, however hard hetries, of his own legend. Hisrise to superstardom and hisfall to convict only serve toexaggerate the story of “TheDiesel” even further.

Collins is almost like thebogeyman, a story one tellsyoung, promising but cockyfootball players, a warningabout getting wrapped up inyour own hype and doingstupid things.

Even more 15 years later,football fans throughout thestate lament what mighthave been had Cecil not lis-tened to “The Diesel,” hadCecil not bought into hisown greatness.

Earlier this year,former Alexandria sports-

writer John Marcase com-pared Collins to BarrySanders. On an LSU fanforum, one poster lamentedthat Collins could have beenLSU’s version of HerschelWalker or Bo Jackson, bothHeisman winners.

Just about everyone be-lieved Cecil could have beenthe first pick in the NFLDraft.

Only thing was, “TheDiesel” got in the way. In aNovember 2012 jailhouse in-terview, Collins told theSouth Florida Sun Sentinel,“I think 'The Diesel' is theguy that got me in trouble.‘The Diesel’ ran in clubs, ranwith the wrong people. ‘TheDiesel’ didn't know how tohandle all the money orcelebrity coming in.”

“The Diesel” liked tobreak into women’s apart-ments, too. It’s what got himsent away for so long henever learned to use email.

And it’s almost all anyonewho never saw him play re-members about the man.

Others though, remem-ber what could have beenthe greatest talent in footballhistory.

After, rather portentously,sitting out the entirety of hisfirst season and the follow-ing season opener againstTexas-El Paso for violatingteam rules, Cecil ran overMississippi State for 172yards on national television.

This was the game wherehe famously helped put theBulldogs away with hisfourth-quarter “Sock Run.”On second down-and-7,Cecil took a pitch from quar-terback Herb Tyler at hisown 32-yard line and cut upthe left side off-tackle. How-ever Cecil, somewhere abouthis own 40-yard line, lost hisleft shoe. It didn’t matter.Cecil turned up field and ac-celerated through the Bull-dogs line, thanks in part to aflying block by fullbackRobert Tyler, outran freesafety Eric Daniel, sock flap-ping white against the greenfield, and would have scoredhad it not been for the excel-lent play of cornerback IzellMcGill to bump Cecil out ofbounds at the 2.

The next week, in his firsthome game in Baton Rouge,Cecil gave what was likelyhis most legendary perform-ance on a football field,rushing for 232 yards andtwo touchdowns against No.12 Auburn. It was one of thegreatest individual perform-ances in LSU history, onethat probably still givesAuburn safety MartaviusHouston nightmares to thisday.

Houston spent the entiregame with Cecil running athim full speed. After spend-ing the first half content toblow past Houston with purespeed, Cecil, on his secondcarry of the third quarter,dealt Houston one of themost epic truckings in his-tory, lowering his shoulderand hammering Houstonthree yards backward ontohis keister.

At times, it seemed like

Cecil was actively seeking todeliver punishment. On hissecond touchdown carry,which briefly put LSU aheadin the fourth quarter, Cecilgot into the secondary onlyto zig to the right and delivera crushing blow to corner-back Antwoine Nolan beforecutting back to his left,zooming past Houston in theprocess, and on into the endzone. Cecil broke his leg twogames later, but his legacywas already cemented inLSU lore.

And then everything fellapart. He was expelled fromLSU, expelled from McNeeseState, drafted by the MiamiDolphins and then arrestedfor a final time.

“The Diesel” had broughtCollins more trouble than hehad bargained for. But Ihope Cecil is right. That hedid kill “The Diesel” in hisprison cell. That he ischanged and is a family man,a good and decent guy. Be-cause, I believe he’s servedhis time, not only in prisonbut also in the mind of thepublic. I think Cecil deservesto fade away into history, tobecome a Regular Joe andraise his family in peace.

He had a great footballcareer, one that could havebeen the greatest, but thatcareer helped turn him into“The Diesel,” the monster onand off the field. Hopefully,away from all of the memo-ries, good and bad, out in theFlorida suburbs, Cecil canjust be Cecil and leave theghost of “The Diesel” behindfor good.

Brandon Shoumaker is agraduate of McNeese StateUniversity and has coveredsports for more than adecade for various publica-tions. Coaches or parentswith story tips or commentsmay contact Brandon [email protected] orsend him a message on Twit-ter (@bshoumaker).

Finally Free


Deliverance is a novelby James Dickey. It is alsoa classic 1972 actionmovie shot on the Chat-tooga River starring BurtReynolds, Jon Voight,Ned Beatty, and RonnieCox. The book is great.The movie a classic. ABundick Creek breamfishing float trip past theWhiskey Chitto into theCalcasieu is sublime sinceit is without the banjosoundtrack or “squealin’like a pig.”

During the springbream spawning seasonI’ve often grabbed acanoe, pirogue, or bateauand headed up Highway165 to Kinder, turned lefton Hwy. 190 and parkedmy truck back off fromthe bridge where the roadcrosses the CalcasieuRiver. I made sure to parkfar enough off the roadthat I wasn’t ticketed andthe steering wheel se-curely locked up with TheClub as my vehicle wouldhave to be there at leastone night. My pick-upwould serve as the “pick-up” vehicle for myselfand the other two boatsthat always came with me.

This float trip is one ofthose DO NOT AT-TEMPT by yourself trips.The creeks and the riverare not the Guadalupe or

the Chattooga Rivers, butI have yet to manage to dothe entire trek and not flipmy boat. This means youneed to tie down every-thing in your boat.

Here’s your checklist:three paddles, two lifevests, ice chest (bungeecord sealed), TP, ice,snack food and beveragesof choice, bottledWATER, change ofclothes (inclusive of longsleeve shirt and blue jeansand light jacket), rods andreels, tackle boxes, cricketbaskets, TP, sunscreen,lighter fluid, boat cush-ions, fishing hat, blackiron skillet, seasoning, TP,butter, utensils, tacklebox, filet knife, DeepWoods Off, first aid kit,TP, a spatula, two lighters,and lastly a cell phone. It’sto be stored in the offmode, in a waterproofcontainer and for EMER-GENCY use only. Yea, it’sa long list but I compliedthat list the hard way. Ohyeah, did I list TP?

From where you parkthe pick-up vehicles, youcontinue west on US 190,turn north on La. 368 andgo until you see theNichols Landing-Bundick’s Dam sign.Here, you load up yourcricket cages and thenlaunch below the dam.

This year, they opened thedam to drawdown onMay 15 and you try tomake your trip accord-ingly. Wildlife and Fish-eries are helpful as towater conditions, etc.

From here on it’s puresport. At the first bend,there is an old log jam.Use the paddle to checkthe depth, attach yourcork accordingly and thencast back just short of thebrush. Now the fun be-gins. Usually we caught asmany fish (white perch,sun perch, blue gill, orbass) as we needed forsupper. Other times wefished our way downcareful to hit the brushpiles and any stream thatflowed into the creek asoften a bale of hay hadmysteriously appearedthere. You’ll pick up a fewbass as you go along also.

Once past the firstfishing spot, you’ll noticea natural quiet. There areindeed noises: birdsongs,the creek’s ripple, or joyfulyelps if one of your pod-nas has a fish on orturned over his canoe.Singing is allowed, but itis preferable that you cancarry a tune. A game war-den once instructed me toplease stop singing as Iwas “scaring the squir-rels.” The guys in green

are also picky about fish-ing licenses IN YOURPOSSESSION.

Do not write obscenenotes in the pristinewhite beaches as thefolks in the next canoemay not be your podnas.It is, however, allowableto leave cold beveragespacked in the sand with asign identifying themscrawled in the sand. Ad-ditionally, unless youwish a trip to the ER thattakes hours to complete,avoid swinging out overthe creek on a rope andletting go unless you aresure what is underneath.Clothing optional diving

or swimming is alsofrowned upon, usually bythe viewer or the occa-sional stranger.

