Darrin Guidry  (top)

Our next flood may come from Ohio
Every year we watch the weather and hope a hurricane doesn't flood our homes, but it wasn't too long ago that we would watch the river and hope its rising levels wouldn't flood our homes ... how quickly we forget.

Congratulations 'little brother'
The Canadian hockey team defeated Team USA Sunday to win Olympic Gold, and I wasn't upset ... does that make me un-American?

The third-generation curse
This week the Tri-Parish Times celebrates businesses that have been in business for 40 years or more. There are over 300 such businesses in the Tri-parish area, and although many of the companies are no longer owned by the original families, some are in their third and fourth generations. In today's world of instant gratification, multi-generational businesses could soon be an endangered species.

And the rest on Gilligan's Island
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale - a tale of a fateful split. Like a passenger of the doomed SS Minnow on the television show "Gilligan's Island," I witnessed the stranded relationship between the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority (TEDA) and the regional, non-profit economic group South Louisiana Economic Council (SLEC).

Season ends in checkmate
A professional football game has become like a game of chess with one play being chosen based on the anticipated plays to follow. Although I am not good at chess - finding it difficult to sacrifice a bishop for a chance to knock off a queen - I am better at pool, which uses a similar concept.

Sometimes you have to have faith, football
This has been a confusing year for Catholics throughout south Louisiana. The Saints are in the Super Bowl and Catholic terms and holidays are being turned upside down.

Did you hear the sound of jubilation?
There were three things my father and I never thought we would live to see - the completion of the four-lane U.S. Highway 90, the election of America's first black president and the New Orleans Saints going to the Super Bowl.

I'm an original Patterson Who Dat
I was a "Who Dat" before Saints fans knew what "dat" was.

The hunter becomes the hunted
I received a letter in the mail the other day from a credit card company promising to consolidate my bills with no interest for the first year. It seemed as though my good credit placed me into the credit card company's target audience. Although identifying a business's target audience is part of what I do for a living, I don't really like being part of a target audience.

Think before choosing your resolution
Every year I make a New Year's resolution - to change something about myself or do something better. One year I resolved to exercise twice a week, and I did so ... just not consecutive weeks. One year I resolved to cut the amount of caffeine I was receiving in half, so I mixed a can of decaffeinated with a can of caffeinated coffee grounds. The result ... I drank twice as much.

War drums threaten council unity
The unity of colonialists in the 1800s helped them to defeat Native Americans during the Indian Wars. Similarly, the unity of the Terrebonne Parish Council has helped it win major economic and political victories.

Consider cash this Christmas
From the time I could no longer hear Santa's sleigh bells, green has been my favorite Christmas color ... not the green of mistletoe (although that ranks a close second) but the green of American cash.

Is Nike trying to rewrite LSU history?
It was as if a former Notre Dame or Washington graduate was asked to design a new Louisiana State University uniform.

A Thanksgiving Cruise Top 10
Thanksgiving is a time we look over all the things for which we are thankful - maybe a recent addition to the family, new found prosperity or the fact that 2009 is almost over.

Life's path has many influences
Most of us go through our daily lives with the belief that we chart our own path - that a gun accurately aimed will always hit its target. However, even the path of a bullet is influenced by its surrounding environment.

It should be more than a day with no mail
Every Wednesday, Tri-Parish Times is delivered to subscribers throughout the region ... but this week is different.

La. politics makes for strange bedfellows
Former Louisiana governor Dave Treen's passing last week has cast a spotlight on Louisiana politics and the man who would become Louisiana's first Republican governor since Reconstruction. Treen's political career came at a time when classic Louisiana politics was in its golden age - and the person in the driver's seat was named Edwin Edwards.

Raise roads, not houses
Some local government officials who support the construction of the Morganza-to-the-Gulf hurricane protection system in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes can be heard chanting, "Raise levees not houses." While it may be working for New Orleans, the chant is falling on deaf ears here and a new one is badly needed.

Could have, should have and would have
A friend once told me that "could have," "should have" and "would have" are the most used phrases in the English language. The reason is each requires hindsight, which is always 20/20.

The few, the proud ... the off-year voters
There are two things almost certain this Saturday - LSU will not lose (they are off this week), and thousands of Tri-parish residents will go through the day unaware that there is an election.

Speaking English requires continuing ed
I took English for many years in school and have been speaking the language for 40-something years. However, it seems as if I may need continuing education.

Betting on an accurate study
After completing my own study of studies, I have concluded ... the wrong people are doing the studying. I have found that in most cases studies are designed to justify a predetermined conclusion, not to find the correct answer or accurately predict the fate of a community.

