Outdoors

(In honor of the recent passing of Phil Robert- son, I found this article I wrote about him 45 years ago on February 7, 1980 when I was outdoors edi- tor for the Shreveport Journal.) Joe Aillet should have realized earlier that he was fighting a losing battle. Phil Robert- son, his promising quarterback, had other things on his mind …

(Following is a chapter in my new book, “Fa- thers, Sons and Old Guns”. The book, containing 50 of the columns I have written over the years is available from Amazon.com) I met the old fellow once way back in the woods as he ground his pick-up to a rattling halt and stopped to chat when he noticed me walking …

It started for me long ago. My daddy always had a copy or two of the Big Three in outdoor maga- zines – Field and Stream, Sports Afield or Outdoor Life lying around and one of my early childhood pleasures was picking one up, flipping through the pages and reading articles written by guys that became my heroes. My favorite …

Y’all may not be old enough to remember it butI still do. Hank Williams had a bunch of hits backin the day as his twangy voice sang all sorts of sadlove songs, such as ‘I’m so Lonesome I could cry”,“Lovesick Blues”, “Mansion on the Hill”. But hehad one that was a jumpy little ditty abouttaking his girl friend out for …

Since I was a little bitty kid, squirrel hunting washigh on my list of fun things to do. Following alongbehind my dad, careful not to step on dry sticks orbig brown leaves, I watched him as he sneaked upon a feeding squirrel.Observing the way he did it, sneakingup behind a big tree to conceal his movements,he would get the squirrel …

Goldonna, Louisiana. Ever heard of it? That’s the small town/hamlet/village in rural Natchi- toches Parish where I grew up 88 years ago. Actu- ally, I didn’t grow up in Goldonna; we lived a mile out of town next to a red dirt gravel road that in summer, created a fine red dust that cov- ered everything. It was worse when …

Our beloved state of Louisiana is low on the listfor some things but we have one thing we can claimthat no other state has. We have the only modernday Will Rogers as senator representing Louisiana.Senator John Kennedy often appears in clips onnational news channels for his commentsthat have the nation laughing.Here’s an example. While appearingwith a panel of Senators on …

The first day of Spring, March 20, is a specialday for folks around these parts who are dog tiredof winter. Although we don’t have winters like ourfriends up north, we still have to contend with drablandscapes, an occasional frost, cold rains and incessantwind. However, the calendar saysit’s spring so we have reason to celebrate.Already our hardwood trees have freshgreen leaves …

(I was going through some of my columns Ihave written over the years and came across thisone I wrote 15 or so years ago. I had to chuckle andthought I’d share it again with my readers.)I was headed into the grocery store when thisnice looking fellow walked up beside meand commented, “This is some beautifulweather we’re having.”“Beautiful; absolutely beautiful. Withthis …

In sitting and thinking of what I love so muchabout living in Louisiana, high on my list is thedistinct season changes we have here. One of mydaughters lived in Hawaii for a few years and althoughI enjoyed wearing tee shirt, shorts and flipflopswhen visiting there in January, I’dsoon tire of Hawaii’s perpetual summer.I have friends in New England who livefor …