Toward the end of thefirst day, you should beabout one or two hours ofcanoeing from WhiskeyChitto Creek. Make camphigh above the creek on

the bank as it is absolutelyamazing how quickly apassing front or thunder-storm can flood yoursand bar camp. Gatherenough firewood for thewhole night, build a firepit and place your sleep-ing sites downwind of thesmoke from the fire.Hanging Deep Woods Offrepellant strips fromstring also helps.

The rest of your Deliv-erance Trek is pretty muchthe touristy stuff of innertubes, canoes, and frolick-ers of sorts. Take note thatthe temperature differen-tial between the creek andthe sun-blessed paddlersis significant. But the restof your deliverance is alark and you’ll be out ofthe water and headedhome by sundown. Thereare tales behind all my ad-monitions and your sup-ply list but I’m sure youget it. If you don’t, youwill. Chuckle.

Deliverance: Bundick’s Creek Style


Ladies, mark your cal-endars to attend a special“Ladies’ Night Out.”Women and Children’sHospital (WCH) will cele-brate the third anniversaryof their Healthy WomanProgram on Thursday,September 5. The eventwill be from 4-8 p.m. atL’Auberge Casino Resort.Motivational speaker andformer contestant onNBC’s Biggest Loser, AbbyRike, will share her inspir-ing story of how she over-came personal tragedy tofind hope and a purpose-filled life.

“The anniversary cele-bration is our biggestHealthy Woman event ofthe year,” says AnnetteGarber, Director of Mar-keting at WCH. “It’s a spe-cial evening for ourmembers, their friendsand area women whoenjoy being entertainedand totally inspired.” Theevent consists of awomen’s health expo from4-6 p.m., where attendeescan browse the booths forhealth-related resourcesand information while en-joying hors d’oeuvres. At6:30 p.m., dinner will beserved, followed by theprogram featuring AbbyRike.

Each attendee will havethe chance to win a varietyof door prizes donated byevent sponsors. Thoughonly in its third year, thisevent draws a large crowd.Last year, 410 women at-tended, and this yearthey’re expecting over 500attendees. Tickets are $25.

Sponsorship andpartnership op-portunities areavailable for busi-nesses that wouldlike to participatewith a booth at theevent, or sponsor atable of eight.

Current HealthyWoman partners

include:•Nissan of Lake Charles – TITLE Partner•L’Auberge Casino

Resort•AdSource•The Pediatric Center•Louisiana Jam•Fox 29 CW•Treasures of Marilyn’s•Thrive Magazine•Knight Media•Southwest Louisiana

Credit Union•Lake City Printing•Holiday Travel•Louisiana Chiropractic

& Wellness Center

•Mary Beth Conner Photography

•Curves of Lake Charles•Pink Papaya•International Dance Company

•Primerica•Lee J. Monlezun, M.D.

The evening’s speaker,Abby Rike, hails from Ma-bank, TX. In 2006, Abbylost the life she knew andloved when she was facedwith losing her belovedhusband, 5 ½ year olddaughter and 2 ½ week old

son in a fatal car crash.Devastated and numb, sheshut down. For nearlythree years she walkedthrough life like a ghost,and as she descended, sodid her health.

Then in May of 2009,Abby embarked on a verypublic journey of healingand wellness when shewent on NBC’s hit realityseries “The Biggest Loser.”Abby began her journeyon the show weighing in at247 pounds and by theDecember finale, had lost100 pounds! Abby feelsblessed to share her expe-rience with others first-hand. She continues herhealthy lifestyle and vigorfor life and is a living ex-ample that even in yourdarkest hour, there is al-ways hope.

In addition to herspeaking career, Abby has

Nissan of Lake Charles, a Healthy Woman Title Partner hosting a seminar entitled Car Care Tips. L to R: Members of the 2011 Healthy Woman Advisory Council; Annette Garber, Becky Dent, Faye Drake, Nadia Nazeer,

John Stelly-owner of Nissan of Lake Charles, Debbie Boudreaux, Patricia Philmon, Olive Bonin and Lisa Bateman

Photo: Romero & Romero Photography


published a book that willbe for sale at the Septem-ber 5th Anniversary enti-tled Working It Out, AJourney of Love, Loss andHope.

Sponsoredby WCH,HealthyWoman is aunique pro-gram designedfor women. Itoffers educa-tional semi-nars andevents focusedon health, rela-tionships andlifestyle issuesimportant totoday’s busywomen.Healthy Woman empow-ers women with theknowledge and confidenceto make informed health-care and well-being deci-sions for themselves andtheir loved ones. There isno cost to join and the bi-monthly seminars are of-fered free of charge.

“Healthy Woman hasgrown to nearly 2,800members since welaunched the program in2010,” says Bryan S. Bate-

man, CEO at WCH. “Withthis level of engagement,there is a clear need forthis type of program and Iam proud that Women &Children’s Hospital is ableto provide this educationalresource to area women.”

An 18-member advi-sory council is responsible

for organizingand promotingeach event.Led by Garberand HealthyWoman Advi-sor Lisa Guer-rero, councilmembers in-clude: BeckyDent, WCH;Beth Dawdy,Treasures ofMarilyn’s;Betsy Granger,PrudentialElite Realtors;Cheri Gaston,Gaston Finan-

cial Consulting; ChristaComeaux, Lakeside Bank;Christy Moore, SouthwestLouisiana Credit Union;Debbie Holt, Southern

ChoiceProperties;Eva Brous-sard, WCH;Faye Drake,TheLouisianaJam; JodyBarrilleaux,Hixson Fu-neral Home;Kerri Krob,Lake CityPrinting;KimberlyFinger,CommunityVolunteer;

Kristi Morris, Grifols;Kristin DiVito, L’AubergeCasino Re-sort; LisaBateman,WCH; Patri-cia Philmon,MerrillLynch; andShantee

Senior CircleOne of WCH’s most popular programs is Senior Circle. De-

signed for men and women ages 50 and up, this program strives tomeet the needs of active area seniors. Nearly 700 seniors havejoined this program since its inception in 2010. For an annualmembership fee of $15 per person or $27 a couple, this programkeeps members active and occupied through educational, wellnessand social activities.

For more information about Senior Circle, call (337) 475-4002or visit www.women-childrens.com and click the Senior Circle tabto download their monthly calendars and newsletters.

Care for the Entire FamilyOver the last decade, Women & Children’s

Hospital has truly increased their variety ofhealthcare services. Obstetrics and gynecol-ogy still comprises a large component oftheir patient base, but they offer many otherservices.●Accredited Bariatric Surgical Weight

Loss Program ●Cardiology Services ●Diagnostic Imaging●24-Hour Emergency Services ●Adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU)●Labor & Delivery Services●Level III Neonatal ICU (NICU) ●Outpatient & Inpatient Medical

and Surgical Services●Pediatrics●Rehabilitation Services ●Surgicare of Lake Charles (Affiliation)

Gotte, Thrive Magazine. Healthy Woman mem-

bers receive a monthly e-newsletter that includeshealth and wellness tipsand notification of upcom-ing events. The HealthyWoman website offers easynutritious recipes, cookingvideos and a HealthTracker for keeping per-sonal health records handyand organized. There’s alsoan online library with linksto dozens of health re-sources and links to cur-rent Healthy Womanpartners.

For more informationabout Healthy Woman,sponsorship or to registerfor the Anniversary event,visit www.women-chil-drens.com/healthywomanor call Lisa Guerrero at(337) 475-4064.

