Alpha and Omega

     Sunday was a free day in Lafayette so I drove around the countryside revisiting some of the sights Kathy and I saw ten years ago and seeing some new ones. In Loreauville I stopped at the little cemetery to view Clifton Chenier’s grave. Instead of listing the dates of his and his wife’s birth and death his gravestone had engraved in it their alpha and omega. I failed to look at other gravestones to determine if the alpha/omega designation is common in the cemetery or if it is unique to the Cheniers. I guess I’ll have to make another pilgrimage.
     The Evangeline Oak in St. Martinsville marks the omega of the Evangeline legend. I visited the alpha of the story last year when I drove through Acadia country in Nova Scotia. The story, as immortalized by the Wordsworth poem, is about two Acadians, Evangeline and Gabriel, who fell in love, but were separated when the English drove the them from their land in Canada. They were not reunited until years later as Gabriel lay dying and the Acadians were becoming Cajuns.
      I also drove to Labadieville. A post office, a tobacco store, a Family Dollar and that’s about it. We go to these places so you don’t have to. I also looked for alligators near the Tabasco plant but, unlike ten years ago, there were none to be found. Precious was sorely disappointed.
     The next day I was in New Orleans. I can’t make up my mind about that town. One minute the rough streets, the weather, the shabby neighborhoods and the teenage drinking put me off. The next minute the attractive buildings, the museums, the vibe, the streetcar,

the river and, of course, the food enchant me.
     I arrived in DC yesterday. The drive through Virginia reminded me of my mom. At times the trucks outnumbered the cars, which would have driven her nuts. "Where are the freight trains?" She would have asked.