“The Cajun…. may be forgiven for being proud: for at one time he was the “poor folks” of the swamps. Then he took a land that nobody else wanted and turned it into something special: he made it his.” - From The Longest Street by Tanya Brady Ditto

It’s personal for me – the Gulf oil spill. Certainly not to the same degree as for the folks whose lives and livelihoods have been thrown into chaos and uncertainty. But I’ve gotten to know some of them during visits to southwestern Louisiana over the last few years.

I’ve seen their joie de vivre and determination to hang onto their unique culture in the face of an increasingly homogenized world. I’ve experienced their generous hospitality. So when I see those pictures of oil gushing into the Gulf waters, the gooey globs floating on the surface, and the oil-soaked shores and marshes, I’m also seeing familiar faces

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By Julianne Glatz
Illinois Times