Having a great time at the 2012 Healthy Woman Anniversary. Seated L to R: Rosie Meaux, GingerKarcher, Angel Mefford, Carlyn Rider. L to R: Charlotte Rewerts, Christy Fontenot, Melissa Nunez

With a Derby theme of Heels Hats and Horses, this year’s spring event was agreat success (Members of the 2013 Healthy Woman Advisory Council:

L to R Back Row; Eva Broussard, Patricia Philmon, Betsy Granger, Becky Dent,Debbie Holt, Kristi Morris, Kim Finger, Lisa Bateman, Jody Barrilleaux.

L to R Front Row; Christa Comeaux, Annette Garber, Lisa Guerrero, Christy Moore


American/FamilyCracker Barrel249 S. Cities Service Hwy.

Sulphur337-626-9500

O’Charley’s1780 W. Prien

Lake Rd.Lake Charles337-478-9927

Ryan’sFamily Restaurant4501 Ryan St., Lake Charles, LA337-477-2707

AsianAsia at L’Auberge777 Avenue L’Auberge,Lake Charles337-395-7777

Osaka JapaneseSteakhouse3035 Gertsner MemorialDrive, Lake Charles337-990-5478

Kyoto JapaneseSteakhouse2610 Dillard LoopLake Charles337-478-2888

Fuji JapaneseSteakhouse3241 E. Prien Lake Rd.Lake Charles337-480-3788

MiyakoJapanese Restaurant915 E. Prien Lake Rd.,Lake Charles337-478-1600

Peking Garden2433 Broad St., Lake Charles337-436-3597

Pho Tien4415 Nelson RoadLake Charles337-477-8557

China Taste1415 Beglis Pkwy.

Sulphur337-527-5985

Yank Sing4626 Nelson Rd.Lake Charles337-477-9004

Bakery & DessertsCypi’s Cake Box520 McNeese St., Lake Charles337-478-0269

Pronia’s3101 Kirkman St., Lake Charles337-478-0785

Sweets and Treats411 Ryan, St., Lake Charles337-437-3913

BarbecueBBQ West2618 Derek Dr., LakeCharles337-564-5000

Dan’s BBQ Express2635 Country Club Rd.Lake Charles337-478-5858

Famous Foods1475 Gerstner MemorialDr., Lake Charles337-439-7000

BreakfastLe Peep Café3800 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-240-8497

Pitt Grill606 W. Prien Lake Rd.Lake Charles337-564-6724

Pitt Grill2600 Ruth St., Sulphur337-527-0648

Waffle House2488 S. Cities ServiceHwy., Sulphur337-626-8111

BurgersCotton’s FamousHamburgers

2001 Oak Park Blvd.Lake Charles337-477-9759

Five GuysBurgers & Fries2950 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-721-1903

Novrozsky’s Hamburgers2706 Ruth St., Sulphur337-527-0041

Cajun& SouthernBoudin King906 West Division St.Jennings337-824-6593

Hollier’s Cajun Kitchen1709 Ruth St., Sulphur337-527-0062

Rabideaux’sSausage Kitchen105 US 165, Iowa337-582-3184

Southern Spice3901 Ryan St. Lake Charles337-474-6065

Walker’sCajun Dining603 Holiday Dr.Jennings337-616-0766

Italian121 Artisan Bistro121 DeBakey Dr.Lake Charles337-310-7499

Joe’s Pizza and Pasta1601 Ruth St., Sulphur337-528-2560

Romano’s731 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-491-1847

MexicanAgave Tamale521 Alamo St.Lake Charles337-433-4192

Jag’s BistroNew Location,

Same Fabulous Food!

Jag’s Bistro has been alocal favorite since it firstopened in Lake Charles. ChefKeith Jagneaux and his culi-nary team of Joshua Attaway,Chris Landry and RebeccaLyons serve up delicious bar-beque, burgers and seafood—and who doesn’t love thedaily buffet?

Now you can enjoy Jag’swonderful food at their newlocation—right on the bayou!There’s nothing better thanhaving a meal overlooking thewater, is there? Whether it’sgrilled or fried catfish, ashrimp poboy, or homemademeatloaf, they do it right. Andyou’ll come back for more!

Jag’s Bistro1103 W. Prien Lake Rd.Lake Charles(337) 564-6785

HoursMon - Fri: 11 am - 10 pmSat: 11 am - 11 pmSun: 11 am - 8 pm

Take out and catering available, too!


Agave Tamale1614 Sampson St.Westlake337-429-2987

El Tapatio2624 GerstnerMemorial Dr.Lake Charles

337-475-9022

El Tapatio Dos808 Sampson St.Westlake337-721-7685

Rosita’s2401 Napoleon St.Sulphur337-533-9077

Casa Manana2510 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-433-4112

CancunMexican Restaurant4001 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-477-6802

La Rumba MexicanGrill & Cantina1804 Ruth St.Sulphur337-287-4846

Coyote BluesFresh Mexican Grill3624 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-502-5131

PizzaCici’s Pizza3533 Ryan St. Lake Charles337-562-2223

Gatti’s Pizza1811 Ruth St.Sulphur337-527-0318

Gatti’s Pizza3522 Ryan St., Lake Charles337-474-6225

Papa John’s Pizza1415 Beglis Pkwy., Sulphur337-528-7272

Papa John’s Pizza650 W. McNeese St.,Lake Charles337-474-7272

Rotolo’s Pizzeria4201 Nelson Rd.,Lake Charles337-478-1996

Sandwiches, Soups & SaladsNina P’s Café600 W. McNeese St.,Lake Charles337-479-2201

Pappy’s Deli2627 Ryan St., Lake Charles337-436-2813Roly Poly2241 Maplewood Dr.

Sulphur337-625-5555

Roly Poly3100 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-433-3130

Roly Poly4423 Nelson Rd.Lake Charles337-474-3332

SeafoodGranger’sSeafood Restaurant2636 Hwy. 3059,Lake Charles337-433-9130

Regatta Seafoodand Steakhouse508 Hawkeye Ave,Lake Arthur337-774-1504

Seafood Palace2218 Enterprise Blvd.,Lake Charles337-433-9293

Kenny’s Katfish Kabin1577 W. Fourth St.,Dequincy337-786-5562

Steamboat Bill’son the Lake1004 N. LakeshoreDr. Lake Charles337-494-1070

Steamboat Bill’s732 N. Martin LutherKing Blvd.Lake Charles337-494-1700

Boiling Point1730 Beglis Pkwy.Sulphur337-625-9282

SteaksBig Sky SteakhouseCoushatta Casino

777 Coushatta Dr.,Kinder800-584-7263

The Harlequin501 W. College St.Lake Charles337-439-2780

Outback Steakhouse2616 Derek Dr., Lake Charles477-3161


Jen Kober at JackDaniels—Every

Wednesdayall Summer!

Jen Kober at JackDaniels—Every

Wednesday allSummer!Comedian Jen

Kober brings herHomegrown Com-

edy Show to thestage at Jack Daniel’sBar & Grill at L’AubergeCasino Resort LakeCharles every Wednes-day at 9 p.m. Ticketsare $10 and are on salenow at www.ticketmas-ter.com, the L’AubergeBusiness Center or Leg-ends at L’Auberge. Tick-ets will be available atthe door the night ofeach show; cash onlyplease. Must be 21 to at-tend.

Buckcherry atParty By the Pool atL’Auberge Aug. 8Buckcherry will rock atParty by the Pool atL’Auberge Casino LakeCharles. Tickets are $10-$20 at www.ticketmas-ter.com, at L'Aubergethrough the BusinessCenter or Legends atL'Auberge, or you cancall (800) 745-3000.Tickets may also be pur-chased the night of theshow at Legends. Doors

open at 7 p.m. and showstarts at 8:30 p.m. Mustbe 21 years old to enter.

