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Our Neighborhood Loudmouth Curmudgeon: MR. OSA LEE

Pretty much every community has a grumpy person. When I was a kid living in New Orleans, I remember ours. He wasn’t some mean, fat kid with an unchecked attitude and grudge against everybody. Our malcontent was an old man who was well into his 70s. Everybody in the neighborhood knew him, and all the children were terrified of him, including me. His name was Mr. Osa Lee. He was a peculiar-looking…

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PROUDLY SERVING WITH AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN

 PROUDLY SERVING WITH AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN I was in the U.S. Army and stationed in Heidelberg, Germany. I was a stenograph on the staff of General Frederick J. Kroesen, the four-star Commander in Chief, U.S. Army Europe. This was one of my best assignments in the Army. One day, I went to the bank on Campbell Barracks for a simple transaction. Before leaving the teller’s window, I counted…

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The Tortuous Fun of Army Physical Training in my Day

Army physical training was tough but it got me in the best shape of my life.

The evil Monday morning PT formation hovered over me like a hungry vulture in a scorching desert waiting to pounce on me, its helpless prey. There was no escape.  I WAS A SOLDIER. Last weekend, I had partied my ass off and had gotten drunker than a skunk at the club. I tried to sleep off my massive hangover on Sunday to no avail. I WAS A SOLDIER. Monday, my sworn enemy, showed up as usual. It…

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My audacity of being angry with God

I was angry with God. He understood my pain, and nursed me through the darkest days of my life.

When my mother died in my arms, I was beside myself with grief and pain. Rage and anger consumed me. I needed to lash out at someone responsible. I found a target. From this experience, I found out that it’s ok to be angry with God.  Before I joined the Army, I was in an abusive marriage with a very violent, unpredictable shell of a man. I can’t count the number of times I survived his beatings…

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An Unplanned Hair Disaster

Since I was born during a particular decade, I’ve been unceremoniously tossed aside like a moldy block of cheese into society’s aging segment known as ‘baby boomers.’ I hate that term. I really do. It makes me feel like the universe is punishing me for getting old, or that I’m sliding down the slippery slope of life on my last legs in the grips of rheumatoid arthritis and other age-related…

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Losing Ann Lavigne, my Childhood Best Friend from Catholic School

Her name was Ann Lavigne, my best friend in fifth grade. We attended St. Monica’s Catholic Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Both of us were shy, introverted nerds and skinny as reeds. Looking back, I was a gifted child without knowing it. I got straight A’s in every subject without breaking a sweat and was at the top of the honor roll. Ann was also on the honor roll, but she was…

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My First Act of Defiance in the US Army

Basic training was challenging and prepared me for what was coming. It didn't get any easier.

Company A, 1st Platoon, 17th Battalion, 1st Brigade In July 1977, I joined the Army and was assigned to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for Basic Training. I was a 98-pound weakling soaking wet in my uniform. Assigned to an all-female unit, I was in awe of the mixed bag of women of all shapes and sizes from all parts of the country and walks of life co-existing in this new environment. The…

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TWO SURPRISE VISITORS

I believe that God knows when you need someone. One day, I was in a bad mood. I had been thinking about a personal problem that kept weighing me down. I couldn’t shake it off. The saying, “Don’t worry about things you cannot control,” rings true. And yet I stubbornly resisted this good sage advice. I tried not to worry but without much success. Yet, I know that God knows my heart. He knows about…

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THE MARDI GRAS INDIANS

“Throw me something, mister,” is the familiar phrase shouted at Mardi Gras. During Mardi Gras parades, revelers include both locals and tourists from all over the world. They gather along the parade routes, packed shoulder to shoulder, anxiously awaiting the floats to start rolling by. Like kids vying for free candy, the crowds scramble for the cheap plastic trinkets and prized beads raining…

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“We don’t know them all, but we owe them all.” —Unknown

“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” —Cynthia Ozick

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Water or Sweet Peach Tea for my Sauce?

Water or Sweet Peach Tea for my Sauce?

Sometimes the most ridiculous things can happen at the most inopportune times, especially when we’re not paying attention to the things around us. My example: I went to France with a friend who was visiting from the US. To quench my thirst, I brought a few bottles of German sweet peach tea with me. For some strange reason, I remembered that I had an empty water bottle in the back seat of my…

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Tending to someone else's needs

Tending to someone else’s needs

It was Monday morning, about 8:15. As usual, I was running late for work. Despite this, I stopped at a neighborhood store to get some juices and snacks for my day. This impromptu detour left me with an unforgettable memory of a stranger in need. I will always cherish this heartwarming experience. After parking, I headed towards the store. An elderly couple standing near the entrance door caught…

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My visit to BURG EPPSTEIN

My visit to BURG EPPSTEIN

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A MARDI GRAS WITH MY SISTER ROSE TO REMEMBER

A MARDI GRAS WITH MY SISTER ROSE TO REMEMBER

Several years ago, I took a flight from Germany to visit my sister Rose in New Orleans for the annual Mardi Gras, a cultural and traditional celebration in Louisiana and other parts of the South. I was relieved when the plane touched down at Louis Armstrong Airport. Although the 9-hour flight had made me tired, all I wanted to do after seeing my sister was hit the sack. As the jet taxied down…

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*Three American Angels Came to my Rescue in Ramstein, Germany

*Three American Angels Came to my Rescue in Ramstein, Germany

RAMSTEIN BILLETING All too often, many of us tend to judge people of other races based on the color of their skin, stereotypical ideas, or past unpleasant encounters. Negative information we receive from family and friends or the often biased media also plays a role in shaping our image of others. Given the current volatile and troubling racial climate in the United States, I believe many of us…

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ATTACK OF THE GUMBO SHRIMP

ATTACK OF THE GUMBO SHRIMP

Throughout my Army career, men always outnumbered me in my professional specialty of military intelligence. My job often had its ups and downs, and presented me with many challenge. But I gained the respect of the men after showing them in no uncertain terms that I could always hold my own. Here’s one wonderful true story about working with the opposite sex that always puts a smile on my…