BayouLife
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New Orleans Folds Space
Today started out ordinary and veered straight into uncanny. I sat down at Honey’s, a neighborhood café I picked more or less at random, and barely had time to sip my coffee when Hayden—yes, that Hayden—walked in like it was the most natural thing in the world. We met over a month ago, hundreds of…
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Two Voices from Thibodaux
Today we had the great pleasure of interviewing two incredible folks in Thibodaux: Quenton Fontenot, fisheries biologist and professor at Nicholls, who spoke about the health of our waterways—from phytoplankton to redfish—and how Cajun culture is inseparable from the water it grew up beside. Misty McElroy, photographer and storyteller, shared memories of growing up on…
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Greig Chauvin Knows Morgan City
We were visited by the warm and wickedly smart Greig Chauvin, historian about town in Morgan City. Among her talents: author of a local Black history book, designer of walking tours and historical brochures, and a scintillating conversationalist. She dropped by Dotty bearing stories and unexpected truths—like the fact that in the 1870s, Morgan City…
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What Came Up with the Anchor
Sometimes you pull up the anchor…And sometimes you pull up the anchor and a transatlantic telecommunication cable.
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The Bridge That Wouldn’t Open
Let’s say you arrive at this glorious beast of a bridge,and they tell you they can’t open it, something’s busted, the electricians are on their way, might be hours, might be more, and so you shrug and make tea and kick your feet up and stare out the wide-open doorway where the swamp crowds in…
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Delta Films, Second Line, and Squirrel Gumbo
Once a week we gather at Secret History HQ for the Delta Film Series—a deep dive into the culture, history, and tangled realities of the Louisiana Delta. These films aren’t just movies; they’re waypoints on the journey ahead. This week, we enjoyed a doc about young musicians finding resilience and rhythm in the streets of…
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Props to Me
What did global capitalism bring me today? Something that gets us one step closer to the river. Over the years, we’ve left a few propellers behind—Sacramento River shallows, low driveways, maybe some questionable navigation choices. This time, we’re thinking ahead. No more scrambling for replacements in tiny marina shops. Now we’ve got a backup Mercury…