Social MediaMarketing Aug. 9Family & Youth's FamilyFoundation is hosting thenonprofit training session"Social Media Marketing"on Friday, August 9, from1:30- 3:30 p.m. Learnfrom Kristy Armand ofHealthy Image Marketinghow to spread your mes-sage, engage stakehold-ers, tap into that supportand allow them to be-come virtual PR agents!

The fee is $10 for CFAN,Kids Can, and JuniorLeague members and$25 for others. For moreinformation, contact Rox-anne Camara at (337)436-9533.

Basketball Tournamentof the Stars Aug. 9-11Get ready for layups,steals and slam-dunks atthis year’s Tournament ofthe Stars Aug. 9–11. Over60 teams, both adult andyouth will participate.Games will be held at theLake Charles Civic Centerand other locations. All

Aug 10-11 – Late Nite Catechism 3August 10 – White Tail Unlimited BanquetAug 16 – Delta Tech GraduationAug 17 – Arts & Crabs FestivalAug 24 – Family Festival

(Family & Youth Counseling) Aug 24 - Imagination Celebration

(Children’s Museum)Aug 29 – United Way Annual BanquetAug 31- Sept 1 – Don & Rich Gun ShowSept 2 - Boozoo Chavis FestivalSept 7 – Lake Charles Black RodeoSept 21 – Midnight Fantasy Car ShowSept 26 – Home Health Harvest FestSept 27 - 29 – LC SymphonyOct 1 – New Life Counsel BanquetOct 5-6 - Shrine CircusOct 17 - Women’s Commission

ConferenceOct 18-19 - LC SymphonyOct 25 - Unitech GraduationOct 26 – Cultural FestivalOct 26 – Arts FestivalOct 31 – Harvest Festival

(Recreation & Parks Dept)Oct 29-31 – Chamber Theatre (tentative)Nov 1 – Chamber Theatre (tentative)

August Eventsat the Children’s Museum

Friday, August 9: Spirograph Fun From 10:30 a.m. - noon, come and play with this

classic geometric drawing toy that produces mathematical roulette curves.

Saturday, August 10: Sasol’s Second Saturday Science Show

Brian Peoples with Sasol will talk about polymers at 11 a.m. Children will make their own silly putty!

Monday, August 12: Coin BanksClasses begin at 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.

and are limited to 20 children.

Tuesday, August 13: ShieldsClasses begin at 11 a.m. and noon

and are limited to 20 children.

The Children's Museum is located at 327 Broad Street in downtown Lake Charles. Museum hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Admission is $7.50 for children and adults.

Call 337-433-9420 or visit www.swlakids.org for more information.


proceeds benefit the“Raising Dollars forScholars” campaign,as part of theMcReynolds Scholar-ship Fund.(337) 491-1466 oremail tos@cityoflc

Annual Krewe deKaroline Poker RunAug. 10The annual Krewe deKaroline Poker Runbenefits West Cal-casieu Cameron Hos-pital’s GenesisTherapeutic RidingCenter. It begins at8:30 a.m. – until atWayne & Layne's Deli& Bar. Plate lunchesat 11 a.m., auction at5 p.m., live musicnoon – until. (337)274-9155.

Gulf Coast RollerGirls Aug. 10Lafitte's Ladies meetthe East TexasBombers! Doorsopen at 6 p.m., gamebegins at 7 p.m. atThe Grindhouse, 932Enterprise Ste C,Lake Charles. Adults$12 Presale, $15 atthe door/ $6 childrenunder ten. BYOB andbring your own chair!www.gulfcoastroller-girls.com

ACTS Fundraiser ‘My Favorite Things’ Aug. 10-11With a donation of$25, experience a va-riety of songs anddances that are fa-vorites of the per-formers and enjoy areception of wine,soft drinks and fingerfoods. Will be heldSat., Aug. 10 at 7:30p.m. with a receptionbeginning at 6:30p.m., and on Sun.,Aug. 11 at 3 p.m. witha reception begin-ning at 2 p.m. Bothperformances are atACTS One ReidStreet theatre.

www.actstheatre.com

Whitetails UnlimitedBanquet Aug. 10Whitetails Unlimitedis sponsoring theSouthwest LouisianaBanquet at the LakeCharles Civic Center.Enjoy dinner, auction,and prizes with awide array of prod-ucts such as firearms,outfitter packages,hunting and outdoorrelated equipment,artwork, and col-lectibles only avail-able at WTU events.Tickets are $40 each,$25 for a spouse, or$15 for children 15and under. Ticketorder deadline is Aug9; tickets will not besold at the door.(337) 274-9142.

Big Night Out Tour atParty By the Pool atL’Auberge Aug. 15Big Night Out Tourfeaturing Fuel,Hoobastank, Lit andAlien Ant Farm willrock at Party by thePool at L’AubergeCasino Lake Charles.Tickets are $10-$20at www.ticketmas-ter.com, at L'Aubergethrough the BusinessCenter or Legends atL'Auberge, or youcan call (800) 745-3000. Tickets mayalso be purchasedthe night of the showat Legends. Doorsopen at 7 p.m. andshow starts at 8:30p.m. Must be 21 yearsold to enter.

‘Girls’ Night Out’Aug. 17Women & Children'sHospital presents"Girl's Night Out" onSaturday, August 17from 4:30 - 8:30 pm.Girls ages 9-16 are in-vited to come hearphysicians, nursesand other profession-als engage in dia-

logue concerning awide arrange of top-ics includinganatomy, pubertyand hygiene, fitnessand nutrition, self-es-teem, sexual healthand more. Pre-regis-tration by August 9and a signed parentalconsent are required.Cost is $20 per per-son, which includesdinner. For more in-formation or to regis-ter, call 475-4075 orvisit www.Women-Childrens.com/Girl-sNightOut.

Arts & Crabs FestAug. 17The fourth annualArts & Crabs Fest willtake place on Sat.,Aug. 17 from 5-8 p.m.at the Lake CharlesCivic Center Coli-seum. Sample an ex-tensive crab and beertasting which fea-tures 15 local restau-rants each offering aunique crab dish.Live music, an exten-sive Art Market, andinteractive culturalactivities will also ac-company the event.Tickets are $25; noone under 21 years ofage will be admitted.www.artsandcrabs-fest.eventbrite.com.


I've been having a goodtime this summer readingbooks that are not justfunny, but often downrightsilly.

Bad Monkey by Carl Hi-aasen is, like the author’sother books, set in Florida -- the Keys, to be precise.But some of the action alsotakes place in the Bahamas,where the monkey is. Oh,yes, there is a monkey.

When a tourist on afishing boat reels in a de-tached arm near Miami,“the floating-human-body-parts capital of America,”former police detectiveYancy finds it suspicious. Ifthe victim was killed by

sharks, how did it happen?The distinctive tan mark onthe wrist indicates the ab-sence of a particularlypricey watch, but the sharkswouldn’t have wanted it. So,who did?

Yancy has been firedfrom the Miami Police De-partment and is now serv-ing on “roach patrol” as arestaurant inspector."Working for the Divisionof Hotels and Restaurantswas the worst job he'd everhad. His appetite had disap-peared the first morning,and in three weeks he'd losteleven pounds. It was trau-matizing to see how manyways food could be defiled."

As in all of Hiaasen’sbooks, there are several in-terconnected subplots and ahost of eccentric characters.Yancy's former girlfriend ison the run because of afelonious sexual misadven-ture. His new girlfriend is akinky coroner. His neigh-bor is building a huge mon-strosity of a house that isscaring away the localwildlife. There’s an evilstepmother, a Bahamianvoodoo queen, a murdereror two or three, and, ofcourse, the monkey.

