Blog Archives — Page 2 of 12 — Alan Lampe

Meet Joe Gray Taylor

Do you know who Joe Gray Taylor was? No. I’m right there with you. When I searched for topics for today’s post, his name came up. He was a Louisiana historian and a professor at McNeese State University in Lake Charles. Hope you enjoy this brief look into his life.

He was born on Valentine’s Day in 1920 in Tipton County. This is north of Memphis. His parents were Bassil Gray Taylor and Lennie Fee Shinault. His father supported the family through farming and carpentry work. He went to public schools and then onto Memphis State College, known now as Memphis State University. After graduating from college, he taught in a one-room school from 1939 to 1941.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan, Joe joined the Army Air Corps, the predecessor to the US Air Force. He was assigned to the Twelfth Bomb Group for the China-Burma theater as a bombardier-navigator. Joe completed seventy missions. He reached the rank of First Lieutenant and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and three battle stars. After the war, he married Helen Friday.

He returned to his west Tennessee roots and obtained a Bachelor’s and a Masters of Arts from Memphis State. In 1951 he graduated from LSU in Baton Rouge with a Ph.D. in history. He moved around between colleges and ended up at McNeese State in 1963. He stayed there until he died on December 8, 1987.

Among his works are five monographs and four essays on Air Force history. The rest of his works focused on Louisiana and the South. Here’s a short bibliography:

Negro Slavery in Louisiana (1963)
Louisiana Reconstructed, 1863-1877 (1974)
Eating, Drinking, and Visiting the South (1982)
Louisiana: The Pelican State – with Edwin Adams Davis and Raleigh A. Suarez

In 1967 he was elected president of the Louisiana Historical Association. In 1986 Joe was named “Humanist of the Year” for the state of Louisiana. Although he died in Lake Charles near the end of 1987, he is interred near Gainesville, Tennessee. His papers are at the McNeese Lether Edward Frazar Library.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book is open on my Kindle. I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read a variety of authors and topics. Currently, I’m reading Moon Hunt by Michael W. Gear and Kathleen O’Neal Gear. It is their third story of Cahokia.

Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure is available on Amazon, as an eBook, and in physical formats. It is also available on the Barnes and Noble website.

A Hodgepodge of Thoughts

Well, I’ve been a bad blogger! Y’all haven’t heard from me in a month. I hope you didn’t think I became incapacitated, or died. Of course, if I had died, then someone has hacked into my website and posted this blog. Maybe it’ll be better than the stuff I normally post. Who knows? Anywho, have no fear, I’m alive and well. Hopefully, this blog post will inspire me to continue every week. And not get depressed/busy and leave this unattended.

Quite a lot has happened since my last post. The NFL playoffs concluded (and the refs should have called pass interference on the Rams), the federal government reopened (although I bet somewhere in Vegas someone is taking odds that it will close again after Friday), another summit with North Korea was announced (I saw the first one on TV), and it’s gotten bitterly cold across most of North America.

Spring is more than a month away, but hopefully, you’ve been busy inside doing some cleaning. I mean, really what else are you going to do? Play on your phone or binge watch a series. Cleaning house is a good form of exercise. Speaking of exercise, in December I started walking after work. I’m up to two miles and really enjoy it.

Louisianan’s can party again today. On this day in 1763, the Treaty of Paris gave the Louisiana Colony to Spain. Of course, the young Americans would buy Louisiana from the French about forty years later.

I finished reading the Brother Cadfael series, all twenty-one books, in mid-January. I read Amy Stewart’s fourth Miss Kopp novel, Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit. My reviews are on Goodreads, Amazon, and Bookbub. Currently, I’m doing a beta read for my critique group. My next book to read will be Kathleen O’Neil Gear and W. Michael Gear’s Moon Hunt. This wraps up their Cahokia trilogy. If you’re ever near St. Louis, cross the mighty river and visit Cahokia. It is impressive.

Until next week. I should have a good topic by then and be able to present a regular blog post. Today’s is all over the place. But hey, it shows I’m alive. Either that or someone hacked my account. I’ll let you decide which.

Mardi Gras is Here

After celebrating the city’s three hundredth birthday last year, a new party in the Crescent City starts today. The carnival season begins on Epiphany. Mardi Gras is coming soon, although this year the season goes all the way into March. Click here for more information about all things Mardi Gras.

Almost seventy parades with 75 units roll through the city. Most are in the days preceding Fat Tuesday. By law, all float riders have to wear masks. Masks were worn so the wearers could freely mingle with whoever they chose, even if they were in a different social class. In going with tradition, the king or queen is not revealed by many krewes.

Since 1872, the official colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green and gold. This was set by Rex, the King of the Carnival. Purple represents justice, green represents faith, and gold represents power.

