Lessons learned growing up rural

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 the

occasional car came bumping along the

road, kicking up the dust. When it rained,

the dust became mud which made travel

along it sometimes challenging.