Scams, fraud, ambush,squatters, a hurricane -- oh,and Yancy’s in danger be-cause he knows too much.And did I mention it’s oftenlaugh-out-loud funny?"Evan Shook was so upset

that when the phone vi-brated in his pants, hepulled out the stun gun bymistake and nearly Tazedhis own ear." Completelyentertaining.

Adult situations andlanguage.

The always bizarre andoften hilarious DavidSedaris has once againgiven us a diverting collageof essays, personal vignettesand fictional scenarios inLet's Explore Diabetes withOwls.

Among his many topics:dentists in France, birds ("Ifowls were the professors ofthe avian kingdom, thenkookaburras … might wellbe the gym teachers"), seaturtles, language instruc-tion lessons, pen pals and

colonoscopies.Sedaris jumps from sub-

ject to subject with little orno segue, mixing humorwith pathos, and all we cando is sit back and enjoy theread. He’ll have me laugh-ing one minute and feelingsad the next. For example,he'll be describing his com-ical author-tour adventuresand then slip in the factthat nothing he ever didwas good enough for his fa-ther -- even becoming abest-selling author.

I love the way he useswords, as when he’s de-scribing a sales rep phoningfrom an overseas call cen-ter: "The man spoke withan accent, and though Icouldn't exactly place it, Iknew that he was poor. His

Pretty Silly Stuff


voice had snakes in it. Anddysentery, and mangoes."

He describes his child-hoodfriend'sparents."He andhis wifewereyoungerthan myparents,and theyseemed it,not just intheir dressbut in theireclectictastes --records by Donovan andMoby Grape shelvedamong the Schubert. Theirhouse had real hardcoverbooks in it, and you oftensaw them lying open on thesofa, the words still warmfrom being read."

He's traveled quite a bit,and he shares some of hismini-adventures in Asia,Australia ("It's Canada in athong") and Europe. Hetells us about keeping adiary for 35 years, havinghis passport stolen, andtraveling on airplanes: "Flyenough, and you learn togo brain-dead when youhave to. It's sort of like timetravel. One minute you'rebending to unlace yourshoes, and the next thingyou know you're paying 14dollars for a fruit cup, won-dering, ‘How did I gethere?’"

Adult situations.Quirk Books is at it

again; they're the ones whopublished Pride and Preju-dice and Zombies andother silly or bizarre worksof dubious literary value.But William Shakespeare'sStar Wars: Verily, A NewHope by Ian Doescher isactually a real treat.Doescher has translated thescript of the first “StarWars” movie into iambicpentameter, with several in-stances of homage to origi-nal Shakespearean works,starting with the openingline from C-3PO:

Now is the summer of

our happinessMade winter by this

sudden, fierce attack!

I had to laugh atthe seeming absurdityof translating a futur-istic story into anold-style literary for-mat. Yet it somehow,strangely works. Se-riously. It has somebeautiful moments:

HAN SOLO: Oerrand vile. O por-tents of great ill!

What shall itmean, when planets are nomore,

For those who maketheir wages by the stars?

And it's fun to read thelines aloud using the da-DUM da-DUM da-DUMda-DUM da-DUM meter.Here are just a few of thelines that are more familiarto “Star Wars” fans:

C-3PO: 'Tis best to playthe fool, and not the sage,

To say it brief: pray letthe Wookiee win.

---GHOST (of Obi-Wan):

O use the Force, dear Luke.Let go and trust!

Vader: I sense the Forcein this one here, almost

As if I did my youngerself espy.

The book has pen andink illustrations. I find my-self recommending it tofans of both Shakespeareand Star Wars.

Copyright © 2013 byMary Louise Ruehr.

Abraham Lincoln:The ImageHistoric City Hall1001 Ryan St., LakeCharlesMon- Fri 10 am- 5 pmSat 10 am- 2 pm8/2/2013-10/12/2013337-491-9147

Art And Crabs FestivalLake Charles Civic CenterLake Shore Drive5 p.m. -8 p.m.Saturday, 08/17/13www.artsandhumanitiess-wla.org

Art duLacPujo St. Café901 Ryan St., LakeCharles Mon-Fri 11am-9:30 pmSat noon-9:30 PMYear Around337-439-2054

Black Heritage GalleryCentral School809 Kirby St., LakeCharlesMon-Fri 9 am-5 pmYear Around337-488-8567

DeQuincyRailroad Museum400 Lake Charles Ave.DeQuincyTues-Sat 10 am-5 pmYear Around337-786-2823

DeQuincyTown Hall Museum218 E. Fourth St., De-QuincyMon-Thurs 9am-noonand 1 pm-4pm Year Around337-786-8241

Elvis: Grit & Grace ExhibitHistoric City Hall1001 Ryan St., LakeCharlesMon-Fri 10 am-5 pmSat 10 am-2 pm6/20/2013-9/7/2013337-491-9159

Imperial CalcasieuMuseum204 W. Sallier St. Lake CharlesTues-Sat 10 am-5 pmYear Around337-439-3797

Jack&John: Jack Amuny & Mark JohnHenning Cultural Center923 Ruth St., SulphurMon-Fri 10 am-noon and 1pm-5 pm Sat 10 am-2 pm8/15/2013-9/19/2013337-527-0357

Linda Gleason RitchieArt ReceptionGallery by the Lake106 W. Pryce, Lake CharlesAugust 1, 2013(337) 436-1008

Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu809 Kirby St., Lake CharlesTues-Fri1 pm- 5pmYear Around337-430-0043

USS OrleckNaval Museum604 N. Enterprise Blvd.Lake CharlesMon-Fri 10 am-3pm Sat10 am -4 pmYear Around337-214-7447

Vintage ArtsBy Jeanne OwensCentral School809 Kirby St., Suite 212, Lake CharlesMon-Fri 9 am-5 pmYear Around337-304-1165

W.H. Tupper GeneralMerchandise Museum311 N. Main St., JenningsMon-Fri 9 am-5 pmYear Around337-821-5532

Works of Men ExhibitHenning Cultural Center,923 Ruth St., Sulphur Mon-Fri 10 am-noonand 1 pm-5 pmSat 10 am-2 pm7/4/13-8/8/13337-527-0357

"The Buccaneer ArtistsHave Landed"Zigler Art Museum411 Clara St., JenningsTuesday, 10-4, Sunday 1-4Aug. 3-31, 2013337-824-0114


The race among sum-mer movies is heating up.Amidst such fracturedanalogies, is it any wonderthat animated children’smovies are heavy con-tenders? Turbo is Dream-Works’ latest entryfeaturing, of all things, theIndy 500 and a snail withdreams of winning the race.

Theo (Ryan Reynolds),our hero-to-be, isa snail withdreams of beingthe fastest crea-ture alive. Hewatchesvideos of theIndy 500 insuburbia in theevenings, whilehe works in a sub-urban tomato gardenduring the day. Partof a crew of dedicatedsnails with hisbrother Chet, Theopicks ripe tomatoesand disposes of rot-ten ones. Ironically (kind oflike an ironic beard; no, notreally,) the snails are lec-tured on safety as crowsswoop by and pick off occa-sional members of the crew.

Laughed at by hisfriends, Theo has dreams ofracing, and endangers him-self with daring contests ofspeed against lawnmowersand kids on scooters. Chettries to drag him down toearth, but eventually Theofinds himself transported toan abandoned strip mall

where tired storekeepersrace snails at night for en-tertainment. At this point,Theo is only a few miraclesaway from his dream ofcompeting in the Indy 500.(One of these is a viralYouTube video of Theo inaction, complete with auto-tune.)

