“Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” ~Adlai Stevenson~ “You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but …

As I hugged my veteran during the fireworks at the Mandeville Seafood Festival last night, singing “Proud to be an American,” I couldn’t help but get all sentimental. You see, my soldier is home safely this year, and even better will not be returning to the sandbox (Iraq) due to his retirement last October. I …

* warning – drinking and blogging going on here!!!! * the whole fam damily headed out to the Mandeville Seafood Festival again. This night we had a mission, besides blowing cash spending money. We were going with “free passes” thanks to NOLA.com – woot woot – to see the fireworks!!!! * We parked waaaaaay too …

* My business partner drove me around the “Garden District” today. We had another organizing job Uptown and honestly – there is no change in color or huge lines or signs that say Uptown, Garden District etc… I guess I can actually say I have seen the real “Garden District” now. Yes, drool was coming …

Yep…on blueberry hill. Well, really “Blueberry Ridge” in Picayune, Mississippi. (website for all farms). My buddy, myself and our collective 6 kids headed off rise & shine to Picayune. We called around for the closer blueberry farms – but most were “picked out.” If we didn’t get lost take the scenic route – it would …

Last I left you…you were staring at your computer monitor (and here you are again – predictability is good). You were saying to yourself, “forget soap operas, Kiss my Gumbo” is much more entertaining. I have to read KMG to see how Greta is going to move the “proverbial Louisiana mountains.” Not so fast…I can’t …

Back in college, I had to sign up for one of those “mandatory/voluntary” psychology experiments. You know, the one where you had to do some useless study that some other college kid had to perform that would solve all questions about how strange college students were (big run-on sentence). To make a long story longer…I …