Start with the hotdogs!

By: Jim Brown

One of the biggest challenges facing Louisiana’s
newly elected Governor Jeff Landry is
the task of re-instilling pride in the attitudes of
many Louisianians. Government can only do so
much. But a governor can be a catalyst in raising
the public’s expectations.
The whole focus of public accountability
and local pride came to mind this
past weekend as I was receiving some
medical help in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Now I do admit a bit of favorable
prejudice towards the Tar Heel State,
having graduated from Chapel Hill back
in the 60s. And 50 years ago, many observers
linked North Carolina and Louisiana
as the two southern states with
the greatest potential for economic growth and
a higher quality of life in the South.
Both states had a strong agricultural base,
with tobacco being king in Carolina and both
cotton and sugar cane offering farmers a good
living in Louisiana. It was textiles in Carolina
and oil in Louisiana. The two great university
presses in the South were located at Chapel Hill
and Baton Rouge with major American literary
figures concentrated around the two prodigious
state universities.