Although the plot isridiculously simple, the ani-

mation in Turbo stands onits own as beautiful work ofart. There’s a heavy dose ofhumor as we meet the rac-ing snails, including an out-spoken Samuel Jackson asthe voice of Whiplash.(Theo: Are You Crazy?Whiplash: What makes youthink I’m sane?) Snakes Ona Plane is nothing com-pared to Turbo. Other bignames also took part in thecharacter voicing, includingPaul Giamatti as Chet andSnoop Dog as Smoove

Move. And if you listenclose, you can hear veteranracecar champ Mario An-dretti as a race official.

If I had a criticism tomake of Turbo, it would bethat the middle of themovie is a little slow andeven depressing, as brotherChet keeps trying to throwcold water on Theo’sdreams. The fact that this isa major plot device doesn’thelp. Neither does the factthat Chet as voiced by PaulGiamatti is a real whiner.And as an added incentivetowards sadness, if you’veever seen an abandonedstrip mall (as if anyone has-n’t), the movie has to lift it-self very high up to risefrom some downer sur-roundings.

Yet Turbo succeeds atthis, again through wonder-ful characters, humor, andexcellent animation. Theend of the movie has all theexcitement you would ex-pect with a big race finish.

True to form, themovie offersfamily enter-tainment that

everyone fromsmall children to

elderly adults willenjoy. Alas, the summer is

in danger of being over-movied, with films begin-

ning to resembleeach other. AfterTurbo, get readyfor Planes, a spin-off from Cars.More racing, more

adventures of the little guytrying to make good. Iworry that soon childrenmay start drinking coffee totry and stunt their growth,as small nerdishness be-comes a fashion statementamong the kids.

But seriously, if youhaven’t taken your kids to amovie this summer, Turbois hard to beat. (Ack! Icouldn’t resist that one.)Rated PG for harsh treat-ment to animated crowsand Lawnmower peril.

Turbo(20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, 2013)


The Banners Cultural Seasonbrings nationally and interna-tionally known artists andsculptors, musicians, authorsand lecturers, and exhibits toSouthwest Louisiana duringthe spring for Lake Area resi-dents to enjoy.

Members OpeningGala - March 8The 2014 Banners CulturalSeason kicks off with a mem-bers-only gala - one of thebenefits for McNeese Bannerssupporters. This event pro-vides an opportunity formembers to learn more aboutthe artists for the upcomingseason.

Harlem String Quartet - March 9The Harlem String Quartet is“bringing a new attitude toclassical music, one that isfresh, bracing and intelligent,”says the Cincinnati Enquirer.The quartet’s mission is to ad-vance diversity in classicalmusic and engage young andnew audiences through thediscovery and presentation ofvaried repertoire that includesworks by minority composers.

Bridgman Packer Dance - March 21Art Bridgman and MyrnaPacker, artistic directors ofBridgman|Packer Dance, havecollaborated as performersand choreographers since1978. Their innovative workdeveloping “Video Partner-

ing” - the integration of liveperformance and video tech-nology — has been acclaimedfor its highly visual and vis-ceral alchemy of the live andthe virtual.

FROGZ - March 27FROGZ has been describedas Cirque du Soleil, evokingacrobatics mixed with Mum-menschanz-like mime, set in aunique - yet accessible -French-influenced avant-garde playground. FROGZ isa madcap revue of illusion,comedy and fun that has in-spired audiences worldwide.

Lightwire - April 4Creators Ian Carney andCorbin Popp met while danc-ing in Twyla Tharp’s Broad-way show Movin’ Out. Animmediate connection wasmade as they discovered theirmutual love of art, theaterand technology. After comingacross a product called ELwire, the lights turned on. “ELwire” is short for electrolumi-nescent wire: Unlike blacklights, the technology can bepowered by batteries and re-quires no theatrical lighting.The possibilities seemed end-less. Together with theirwives, Eleanor and Whitney,they began to develop pup-petry-based creatures thatquickly gained personality.

Sam Bush - April 5Grammy Award-winningmulti-instrumentalist Sam

Bush doesn't seem oldenough to be a musical leg-end. And he's not. But he is.Alternately known as the Kingof Telluride and the King ofNewgrass, Bush has beenhonored by the AmericanaMusic Association and the In-ternational Bluegrass MusicAssociation.

Kenya Safari Acrobats - April 11Kenya Safari Acrobats are aspectacle for the eyes, earsand the heart. Death defyingstunts, comedy, audience par-ticipation and heart-poundingmusic combine to create aproduction that will have allages on the edge of theirseats.

The Hit Men - April 13Amazing performers, superbmusicians, superior vocalist,great arrangers and creativecomposers - the Hit Men per-form the hits of the 60s, 70sand 80s. Group membershave performed with acts in-cluding Frankie Valli and theFour Seasons, Tommy Jamesand the Shondells, CatStevens, Carly Simon and JimCroce.

ETHEL and RobertMirabal - April 25ETHEL, a pioneering stringquartet, and Grammy-winningNative American flutistRobert Mirabal present a pro-gram inspired by the sunmythology of Native America.

Using the instruments of thestring quartet, Native Ameri-can flutes (Tdoop - Pootse)and drums (Mooloo), as wellas the spirited voices of stu-dents and community mem-bers, ETHEL and Mirabal uniteto create a cross-cultural con-temporary music event.

The Alley Cats- April 26

Doo Wop was never this fun!Tight harmonies, universalhumor and unbelievable acappella energy equal theAlley Cats. The Alley Catsbegan at Fullerton College inCalifornia and landed theirfirst professional gig at Dis-neyland's "Blast to the Past."Soon after, the group ap-peared on television, radioshows, corporate events, per-forming arts centers, fairs,festivals, schools and even aUSO show aboard the John C.Stennis aircraft carrier wel-coming home the troops fromIraq. Currently, the Alley Catsare the opening act for JayLeno in Las Vegas.

Sybarite5 - May 2From Mozart to Radiohead,the eclectic repertoire anddynamic performance style ofSYBARITE5 are turning headsthroughout the music world.SYBARITE5 has taken audi-ences by storm all across theUnited States, forever chang-ing the perception of cham-ber music performance. Fromthe moment the group’s bows

hit the strings, this quintet oftalented, diverse musicianstakes the audience on an ex-citing ride that engages thesenses and redefines therules.

McNeese Jazz Festivalwith Joey DeFrancesco- May 3Joey DeFrancesco has beenaround the world and backdozens of times with his owntrio, but he is also playing andrecording with some of thegreatest musicians in theworld, such as Ray Charles,Bette Midler, David Sanborn,Arturo Sandoval and manymore.

A basic membership, whichincludes two tickets to all per-formances and invitations tospecial receptions, is availablefor $150. New this season is asingle ticket membership toall events at $80. Friendmemberships, which includefour tickets to all events, are$300. Patron memberships,which include six tickets, are$500. All membership levelsinclude reserved seatingareas. Tickets to individualperformances will be availableat the door at $20 for adults,$5 for students and free toMcNeese and Sowela stu-dents with IDs. Lectures areopen free to the public. Moreinformation is available on thewebsite at www.banners.orgor by calling the Banners of-fice at (337) 475-5123.

Banners CulturalSeason Preview


Kerry A. Onx-ley, Artistic Direc-tor of TheChildren’s TheatreCompany and Di-rector of Theatre atWestlake HighSchool attended the2013 EducationalTheatre LeadershipSummit in Denver,CO. The annualsummit, coordi-nated by the EducationalTheatre Association, bene-fits national theatre leaderswho make a differencethrough arts and culturalactivities. The summit of-fers training in advocacy,

student lead-ership, pro-ducingstudent festi-vals and mar-keting.

