A Country Boy Can Survive

.................well, now that's a bit of a stretch. It's an enormous stretch, but this weekend Dad did bring me a truck load of firewood which is awesome because the only place I can find firewood in BR is at Albertsons and it's horrible wood. This firewood comes to us courtesy of the honorable Judge Charlie Adams in Keatchie Louisiana. In keeping with my unintended historic preservation theme, Keatchie is a shinning example of historic preserveation. It is known for it's three "country gothic" churches. The Methodist Church is pictured below, there is also a Baptist and Presbyterian Church. Keatchie is also home to the only surviving greek revival store in the state. Keatchie is also the birthplace and boyhood home of Frank Ransburg, who is a Southern University Political Science Professor. Professor Ransburg is a nationally recognized LBJ expert. We have a mutual friend, Pres Kennedy. Pres told me that Professor Ransburg would hop on trains as a boy in Keatchie and often find himself on the mail car loaded with east texas (Keathcie being perhaps a mile from the Texas border) newspapers featuring LBJ and thus his interest was born. Pres has told me that Robert Caro, author of "Means of Ascent" and the others in the series of LBJ biographies is coming to town at some point and I will get to go to lunch with him and Professor Ransburg. Caro is a two-time Pulitizer Prize winner. I am sure I will add a lot of depth to the conversation should it ever happen.

Subsequent to Pres telling me about all of this I was at a CLE out at LSU and it was mentioned to the audience that I was from Mansfield. I did the obligatory stand up routine, "Can I get a ride home?" No one laughed. Afterwards a lady came up to me and said, "You're from Mansfield? My Dad is from Keatchie. I'm Ursula Ransburg, my dad is Frank Ransburg." Small world.

More country boy surviving this weekend was Dad butchering a deer in our kitchen. A client brought me some deer as I requested. I thought I was getting a backstrap and some ground meat. I got home and opened the ice chest to find enormous pieces of.......venison.....roast.....of sorts. Thank goodness Dad was in town because he knew what to do with it all. He took out his Boker( http://www.boker.de/us/) pocket knife and start cutting it up. I now have mangeable size quality cuts of meat in my freezer.