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“Custom is a mutable thing; yet we readily recognize the permanence of certain social values. Graciousness and courtesy are never old-fashioned.” — Emily Post Some things never go out of style, and living a gracious life is one of them. For me, living a simple life and a lifestyle of graciousness goes hand in hand. But how does one go about cultivating a gracious life?

Here are 7 things you can do to get started: Step 1: Mind your Manners — even the simple manners of saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, or holding the door open for the person behind you can take you a long way towards graciousness.

Step 2: Care for your Community — give of yourself, through volunteering, mentoring, or just visiting with someone who isn’t able to get out and socialize Step 3: Teach your Children — good manners and gracious living aren’t just for adults. Teach your children what it means to be gracious and show them how to live it.

Those of you who have followed this column over the past several years know my true historical love is local history with an occasional deviation. Up front this writer does not claim a great deal of knowledge in today’s subject — only love and interest. “A Brief History of the Holy Bible in English”. Being a Mason some 70 years we are exposed to the subject with the Knight Templars as the principal information source. J. Luther Jordan, of Mansfield and world leader of masons back in the mid-1900’s, could have done a much better jobs with this subject.

Time to get ready for fall vegetable gardening

It’s time to get ready for fall vegetable gardenin We know, we know: It’s still hot outside. Falling leaves and crisp autumn air feel an eternity away.

But for some of our favorite cool-season veggies, there are narrow windows for planting and growing. So if you want to harvest a bountiful crop of homegrown produce this fall, it’s wise to start planning — and, depending on what you want to grow, planting — now.

“But wait!” you say. “My summer vegetable plants are still producing. Do I have to pull them up?”

Of course not. Many summer vegetables are still churning out produce — and probably will for a while longer. In fact, if you grew okra and eggplant this summer, you can keep these plants going all the way up to our first killing freeze. Just cut them back to knee height sometime soon, and they’ll continue to grow and produce fruit through the fall.

Eating Smart - Kinda

To celebrate the “Thumbs Up” that Dr. Leggio gave me on my yearly checkup I decided to keep on trying to eat right. I’d lost another couple of pounds and now double-determined to stay healthy and eat healthy starting now with lunch.

I pulled into McDonald’s drive-thru and, tearing my eyes away from the large advertisements for the Quarter Pounder Deluxe combo, I proudly and righteously ordered their Southwest Salad with the vinaigrette dressing and un-sweet iced tea. I was patting myself on the back for showing alot of restraint and will power — I mean I HAD been fasting for Dr. Leggio’s bloodwork this morning and I was reaaall hungry.

to think of how one’s mind operates when thinking of topics of historical significance week after week. Of all things the name Virginia Dare came to mind for this week — But who is Virginia Dare?

Early in the colonization of America a colony led by Sir Walter Raleigh was brought to Roanoke Island just off the coast of present day North Carolina. The first group or attempt was in 1584 but it only lasted a year before the weary, half-starved settlers returned to England. Three years later Raleigh sent a second expedition of 117 men, women and children under the leadership of John White. On August 18, 1587 shortly after reaching Roanoke, Governor White’s daughter, Eleanor White Dare gave birth to a daughter who was the first Caucasian child to be born in American. The child was christened Virginia Dare. How interesting that this writer should remember such a small bit of information from his sixth grade in school.

Seven Bridges … Bridge

To paraphrase that famous Eagles song of the South from their ‘Live’ album in 1980. Written by Steve Young about an actual road of bridges out of Montgomery, Ala. The Eagles acapella version is the most famous and Don Henly once said, “When we open with it the crowd goes wild! But it is really only a song about a road and a girl although now I think there is almost something mythical about it”.

AND, let me unpack that a little to make sense of it all. I just got back from a short trip down to South Louisiana to introduce Susan to my best friends Butch and Charmaine Golsan and my Son Van (Three) and his girlfriend Rachel.

In battle against Italian ryegrass, cover crops add to arsenal of control options Many farmers already know cover crops provide a range of benefits. Planted in between cash crop growing seasons when fields would otherwise sit empty, cover crops help reduce erosion, enrich the soil nutrient profile and break up compacted areas.

Now, an LSU AgCenter researcher is exploring another use for these off-season crops: competing with difficult-to-control weeds to keep them at bay.

Donnie Miller, a weed scientist at the AgCenter Northeast Research Station near St. Joseph, has found success in suppressing notoriously unruly Italian ryegrass with a combination of a fall residual herbicide and a planting of cereal rye, a common cover crop. He spoke about his work at a recent field day at the station.

Italian ryegrass has been a growing concern in Louisiana agriculture circles in recent years.

While serving as First Vice-President of the North Louisiana Historical Society on April 4, 1964 this writer submitted the following article on the Ole Log Courthouse Bell. This article slightly condenses and updates that original.

Hardly had DeSoto Parish been organized when the Police Jury saw the need for a bell to summon people into court. In 1843 a bell was ordered from Philadelphis to be placed in front of the newly constructed log courthouse at the corner of Washington Ave. and Franklin St. The courthouse square was left vacant because a larger Courthouse would be needed in the near future. The Bell did service for many years and if it could speak it would reveal the history of DeSoto Parish. It would tell of the trials, debates and elections that became history here.

One of the best ways to stay cool in the summer is to stay inside curled up with a good book. But if you have kids, it can be difficult to encourage them to come inside out of the heat.

To help encourage reading more during the summer, it helps to have a dedicated space — or a Reading Nook, if you will. For kids, you can find a corner of their bedroom and place a comfortable chair — or even a bean bag. You may have an established rule about ‘No food or drinks in the bedroom’, but you may want to amend it slightly if you place their reading nook in there. Sometimes it’s more fun to enjoy a snack while reading, and if handled well, it may even encourage those who don’t enjoy reading to discover it’s actually an enjoyable past time. Place a small table next to the chair and allow them to have a snack and a drink. At the end of the designated reading time, help them to establish the habit of bringing the plate and glass to the kitchen.

Taco Mac & Cheese

Si, Senor Maccarones con Queso e Taco — suena muy bien! Pam Bello has this great sounding dish on “My Recipes” this week and I was flirting around with trying it but the cheese sauce part sounded a little daunting to me. Yes, I am sauce challenged. I’ve tried and tried to do scratch sauces and gravies but it just doesn’t happen for me, I mean even when I do my big Thanksgiving spread I always buy 2 cans of turkey gravy.