For 27 sea-sons, Onxleyhas directedproductionsof such clas-sics as Dis-ney’s Sleeping

Beauty, The Hobbit, Mac-beth and Frankenstein. Hehas served in the leader-ship tier for The Educa-tional Theatre Associationfor over 10 years and asState Festival Director for

the Louisiana ThespiansAssociation for 12 years.He helped form theLouisiana Theatre Festival,a collaborated effortamong community the-atres and universities tobenefit students interestedin theatre education. Onx-ley is a state evaluator forLouisiana’s Talented ArtsProgram and has sat on thestate theatre curriculumguide committee for theLouisiana State Depart-ment of Education. He re-ceived the 2009 Citizen ofthe Arts Award given atthe annual Mayor’s ArtsAwards.

Onxley Attends Educational TheatreAssociation’s Leadership Summit

Friends of ACTS TheatreLake Charles have been hardat work this summer clean-ing, patching and paintingvarious parts of the century-old theatre building. Becauseof the age of the theatre, thework to maintain it neverends but the money to main-tain it does. A fundraiser, MyFavorite Things, will be pre-sented August 10 and 11 withthe purpose of raising fundsto benefit major repairs to thetheatre building.

My Favorite Things wasso named because thesingers/actors/dancers chosetheir favorite songs and skitsto perform. Emcees MichaelMuffuletto and Clay Hebertwill introduce the acts in a“Smothers Brothers”-style

comedy routine. Songs fromThe Sound of Music, Les Mis-erables, Rent, Wicked, Shrek,and other Broadway musicalswill be performed. Singersand dancers include HaileyFord Coburn, Malora Cole-man, Casey Doucet, KristenHarrell, Clay Hebert, MikeIeyoub, Brandon LaFleur,Tracy LeMieux, Michael Muf-fuletto, Josh Peterson, SarahParks Plauche, Justin Prejean,Julian Quebedeaux, LindsayQuebedeaux, Barry Rathbun,Kelly Rowland, Taylor Simon,Jordy Stanley, MeganVoorhies, Leigh Ward andBarry Whitten. Music direc-tion is by Hailey Ford Coburnand choreography is by KrisPerez Webster and HaileyFord Coburn. Director is Kris

Perez Webster.My Favorite Things is on-

stage at ACTS One ReidStreet Theatre on Saturday,August 10 at 7:30 p.m. A re-ception of light appetizerswill precede the event in thelobby at 6:30 p.m. A repeatperformance and receptionwill take place at the theatreSunday, August 11 at 3 and 2pm respectively. Tickets forthe fundraiser are a $25 dona-tion per person, which willinclude the show and the re-ception with choice of bever-ages. Tickets may bepurchased at actstheatre.com,the Lake Charles Civic Centerbox office, Lakeshore MedicPharmacy, Moss Bluff Flower& Gift, and at the door priorto each performance.

ACTS Theatre Presents My Favorite Things

Kerry Onxley


While I watch almostany genre of film, comedy,drama, comic book, sci-ence fiction, fantasy,thriller and animated, I geta little squeamisharound…. blood. Realblood, that is. Ironically,I’ve been in three indiehorror films and lovedevery moment of it.

On the set of my firstmovie Mercy (2006), thedirector apologized for myhaving to eat Hershey’ssyrup in take after take soit could appear as if bloodwas oozing from mymouth. You see, Hershey’ssyrup is the perfect re-placement for blood inblack and white movies.

Admittedly, being forcefed chocolate through akitchen baster was a littleweird but still quite deli-cious!

Then, in 2009, I was inawe of our special effectsmakeup woman and herjar of “bloody scabs.” Ap-plied with care, they con-gealed just enough on myknee to appear as if thescrapes were half healing,half fresh. I was fasci-nated! One day we ran outof blood and had to thinkon our feet to make ourown. We were after all, outin the middle of nowhereinside a spooky farmhousewith no Wal-Mart in sight.The only grocery store for

Lights, Camera, Cuethe Chocolate Syrup!

miles had exactly five bot-tles of Karo Syrup on theshelf, which we would mixwith red and blue foodcoloring to create DYIblood. Five bottles.

I took four and walkedto the check-out. That’swhen the most darling,country church lady ap-proached me and asked inher sweetest grandmothervoice: “My that’s a lot ofKaro syrup. Are you mak-ing pecan pies?” I blinked.“Why yes, ma’am I am.” Itold a little white lie. I did-n’t want to frighten herthat day in those eerilysilent Southern woods.

In 2012, the fun contin-ued with trick blood that Iam sworn to secrecy aboutuntil the film Man in theChair debuts at the up-coming Lake Charles FilmFestival this October.

Speaking of “blood”and the film festival, thechance to audition for asoon-to-be-shot horrorflick is just a squeamishscream away! Indie Film-maker Jim DeVault mayhave already started pre-liminary casting, but he’slooking for new faces tocast and will hold audi-tions at the festival. De-Vault and his team justreleased Blood Reunionand will be shooting BloodReunion 2: Madeline lo-

cally in 2014. DeVaultsays, “Our location needsfor this project are simpler,but very specific, so we ex-pect it to take severalmonths to find the rightplace.”

The plot of Blood Re-union 2 revolves around afamily reunion, but strivesto ramp up the horror overthe original while main-taining a unique sense ofhumor. “Coming fresh offproduction of Jebadiah’sAxe and Blood Reunion,I’m looking forward toproducing Blood Reunion2 with our dedicated crewand new as well as familiarfaces in the cast,” says pro-ducer Nicki Rauscher.

In keeping with thesuper low budget themethat DeVault will also begiving a seminar on at thefestival, the film is beingcrowd funded by horrorfans, film buffs, indie film-makers and people whoenjoy supporting creativeendeavors of all types. TheFunding page can be foundat http://stonebellcre-ations.com/BR2/funding.html and contributions canbe made securely throughAmazon Pay. The film isset to be released on DVDin 2014.

If all this talk of bloodand chocolate syrup hasyou longing for something

um… a little lighter, aunique opportunity iscoming up to learn anima-tion. Not the kind whereyou sit there for hoursdrawing thousands of pic-tures or move miniaturedolls a fraction of an inchagain and again. This is atwo-hour “Stop-MotionAnimation Workshop”where live people are ani-mated. Animation teacherAl Bohl will be leading theclass designed to be easyand fun for all ages. If thename Al Bohl sounds fa-miliar, he took first placein the Lake Charles FilmFestival’s documentary cat-egory with the film he pro-duced, Tarzan: Lord of theLouisiana Jungle. The filmis about how the firstTarzan films were notmade in sunny California.they were made right herein the Bayou State.

Both of these eventswill be taking place at theSecond Annual LakeCharles Film Festivalslated for October 4 and 5.For updates on the audi-tions and animation class,go to www.lakecharlesfilm-festival.com.

That’s all for now. I’mgoing to log off and prac-tice my screaming. EEK!ACK! AAIIEEEE! Untilnext time--save me somepopcorn!

