pierre fontenot »
Exhilaration
Eighty-one was (it feels odd to use past tense) as unique a store as Lake Charles has ever had. During the closing phase, I felt, and wrote, that it was like being alive at
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Finishing Strong
I think about heaven a lot. (As first sentences go…) No experience with perfection, so I reduce it to how-it-is-down-here… some angel bureaucracy in charge of admittance, couldn’t let you just rush in, meet
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The Last Days Of Eighty-one
…as Eighty-one nears its end (June 29th!)… its fitting to answer the most asked question, “How did Eighty-one get its name?” Answer: “it’s the owner’s IQ.” Drum rim shot. For those of a certain
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The Honor Of Menial Labor
I’m a word guy, which means I have a great fondness for the creativity of black slang. Years ago, I’m a waiter in a restaurant, and at closing we all had some duties. I
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The Proper Attitude Towards Invisibility
It came down to Good versus Better. I own Eighty-one, a retail store, and I’m Good for what it asks of me, but I’m Better at writing. For years I’ve had this inner whisper,
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Advice To Seniors
Don’t chase money. There have been a guesstimated 100 billion humans on Earth and 90 billion of them spent their lives chasing money. Point is: it’s common. They chased hunting grounds, watering holes, timber,
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Graduating Again
I have a nephew who is graduating high school. “That” is on my mind, the whole kicked-out-of-the-nest moment, where you can’t stay, gotta go, but go where, go how, go for what ‘n why…
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The Gift Of Without
Without my past, what stranger would I now be? Without my past, what armor would I be missing, what foundation would I stand upon, what great knowing would be greatly unknown? Without smiles,
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Spring In Louisiana
Dear Louisiana, you do narrow us down. Even with school out, you make us do math in summer, multiplying heat x humidity. Your falls aren’t official. It can still be 80 at Thanksgiving, and
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The Pendulum Swings To Pink: The Feminization Of America
How It Was: 1960’s, my brother yelps, wasp got him. Grown men are near. Mr. Murphy, the oldest man, reached into his mouth and pulled out his spit soaked chew of tobacco and slapped
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