Though my memory may be flawed, I believe it may have been mentioned at some point in these posts that I grew up in Louisiana. It will surprise no one to know that even now my head resounds with images and memories of that locale, and books either about, or set in Louisiana are quick to grab my attention. Any book lover would find much to like in the work of Louisiana writer, James Lee Burke, and among his many gifts as a writer is an unparalleled and completely individual skill to paint pictures of Louisiana’s landscape. In many cases those descriptions come close to taking the breath away. And believe me, as one who grew up there, his scenes of Louisiana have the unmistakable ring of truth. Seems as though every Burke book set in south Louisiana that I read calls me back, beckons me ‘home.’
Within an hour of posting this, I will be on the road heading for Louisiana. I’ve decided to spend a couple of weeks visiting old friends and family, enjoying a reunion Thanksgiving, and also—ice cream on the cake—touring the old towns and sites of Cajun Louisiana south of Baton Rouge. I call it the James Lee Burke-Dave Robicheaux tour.
And so, for the next couple of weeks, and whenever the travel allows or provides a WI-FI connection to my laptop, Scriblets will be more of a travel journal than anything else. Hopefully, I can share some impressions and photos of the more interesting sites, and perhaps even encourage some words from my oldest friend and writer, Raymond.
Bye-bye to Florida and the beach for now. When next we meet it will be among the live oaks, the Spanish moss, and buckets of crawfish and boudin sausage.
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