Columns

Today’s article probably should be headlines “Did You Ever Wonder?” Probably most of us from a time to time have wondered about certain things and we just couldn’t seem to find the answer or reason. Natchitoches, the oldest town in the Louisiana Purchase by three years, boasts of Cane River. Was it once the Red River and did it actually flow through the middle of town or is that just a lake? The Red River did once flow through town until the Spring of 1837 when a flood caused the river to cut a new course at Grand Encore leaving Natchitoches with only an old “Chute” or remnant of the river’s channel. St. Denis founded the town three years before New Orleans was formed and continued to live there until he died July 11, 1744. His niece along with a large group came up to Bayou Pierre and made the first settlement in what is now DeSoto Parish, Louisiana.

A Scratch Cherry Pie

Most of you who read my columns know that, although I love to cook, I am “Pastry Challenged”. In fact I am “Gravy/Sauce Challenged”, too, but that doesn’t pertain to this column. That’s why you may be curious about the title. Most people think of a “scratch done” dish as one done completely by a recipe with your own ingredients in your own kitchen. AND because I couldn’t do a real scratch cherry pie if my life depended on it I bought a Sara Lee frozen cherry pie at Brookshires. Now I DID scratch the side flap of the box it came in to open it and I DID scratch the cellophane wrapping to remove it before baking so that’s my take on a Scratch Cherry Pie. It sure does taste good, too, especially with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top while it’s piping hot!

December 7, 1941 is the declared a “Day of Infamy” when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The American navy fleet was at anchor there on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. On this Sunday morning at 7:55 am while many of the servicemen were at breakfast and some still in bed Japanese dive bombers bearing the symbol of the rising sun burst through the clouds. Within seconds the sky was full of their war planes dropping bombs on our ships. The bombers were followed by fighters called Zeros with their machine guns strafing the brave U.S. sailors who rushed to their guns. Senator Jackson B. Davis was stationed there and tells of the fighter planes flying so low you could see the smiles of the Japanese pilots. The attack left 2400 dead, 1200 wounded, 18 ships sunk and 300 American planes destroyed.

Dear Class of 2020,

You know your story is unique, but it’s more so than you realize.

Many have said, and I’m sure most of you agree, that COVID-19 has cheated you out of one of the most exciting, most anticipated, most cherished times.

For the rest of your lives, deep in your heart and memories, you will have your own unique narrative of this unprecedented time in history that changed the dynamics of your senior year.

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As I was getting ready to take a break from a some anticipated yardwork a swift shadow passed over me. Quickly looking up I noticed nothing but by adjusting to the angle of the sun I saw a large black bird sailing just over the top of the green pine canopy. An eagle!? I have seen those cruising around Barney Goss’ Lake before so I eagerly tracked the flight of this bird to see if I could identify it. Noticing how effortlessly he sailed with the air currents I was reminded of that often plagiarized scripture from Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles!” How powerful, how beautiful and my heart soared up to that bird. Perhaps not an eagle but strong and free and … hungry.

Followers of this article know that from time to time we write a short biography of someone that has made a great contribution to the Parish. Such a person was Dr. George A. Ritchey, Pastor of Mansfield First Baptist Church for 28 years. A native of Enterprise, Mississippi he graduated from high school and Pearl River Jr. College at Poplarville, Ms. He won the gold medal for being the best all-around athlete receiving letters in football, baseball, basketball and track. He was converted to the Lord in 1926 while a student there.

George Ritchey attended Mississippi College at Clinton, MS. on a football scholarship while preparing for the ministry. He preached at Duncan and Fiars Point while in the state of Mississippi. After graduation he attended the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, KY. After his masters of Theology degree in 1933 he continued and received his doctors degree and started pastoring at Paragon, Indiana.

I try to limit my trips to the grocery store during this pandemic, especially after what happened to me recently at a Shreveport Kroger.

I had parked near the back of the parking lot, which was my mistake. As I was loading my groceries, a large four-door truck suddenly pulled up very close to me, effectively shielding me from the view of others.

A middle-aged woman was driving, and a man near her age or a bit older was in the passenger seat. Even though they were inside the truck, I felt like they were in my personal space.

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B.O.F. BBQ

I’m still trying to go through the pantry and freezer to try and cook some of these forgotten and mysterious items I keep finding. So, in the Bottom of the freezer I found a package of Pork Riblets and a small package of Chicken Tenders. Last weekend I had so much fun BBQ-ing the “Mixed Grill” Ribs and Chicken Thighs that I thought these might be worth another try on the ole pit.

These Riblets aren’t reprocessed pork formed to look like a rib section (think McRibs – ugh!) but are actually the ends on a large rack of ribs that are trimmed off to make the big rack more attractive. You don’t see these often but when the Butcher does put some out I scoop up a package. I advise you to do the same because they cook up the same way as a big ole rack but don’t take as long.