Carnival krewes are set up as non-profit entities. They do fundraising and collect dues from their members. Many are involved in charitable organizations. The krewes pick a theme for their parade each year. Theme inspirations come from history, stories, legends, geography, famous people, entertainment, mythology, and literature. Sometimes the theme reflects satire or political comedy. Krewes have been tossing stuff off their floats since 1871.

Get caught up on your terminology if you plan on heading to New Orleans in the next few weeks. Boeuf Gras, den, doubloons, flambeaux, go-cup, Lundi Gras, neutral ground, and throws all need to be on your mind.

Mardi Gras Masks

Hope you enjoy your Carnival season this year!

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book is open on my Kindle. I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read a variety of authors and topics. Currently, I’m reading Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series, book twenty, Brother Cadfael’s Penance.

Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure is available on Amazon, as an eBook, and in physical formats. It is also available on the Barnes and Noble website.

Year in Review

At the end of the year, traditionally people take time to review themselves. Numerous companies do it with Best of the Year lists. This is my year in review blog post.

My greatest accomplishment this year is that I became a published author. Many thanks go to the staff of Oghma Creative Media who produced Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure, my romp in the swamp. The book came out April 24. I attended Books in Bloom, the Arkansas Writers’ Conference, the Mississippi Book Festival, the High Cotton on the Bayou Festival, the Ozark Writer’s Conference, and the Tulsa Night Writer’s Conference. I enjoyed them all and learned something at each event. I also gave an author talk at the Fayetteville Public Library. So far, in 2019 I have two events lined up. First, I’ll be at the Author’s Day Event at the Kimberling Area Library in Kimberling City, Missouri, on February 2. The following month, I’ll be giving an author talk at the Artist Retreat Center in Bella Vista, Arkansas, on March 10. I’m sure more events will land on my calendar as the year progresses.

As fall began, I completed my second manuscript and sent it to Oghma. It is a medieval fantasy satire that was a hoot to write. My publisher declined to publish it. The world I created for this story was a joy to be in. I look forward to writing other stories in this world in the future. I began my third manuscript and returned to the historical fiction genre. This tale brings to life Peggy’s tale from her home in the hills of West Virginia to Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure. In the later part of the manuscript, many of your favorite characters will return for some bayou fun.

My critique group did a Halloween story contest. The story I submitted for that was a post-apocalyptic battle between the remnants of humanity and the creatures of an evil being. This idea has stayed with me these past few months. A friend gave me the bones of a great backstory for this tale. This gives me another story to tell in the future.

I’m looking forward to 2019 and the opportunities it brings. I hope you continue to follow me and invite your friends to do so as well. History doesn’t write itself, and I wish you enjoy the history I write.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book is open on my Kindle. I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read a variety of authors and topics. Currently, I’m reading Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series, book twenty, Brother Cadfael’s Penance.

Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure is available on Amazon, as an eBook, and in physical formats. It is also available on the Barnes and Noble website.

St. Louis Cathedral

The Crescent City wraps up its celebratory 300^th year this week. Another icon of New Orleans commemorates its dedication on this day. A Roman Catholic church has stood where St. Louis Cathedral now sits, dating back to the founding of New Orleans. French settlers built the first church out of wood. In 1725, work began on a larger brick and timber building. French engineer Adrien de Pauger designed the structure. It took two years to complete. Four French governors and three Spanish ones worshiped in this church. On Good Friday (March 21, 1788), the church burned in the Great New Orleans Fire. In 1789, the cornerstone of St. Louis Cathedral was laid. It took five years to build the new church. Four years into construction, the new house of worship became a cathedral for a new diocese. Pope Pius VI created the Diocese of Louisiana and the Floridas on April 25, 1793.

Sixty years after the cornerstone was laid, the cathedral was restored using J. N. B. de Pouilly’s designs. The restoration was extensive, taking the building down to the lateral walls. The lower portions of the existing towers remained as well. As construction continued, it was determined the walls had to come down as well. In 1850, the central tower collapsed. This caused the departure of J. N. B. and almost all the remaining Spanish Colonial structure. The cathedral as you see it today is from 1850.

In 1910, part of the foundation collapsed. The church closed for a year, from Easter 1916 to Easter 1917 for repairs. Pope Paul VI elevated the cathedral to a minor basilica in 1964. St. Pope John Paul II visited the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis in September 1987. When Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005, the storm damaged a statue of Jesus Christ. It chipped off a forefinger and a thumb. The high winds also put a hole in the roof, causing water damage to the Holtkamp pipe organ. It was shipped off for repairs and restored, returning in June 2008.

St_Louis_Cathedral_New_Orleans

By Nowhereman86 at en.wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28169640

Sitting on the square with its three spires for the past 168 years, the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis is an icon of New Orleans. History doesn’t write itself, but this building has seen a lot in its 229-year existence. For more information on this wonderful icon, the heart of old New Orleans, click here and here.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book is open on my Kindle. I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read a variety of authors and topics. Currently, I’m reading Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series. After Christmas, I start reading book twenty, Brother Cadfael’s Penance.

Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure is available on Amazon, as an eBook, and in physical formats. It is also available on the Barnes and Noble website.

Historical Louisiana Elections

The 2018 mid-term elections are behind us now. But this blog post will focus on historical Louisiana elections. Voting is the voice of people. It shouldn’t be taken for granted.

On December 8, 1879, Louisianan’s ratified a new state constitution. In doing so, they moved the state capitol from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. It returned Louisiana to home rule, the authority of a U.S. state to exercise powers of governance and perform functions pertaining to its government and affairs delegated to it by the central (state) government. Five state Supreme Court justices were approved for a twelve-year term. The people of Louisiana approved a lottery but believed gambling was still a deceptive vice and voted it down. The 1870s were tumultuous with many battles being fought. Learn more here.

The twenty-fourth governor of Louisiana was sworn in on December 9, 1872. Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback was the first black governor of any state. He was born a free man in Mason, Georgia, on May 10, 1837. He was one of the few black commissioned Union officers during the Civil War. Earlier in 1872, the Louisiana legislature impeached Governor Henry Clay Warmoth, (R). Henry had to step away from the governor’s office until his impeachment trial started, according to state law. This allowed Pinckney, the lieutenant governor, to move into the bigger office. He served the remainder of Henry’s term, just thirty-six days. On January 13, 1873, John McEnery (D) was sworn in as the twenty-fifth governor, having won the election in 1872. The charges against Henry were eventually dropped. Learn more here.

History doesn’t write itself, but it seems like there is an anniversary every day of something important that happened years ago. What’s important is, do you remember and respect your history, or are you doomed to repeat it the failed life lessons of others? Hope my work is helping you understand Louisiana history.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book is open on my Kindle. I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read a variety of authors and topics. Currently, I’m reading Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series. I’m on the nineteenth book, The Holy Thief.

Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure is available on Amazon, as an eBook, and in physical formats. It is also available on the Barnes and Noble website.

A Bayou Cove Christmas

It’s December folks. Time to head into the swamp in your trusted flat-bottom boat and pick out a decent looking cypress tree. The one you caught the big gator at last season. Cut it down with your handy-dandy chainsaw. Float it home, and let it dry out in the yard for a couple of days. Make sure to get all the seaweed off of it. Drag it inside without damaging your door frame and set it up in your grand window. It’s the one that still has all the panes in it. Untangle yards and yards of LED lights and throw them around the tree. For decorations, add scented pine cones, paper wreaths you kid made in school, and your collection of gator teeth. On the top goes the angle, dressed in Saints black and gold. When all the work is done, and your dog has peed on it, relax in your favorite chair with a Moscow mule. Congratulations, you’re all set for the holidays in Bayou Cove. What could top this feeling of euphoria?

Awful Christmas Tree — From the Daily Mail “Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree – you are pitiful!” 12-16-14

An evening at Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure comes to mind. His girls know what fills your heart’s desire. From intoxicating candles to a wild ride on a swing with a one-legged woman, Bill’s has it all. He may come across as a Grinch, but give him some greenbacks for your winter dalliance and you’ll see his heart grow three sizes. Well, more likely his bank account, but it’s the thought that counts, right?

Grab a whiskey when your fun is done. Slide up to the bar and listen to Top Shelf’s magnificent tale of grand theft auto, one piece at a time. A word of warning, don’t challenge Dewey to Christmas carol trivia. It’s one of the few things he excels at. And when you head home, be sure to wave at Octavius. He probably won’t respond, but that’s okay. Being an attack alligator is a tough job.

History doesn’t write itself. But if you’re lucky enough to spend Christmas in Bayou Cove, Louisiana, you’ll have a tall tale to tell for sure. It could even be called a Christmas Miracle in some circles.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book is open on my Kindle. I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read a variety of authors and topics. Currently, I’m reading Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series. I’m on the eighteenth book Summer of the Danes.

Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure is available on Amazon, as an eBook, and in physical formats. It is also available on the Barnes and Noble website.

A Veteran’s Day Story

One hundred years ago today, our ancestors gathered in celebration as Germany signed an armistice to stop fighting the Great War. The Treaty of Versailles ended the War to End All Wars. The great battle was over. Even though this is a day in America to celebrate those who serve and served in our military, I’m going to talk about World War I on this Veteran’s Day.

My grandfather Arnold served in the Great War. He was a farmer from Texas, near Vernon. I don’t know all the facts, but imagine for a moment the life of a farmer in the nineteen-teens. You do a majority of your work by hand. You fill a 150-gallon barrel from a well a quarter of a mile away. You have no electricity at your house, which isn’t all that grand. Your source of news comes from talking to your neighbors on the one day you go into town for supplies or listening to the car radio when the reception was clear. How much news did he hear about the war on the other side of the world? And how accurate was that news as it passed from person to person?

