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| 40 & 8 Voiture 137 on Cross Lake |
Actually, there's a baseball game scheduled in my day, and what's better than sitting outside watching a college baseball game?
Yesterday we attended the annual Confederate History month memorial service in Keachi hosted by the local SCV chapter and it could not have been a more beautiful day. The cemetery is in the piney woods around Keachi and, after several years of hard restoration work and true dedication by the Lt. General Richard Taylor Camp #1308, the cemetery is now immaculate and well tended. The work they have done to care for this resting spot of over 100 Confederate dead is remarkable. Preservation of history is important.
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| Keachi Confederate Cemetery |
The ceremony yesterday was well attended and it was a nice afternoon of fellowship with friends and taking time to remember people who sacrificed so much.
We also attended the 40 & 8 Voiture 137 Nursing Scholarship Banquet fundraiser last night on Cross Lake. Again, a beautifully attended event with really great people, much love, much fellowship. Their site is located on a beautiful cove on Cross Lake studded with cypress trees and it was really nice to just sit outside and watch the breeze ruffling the trees or hear a fish rolling over in the water. We dined on grilled steaks and listened to some nice music, talked to friends, laughed, and felt very grateful for the dedication the 40 & 8 shows to helping nursing students complete their education through these scholarships. Such a great cause!
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| The Shoemakes won dinner at Ernest's as a door prize. |
On the way home we decided to pull into Shehee stadium and catch the last inning of the Centenary baseball game...except the game went on through thirteen innings! Even though Centenary lost the game, it was nice sitting in the cool evening air taking part in the All American rite of passage that is baseball. There's no more beautiful game in my mind. I love it.
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| Centenary College v. Trinity, 2018 |
We truly live in a wonderful community here and while I realize Shreveport has plenty of problems that we need to take care of, we also have a lot of good. I think sometimes we spend a lot of time focusing on the negative - I've certainly been guilty of that - but I also think it's very important for us both mentally and emotionally, to focus on the positive as well.
As we get ready for Give for Good 2018 this week (Tuesday, May 1), I'd like to offer a couple of suggestions if you're looking to make our community a little better through a donation to a non-profit.
One of my favorite charities is Nova's Heart. This group is fully funded by donations. They do community outreach to help the animals of our most vulnerable citizens: the homeless. Through their outreach program, Nova's Heart provides food, basic medications, leashes, collars, blankets, toys, and medical services for these animals. A homeless person may only have his pet left and being able to care for this pet, and to keep him with you, is of such importance. What Nova's Heart does in our community is so often overlooked and underestimated. Please consider them when you make a donation this year.
There are so many great non-profits in our area that I could list for days: all the animal rescue groups are there, many of our local museums like the Shreveport Water Works Museum and the Spring Street Museum, all can use donations. The Shreveport Little Theater is also a non-profit that is a good steward of your donations. You can just go to the Give for Good page and search for your non-profit, or just type in Shreveport, and see who comes up!
Whether you're able to donate back to our community or not, take a moment to get outside, take advantage of this great weather, talk to your neighbors, visit one of our local museums, the riverfront, a small business, or just take a walk. We really do have a great community if we take the time to appreciate it. Sometimes it's the little things.
