Tomorrow is my last day in Baton Rouge for like forever. Well, maybe until Christmas. My parents are as lazy as I am and I won't actually get any presents unless I come home. Russell-husband-and I went to New Iberia where we got to meet a real Cajun girl. Neither of us could understand a word she said. I tried to ask yes or no questions so I could get my oyster poboy but she just kept rambling on anyway. Russ was very excited. We also took pictures with an alligator, went to New Orleans and did awful touristy things, drove to Natchitoches to give them pictures, and went to to the huge fun St. Patrick's day parade in BTR.

Russ is from Tucson so he had never done the cheesy Louisiana things before. Everywhere we went felt horrible, and uncomfortably artificial and surreal except Natchitoches. It was the only place I felt like I could one day live, though I don't see moving back here ever again. Too many other places I haven't lived yet. I was also made fun of for walking around my old high school. He didn't get it at first. His high school is the last place on earth he would actually want to go back to. After we were there for three hours in the faculty lounge putting together frames he got it. I have shown my work to a few people, over the years to lots of people. Most people don't get it. I have never in my life had so many people get it in a short span of time like the faculty at LSMSA. 3 or 4 teachers saw it while I was there to help select which pieces would go in the show (they took six, wheeeee! as many pictures as I had frames for) and every single person saw something that I saw. Brother Michael David and Mary Louise even picked out the same pieces that Michael Book, the world renowned photography critic (just ask him, he'll tell you himself) chose. It's just really nice to be understood when you spend so much time and effort on something that means so much to you. Its that same understanding that most of us felt that went there that makes us such upstanding characters today.

****The school is really hoping for more alumni work. If any former LSMSA students have anything worthy you should email pwidhalm@lsmsa.edu. There will be a sale on April 6, and then 25-30 pieces will be selected for a traveling exhibit. The exhibit will last a year and travel around different public institutuions and galleries in the state. It might look good on an artists resume and it is just a nice thing to have work displayed anytime anywhere. Speaking of exhibited work, there were lots of recognizable pieces hanging on the first floor of the high school buliding. Laura's blue and orange fish, Dakota Bertrand's Van Gogh flowers, Laura's dancing ladies ( I think that was Laura's). Very cool, and now you know the art you gave Michael David is not in a closet.

Tomorrow I am going to see Zack and Talice's work at the student art show at LSU. Maybe we can trade. Lots of people were talking about trading cool stuff before so now that I actually have something to trade...I am going to have images scanned soon for public perusal.

If anyone wants to see cool yard art drive by 344 Edison Street across from Calandro's on Government Street. My mom lives there and she is a wild woman. Feel free to get out of your car and touch things.

And just so someone will have something to relpy to, how do you feel about shooting stray dogs and poisoning cats? Seems to be a very Southern phenomenon.