Yet, he signed up and joined the US Army. He traveled, probably by train, from Texas to the East Coast. Who else was on that train with him? Who did he talk to? Who did he become friends with? I’m assuming the ride took a few days. All the while, he saw the undeveloped landscape and bustling cities. Arriving on the coast, he and his new friends piled onto a ship and sailed across the Atlantic. A week or two of sailing and waiting. Maybe getting seasick, or catching his bunk mate’s cold. Was his ship part of a convoy, or did it sail alone?

He arrived in France and said goodbye to many of the men met along the way. His job was to stay at the docks and work the mule teams that were used to unload the equipment on the arriving ships. Day in and day out, for I don’t know how long, he led the mules from the pen, hooked them up and unloaded the heavy cargo. It wasn’t a glamorous job, but in war is there one? My grandfather worked hard during the Great War. From what I know, he never was in a battle, but I’m sure he met men who were. Did he see them again when they left France?

WWI-Supply-Ships-Unloading-Horses — Photo from Shutterstock by Everett Historical

History doesn’t write itself, and the Great War has over a million stories to tell. We know a fair amount of them. How many will we never know? Take time and thank a veteran today. More importantly, listen to their story and learn something new.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book is open on my Kindle. I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read a variety of authors and topics. Currently, I’m reading Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series. I’m on the seventeenth book The Potter’s Field.

Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure is available on Amazon, as an eBook, and in physical formats. It is also available on the Barnes and Noble website.

Pumpkin King Contest

Happy November folks! For the last Thursday in October, the Fiction Forge critique group met to discuss our first contest. We asked the group to write a story not in your regular genre that either start or ends with “Jack, the Pumpkin King, bowed his head sadly.” Yes, we used an adverb in our prompt. We also made the submissions blind. This gave us two contests: guess who wrote which story and who best hid their writing style by having the fewest correct guesses. The contest was great fun, and we agreed to do more next year. I hope you’ll be able to join in the fun.

I set my contest story in a post-apocalyptic world where a massive, thick-skinned beast devastates an unnamed city. An army battalion confronts the beast, but it decimates the soldiers. The captain calls in four Air Force jets to defeat the creature. The extensive missile barrage is effective. Only one soldier survives. This soldier is known to Jack, the Pumpkin King. He’s possessed his body before and is using him, against his will, to end all life on the planet. Although Jack is sad the humans killed his creature, he vows to create another one. One that is faster and has more power. Yesterday, I wrote the next scene in this story at the Tulsa Night Writer’s conference. The soldier is reunited with the pilots, and they review the fight and what weapons they have left. I’ll keep this story in mind and see if I can turn this contest piece into a full novel someday.

From Will Crawford’s Post Apocalyptic Soldiers Pinterest board

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book is open on my Kindle. I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read a variety of authors and topics. Currently, I’m reading Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series. I’m on the sixteenth book The Heretic’s Apprentice.

Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure is available on Amazon, as an eBook, and in physical formats. It is also available on the Barnes and Noble website.

Second Manuscript Slump

I received confirmation this week my publisher will not publish my second manuscript. The story is a medieval fantasy story about a prince and his entourage traveling across the land to meet his princess bride. It’s a fun story, with death and kidnapping thrown into the mix. It also gives me a whole new world to explore. I already have ideas for more stories in this world. But, they will have to wait. I’m okay with that. The delay gives me time to develop the religions in this made-up world and clarify the history. I plan on writing the next story in this series and outline the third one before shopping the whole thing to another publisher.

In the meantime, I started another historical fiction story. The main character of this story is Peggy, from Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure. As already mentioned in my first book, Peggy is from West Virginia. She was in Hartford, Connecticut, for the tragic circus fire. She had her one of her legs amputated after falling from the trapeze. She joined a two-bit circus outfit after that and made her way to Bill’s. The story I’m working on now fills in all the gaps of her life. An added bonus, toward the end of this story, she’ll be at the Cajun House of Pleasure training Octavius the alligator. Revisiting the bayou will be great.

A writer’s work is never done. I have more stories to write and share with you. And there are more events to attend. Several members of my Fiction Forge critique group are going to the Tulsa Night Writer’s Craft of Writing conference on November 3, 2018. It’ll be at the Martin Regional Library. I won’t have a table set up, but I’ll bring some books just in case. Hope to see you there.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book is open on my Kindle. I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read a variety of authors and topics. Currently, I’m reading Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series. I’m on the sixteenth book The Heretic’s Apprentice.

Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure is available on Amazon, as an eBook, and in physical formats. It is also available on the Barnes and Noble website.