Thursday, Aug. 8Buckcherry7 p.m. @ L'Auberge

Party by the Pool777 AvenueL'Auberge, Lake

Charles

Friday, Aug. 9Timberhawk8 p.m.Sam Pace9 p.m.Luna Live710 Ryan St.Lake Charles

John Guidroz9 p.m. @ Micci’s3606 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Friday Nite Live Music9 p.m. @ Cigar Club1700 E. Prien Lake Rd.Ste. 5, Lake Charles

BB & Company9 p.m. @ Gator Lounge@ Delta Downs 2717 Delta DownsVinton

Sam Pace &The Guilded Art10 p.m. @ Luna Bar & Grill719 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Saturday, Aug. 10Paul Gonsoulin7 p.m.Luna Bar & Grill719 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Geno Delfose& French Rockin Boogie8 p.m. @ Yesterdays5313 Common St.Lake Charles

Mikko Live9 p.m. @ CoushattaCasino Resort777 Coushatta Dr. Kinder

The Ruxpins10 p.m. @ Luna Live710 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Sunday, Aug. 11Street Side Jazz Band11 a.m. @ Luna Bar & Grill719 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Monday, Aug. 12Karaoke Night with DJDavid Verrett8 p.m. @ Jack DanielsL’auberge, Lake Charles

Thursday, Aug. 14Break Every Chain Tour7 p.m. @ Lake CharlesCivic Center900 Lakeshore Dr.Lake Charles

Jen Kober’s HomegrownComedy Show9 p.m. @ Jack DanielsL’auberge, Lake Charles

Friday, Aug. 15Big Night Out! Tour 2013:Fuel, Hoobastank & AlienAnt Farm7 p.m. @ Party by thePool’s Liquid SocietyL’auberge, Lake Charles

Saturday, Aug. 16Leroy Thomas & ZydecoRoadrunners7 p.m. @ CoushattaCasino Resort777 Coushatta Dr.Kinder

Street Side Jazz Band7 p.m. @ Luna Bar & Grill710 Ryan St.Lake Charles

BB & CO Britt Goodwin/Bubba Moore8 p.m. @ Yesterdays5313 Common St.Lake Charles

Alter Ego @ Gator Lounge9 p.m. @ Delta DownsRacetrack2717 Delta Downs Dr.Vinton

Sol Tribe10 p.m. @ Luna Live710 Ryan St.Lake Charles

DJ Cage @ Jack After Dark Party10 p.m. @ Jack DanielsBar & GrillL’auberge, Lake Charles

Sunday, Aug. 17Lisa Marshall7 p.m. @ LunaBar & Grill710 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Tracy Lawrence7 p.m. @ Isle of CapriCasino Hotel1000 Westlake Ave.Westlake

Downfall Rising10 p.m. @ Luna Live710 Ryan St.Lake Charles

at Coushatta Casino Resort

PAGE 24 AUGUST 8, 2013 Volume 1 • Issue 2


The city of New Orleansoften comes to mind whenpeople think of Jazz music.The sounds of trombones,saxophones and singers scat-ting immediately conjure upthe image of buskers stand-ing upon the cobblestones ofBourbon St. playing jazzystandards. Though mostpeople consider New Or-leans as the birthplace ofJazz, one local group is at-tempting to give the genre anew home in Lake Charles.

In bringing Jazz music tothe forefront of the localmusic scene, The Street SideJazz Band has taken a lot ofinspiration from their coun-terparts on the opposite sideof Louisiana by adopting notjust their musical style butalso their venue of choice,sidewalks.

“When we first started,we were playing on the side-walk at [local sandwichshop] Street Breadz,” saidSteve Dufrene, foundingmember and bassist of StreetSide Jazz Band. “They gaveus a little money and somefree sandwiches and weplayed outside for tips.That’s the way they do it inNew Orleans and wethought that it would do wellhere. We even took ourname from those days whenwe would play street side.They say that imitation is thesincerest form of flattery,and for us that’s really true.If we’re playing a New Or-leans style tune, we want itto sound like it’s comingfrom a band in New Orleans,so we go down there and lis-ten to those group all of thetime.”

Since its members, whichinclude Dufrene, tenor saxo-phonist William Christian,guitarist and vocalist MasonFaduccia and drummer LukeHester began playing to-gether on sidewalks twoyears ago, they have sincegraduated from the streetsand can now be heard regu-larly at Luna Bar and Grill

on Fridays andSundays from 7to 10 p.m. and 11a.m. to 2 p.m. re-spectively, and atPujo Street Caféon Saturdaysfrom 6 to 9 p.m.Dufrene said thatas a part of thegroup’s missionto bring jazz tothe area, it is im-portant for them toplay as many ven-ues as possible,while also payinghomage to thegenre’s roots.

“We’ve stoppedplaying on side-walks for the mostpart, but we stillbusk on holidays like MardiGras and Contraband Days,”he said. “We run our jazzband like a rock band in thatour main goal is just to havesteady work, to play everyweekend because that’s howyou keep in touch with thecommunity. If you only playonce or twice a month,you’re not going to connectwith the audience. Now, weplay three to five times aweek, sometimes twice anight. Our style of musicisn’t as prominent in LakeCharles as it is 150 milesdown the road, so workingevery night is really great forus,” he said.

Dufrene said the group’smembers, most of whichstudied music at McNeeseState University, come from abackground of playing jazz,have a great respect for theart form and are dedicated tobringing it to the forefront ofthe local music scene.

“We all really listen toJazz to try to understand itbetter, we all pride ourselvesin learning this music andnot just going up there andreading sheet music andbeing a jazz cover band,” heexplained. “We want to playthese songs the way peoplewill recognize them, but wealso want to stay true to thenature of Jazz, of which im-provisation is a big thing. Wewant to be off the cuff so thatevery time we play a song, itmay not sound the same waywe’ve ever played it before orwill ever play it again.”

Keeping with the free and

loose style of the genre,Dufrene said the group al-most never plays the sameset twice, instead relying onthe huge repertoire of musicthat falls underneath the Jazzumbrella, to give their audi-

ences what they want tohear.

“Jazz is just one word fora huge genre of music with alot of sub-genres,” he said.“We play a lot of Latin Jazzmusic from a Latin com-poser that’s totally differentfrom the music played by aNew Orleans swing band.We also do earlier jazz stuff,and then we do the funkier,gospel leaning funk. Everynight we try to give our au-diences something new.”

Though the group plansto eventually tour, Dufrenesaid they are currently happyspreading the sounds of Jazzthroughout SouthwestLouisiana.

“We just all really thinkthis style of music needs asolid footing in this area,” hesaid. “When we play here, weoften have people tell us thatour music makes them feellike they’re in New Orleans,and that makes us feel prettygood that we are able to takeour audiences to a historicplace like New Orleans,seeped in musical history,without them ever having toleave Lake Charles.”


AN EVENING WITH MARVIN SAPPIt was a night of preaching, teaching and singing before apacked house as local artists, church choirs and praise andworship teams took to the stage of the Rosa Hart Theatre.Award-winning singer and songwriter Pastor Marvin Sapp

moved the crowd to their feet with “Never Would HaveMade It’” as well as other songs of praise and worship. A

spirit-filled evening!

WHITE TIE AFFAIR GALAThe White Tie Affair Gala brought out a

best-dressed crowd who enjoyed a jazz hour,reception, best dish of SWLA presentation,awards ceremony and more. It was hostedby SWLA Socialite and sponsored by Men’sWearhouse to support the Charity Starts atHome Campaign. A fundraiser with style!

Della Bell, Lebina Carrier and Melissa Perry Willard Slate and Danita Cone

Courtnee Brown, Michelle Reeder and Stephanie Brown

Delores and Bernard Beaco with Judith Washington

Annette Kent, Terri Brown, Evan and Mary Lane Seago

Brittany, Destany, Dwayne and Darryl Washingtonwith Treyvon DavisJonmarie Guiilory and Tuwanna August

Amariha Fort, Zihkeha Green and Gabrielle Charlot

Shavonda Martin, Justine Sampy, Carmella Chaisson and Taraloyn Valliere

Joanna and Trista Ledet Phylicia Smith and

Lesley Williams


Check UpsDoctorExerciseFitnessHealthy

JoggingMassageMeditationNutritionPrevention

VitaminsWeight ControlWellnessYogaZumba

Stay Healthy!

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Players take turns connecting two dots. When you make a square, put your initials in the box and take another turn. When all dots are connected,

the player with the most boxes wins.

louisiana jam, vol. 1, no. 2 - august 8, 2013

Documents

position of louisiana

louisiana jam columnists

lake charles louisiana

romero romero photographypage

legal responsibility

kitten tocuddle

theres nothingmore fun

dang yankee5 tips