The Dark, Creepy and Beautiful Swamp

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today and would like to share with you my feelings and some pictures of the place I was born and raised. I loved the swamp, and the south, and living near the water. I loved living across the river from New Orleans and the culture and the food. When going into the city, there was never a dull moment and the characters you would meet there were unlike any other. It was truly a unique place that I started to miss even before I left.

The swamp was my playground as a young girl and I don't think I would have wanted it any other way. It's where I got my love for the moss covered cypress tress and my fear of spiders. It wasn't uncommon for us to get in a pirogue and follow the canal down to the lake and spend the day in the water. You had tough feet because of the oyster shells you walked on bare footed. You always had a nice tan. And you learned things that most kids in other parts of the country just wouldn't understand... like having a mud fight with the stinky soft mud at the bottom of the canal and knowing why you had the nicest looking skin around.

You weren't really afraid of alligators because you knew that they were more scared of you than you were of them. You also toyed with them just because it was fun. For those who fish, the orange floating bobbin is enough to attract and catch an alligator. I know your question is... "Why would you want to catch an alligator?" to which my answer would be, "Why not?" Especially if it's small enough to have around as a pet for just a little while.

In a place called Jean Lafitte... (we usually drop the Jean)... we had picnics out at the nature trails. I remember my short grandfather walking the trail with a walking stick and catching armadillos bare handed by their tails, and snapping turtles without getting clamped upon by their vicious jaws. When we would go for our walk, if there was any rustling in the leaves, he'd jump off the wooden walkway to see what it is. Most of the time it was a squirrel, but every now and then he would catch something, hold it up, and say "You see this kids?'" and he would proceed to explain to us what it was, and how to cook it.

I didn't realize when I was younger how very special my childhood was. The experiences were unique and will stay with me for the rest of my life. Looking at these pictures again just makes all of those memories come flooding back. I remember stories of the highway leading down to the nature trails... where the trees completely cover the road like a tree tunnel. There was this folklore tale that if you drove down the road at night and turned off your headlights before you reached that spot you would see a hanging body from the tree. The body of a pirate of course, my memory gets fuzzy though at which pirate, it was wither Jean Lafitte or his brother Pierre.

I am a horror nerd so all of those scary stories about hanging pirates and voodoo practices were right up my alley. The shrunken heads and voodoo dolls, ahhh memories!! We visited the French Quarter frequently and there are still genuine voodoo shops still open with everything you can think of to cast a quick voodoo spell. The last time I went into the city, tucked away in a corner of an alley was a new wicked little vampire shop. I don't remember the name of it but I do remember buying a candle, and they gave a little fake tattoo of a vampire bite. Where else will you find something like this?

I don't think that it was a mistake that the swamp was my playground. I think I belonged there and no matter where I go I believe the spirit of where I'm from will follow me for the rest of my life. I do hope to incorporate some of that spirit into my food truck and restaurant. I just hope these good country folk up here can take it. I'm already the weirdo but most of the people I've gotten to know seem to be as fond of me as I am of them even with my obvious weirdness so there's definitely hope.