By Rainbow Robin
Age 16
We got to Louisiana at about 11:30 at night. Aunt Norma Jean is so cute. I love her so much. She’s so hospitable, which made us feel right at home. Monday morning she made us biscuits from scratch with mayhaw jelly. Yum-yum!
Then mine and Erin’s third cousin Kalea came over. She’s in kindergarten. It was cool to play with her for a while, but I was really tired so I took a nap. Around sunset I wandered around with their dog JJ and took some pictures. It is so beautiful around here (Hail, LA.); very lush, very green with all sorts of different trees, plants, very complex ecosystems. You hear birds chirping, grasshoppers, locusts, and lots and lots of natural sounds.
There is a swing outside in the yard like you might have on a porch. I went out there while they were taking Mamaw back to the nursing home. It was the night before the full moon, so beautiful, so light that I could hear the earth breathing. I was soaking up the moon rays and being energized.
I wanted to write in my book so I went inside to get it. Erin and our second cousin Brandon were talking. I didn’t want to miss one of my opportunities to get to know him, so I sat down and started talking with them. He is so funny. We were all talking about how bad we are at sports. I realized that I get a lot of my wacky individualism from this side of the family. My lack of talent in sports is like Gram said once, “Since you don’t like sports it’s hard to believe you are related to us.” Well, I guess I get it from Mom’s family.
Then I went back outside and wrote for a while. It is so nice here. A lot of touching memories are happening. It is a real rediscovery of my roots, very cool. I like Brandon a lot, he is an artist and has been playing guitar for eight years. He gave my mom a beautiful drawing that he did of a dragon. Aunt Norma Jean is just as sweet as she can be. I LOVE HER A LOT. Seeing Uncle Potato was neat too. He works a lot though so I haven’t really gotten a chance to visit with him.
On Tuesday morning we had scratch biscuits and mayhaw jelly again. Then we went up to Mamaw and Papaw’s old land, where mom grew up. It’s a beautiful area up there. What I was amazed at, once again, was the diversity of plants and animals, which I didn’t really see much of but I sure could hear them. I see a lot of why mom is as balanced as she is. It’s amazing what growing up outdoors in a sweet place will do for you. It has been so nice for me to see a lot of the places that mom grew up in. She has been having a wonderful time.
Then we drove back to Norma Jean’s on all of these backwoods roads. I am glad we came here at a time in my life when I can really appreciate this because it’s mighty beautiful. It has been raining this afternoon. I’m really glad about that too. I would have terribly missed it if I hadn’t gotten to see rain at least once while I was away from home.
A lady came over this afternoon and asked me, “So, how do you like being in the sticks, not much to see, huh?” I replied, “No way, I am so happy to be here, it’s beautiful.” I guess she didn’t think I would think so because I am a child, but believe you me, I was so glad to leave Dallas. I mean, we got a lot of good things accomplished there, but I don’t like it there, it’s way to big. We saw Pop’s building where he lays, his cryptominium (another bad joke from my father).
I found some really neat rocks today. I’m going to give them away at home. I miss my friends a lot, but it is great to be away, just totally far away from everyone and everything and to just clean my system out. I feel really good and really happy. Also, very appreciative and I feel that way about Humboldt too. I love you everyone.
Today, Wednesday, we went to Aunt Kaye’s, she is really sweet. She fed us ‘dinner’ and cooked ‘supper’ for us also. She has the cute country home with lots of nick knacks. We visited there for a while and then I rode her bike around, a cute little 3-speed. First I rode to the bayou, took the bike off the road and sat by the water for a while. It was really nice and warm as well.
I found a round prickly ball which I later found out was from a sweet gum tree and that they’re all around here. There were also trees growing up out of the water. I then rode the bike around this loop by Aunt Kaye’s house through a very nice, lush, forested area. I ended up going the wrong way, but saw a girl to ask for directions. She was very nice. I met her momma and niece Jessica. She showed me a shortcut. Then on the way back, I biffed it on the gravel in someone’s driveway. I only scratched up my knee though.
My mom’s cousin Colby, who is a lot like my cousin because he’s 13, is a neat kid, really nice with manners. He was fun to be around. He and Erin got along. She says that they get along like her and Zach. Kaye gave us all a nice package with a shirt and some other stuff. They gave us some cotton too.
I drank a cola there and I think the caffeine really affected my attitude badly. I have been mean and stubborn since we got home. I was acting irritable to my mom about not wanting to pack up the back of the car. She’s like, “If you could just tell me why?” That is one thing that she has never understood; sometimes you just feel and want because.
Then Norma Jean was asking me about my hair and pulling the whole, “. . . oh your natural hair is so beautiful, why, why do you want to do that?” I got defensive and basically told her that I didn’t want to hear it, that it’s my hair and I’ll do what I want. I didn’t really think about it, it was a pretty normal conversation, one that I’ve had more times than I care to remember.
But then my mom comes in crying and saying, “You need to apologize to her”. I guess she was real offended by the way I talked to her and something I said about the food she ate after she tried to pull the natural trip on me. I guess NO kids around here talk to adults like that no matter what. Brandon had heard what I had said and he asked, “What do you feed me that’s bad, momma?”
I always manage to mess up something, don’t I? I’m just not used to the way people act around here and I have a big mouth. I am sorry. I don’t mean to offend people so much. I just always end up saying what I feel. Then I heard them saying how I was so much like Mimi, that I am so ornery like her. I hate it sometimes. Now things are a lot better. I still have to apologize to her, but she’s not mad at me, she was just upset. I usually have to cause at least one ruckus.
On another subject, I truly love Louisiana and have had a great time here but, I have noticed a real disrespect for the land. There is litter all over the roadsides and in the forests. My mom says it has always been like that, generation after generation. The rivers, lakes, and bodies of water I have seen have been very polluted. It seems kind of dirty, but on the other hand, Aunt Kaye and Aunt Norma Jean both recycle and do some other things. There is awareness it’s just not very widespread.
I have had a real emotion packed, wonderful trip in Louisiana so far. My mom has just been in heaven seeing so many of her childhood memories and a lot hasn’t changed around here, but a lot has and it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience for us all to share. I am glad that Jan came with us. It has been good for mom to have her cause Erin and I are brats.
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