Preparing for the 'black gold' rodeo
With the economic hiccup of the last few months in the oil and gas industry and the corralling of many boats and drilling platforms, it is easy to forget the reason oil companies are in business.

Guest Columnists  (top)

Streamlining work beneficial despite shortcomings
The Louisiana Streamlining Government Commission, of which I am a member, has made 238 recommendations to the Legislature and the governor in the first phase of its work to restructure and reduce the cost of state government.

The new face of America - will our freedoms survive?
I have seen the new face of America, and it is troubling.

The 'Louisiana Way' Forward
The news coming out of Washington, D.C., these days paints a clear picture of the "Washington Way" to address our current national economic challenges.

The 'Green Jobs' scam unmasked
A year after it was passed, it has become painfully obvious to anyone with open eyes that the massive federal "stimulus" - along with several other trillion-dollar government interventions in the free market - has utterly failed to turn around America's economy. In fact, all this massive infusion of taxpayer cash has done is deprive our consumer-driven private sector of much-needed oxygen, while sending our annual deficits and national debt soaring to previously unthinkable heights.

It's time to begin reclaiming education
In 2000, George W. Bush reclaimed the presidency for the GOP (albeit by a whisker) by co-opting such Democratic "kitchen table" issues as education. Granted, in 2000, with relative peace and prosperity, such a softer message could far better resonate. But today, with a shaky world economy, the need for real education reform is as strong as ever, and conservatives, once again, can take the lead in addressing a problem that has, sadly, remained dormant for much of the last decade.

Democrats' political suicide pact
The president recently told Diane Sawyer: "I'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president." Excise the self-aggrandizing "really good" twaddle and it would seem ol' Windy City Barry's well on his way.

Protecting the lives of the unborn
Jan. 22nd marked the 37th anniversary of the controversial Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, and, as they do each year, people from many different cultural and religious backgrounds traveled to our nation's Capitol to call attention to the pro-life cause. It's truly encouraging to witness the great solidarity exhibited by all of these people of various backgrounds as they join together to fight for the lives of the unborn.

State must reign in consulting contracts
There has been an explosion in the number of contracts the state awards for various consulting services. State agencies and departments currently spend approximately $7 billion on 16,000 contracts; many are for services that may be unnecessary or could be performed in-house.

A year later, hope dissolves into disappointment
A year ago, on an Inauguration Day like no other, Barack Obama placed his hand upon the Lincoln Bible and then assured a weary nation that, with hope and virtue, we could "brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come."

Super Bowl & Carnival = a joyous problem
On Sunday, Feb. 7, the first big weekend of Carnival parading should pack the streets with partying parade goers.

Bunning, Vitter stand strong for TALF transparancy
With 1,000-paged bills requiring a law degree to understand sailing through Congress everyday, Sens. Jim Bunning (R-KY) and David Vitter (R-LA) have decided it's time to put an end to the obfuscation and to take transparency on a new massive government program into their own hands.

Insanity, defined
One of the oldest clichés in the book defines insanity as doing the same thing "over and over again" and expecting a different result.

Teen road deaths drop in wake of new laws, education
Louisiana's 2008 drop of 8.2 percent in the number of traffic deaths and 3.8 percent reduction in injuries has been great news for everyone involved in highway safety. The 2008 declines in highway deaths and injuries were the steepest in 15 years.

Quelling the Lennon Revolution
By the mid-1960s, Beatlemania had taken the world by storm and a revolution was in the making. Unlike their predecessors, the Beatles soon revealed themselves to be more than just entertainers. They were willing to critique and even debunk tradition - something that virtually no one did at that time. The defining moment came in 1966 with John Lennon's famous remark: "We're more popular than Jesus Christ right now."

Strengthening, improving higher education
As the Commission on Streamlining Government continues to look for ways we can trim government waste and save taxpayer money while protecting vital services to our people, the Postsecondary Education Review Commission (PERC) is also continuing their analysis of ways to strengthen our higher education system.

Is Tweeting now a felony under federal law?
The ominous rise of the surveillance state continues unabated. With each passing day, hope fades that the Obama administration will diverge from George W. Bush's erection of a police state.

How patriotism can save America?
As a soldier in the U.S. Army, I have often pondered what it means to be patriotic, what it means to serve our country and what it means to love America.

Sen. Harry Reid plays a shell game with health care
After months of work by Senate Committees, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stepped up to the microphone and pronounced that in his opinion "the best way to move forward is to include a public option with the opt-out provision for states."

Don't get complacent about breast cancer
Admit it - you may not worry about breast cancer the way you used to. Many people you know who have had it have beaten it - in the U.S. alone there are over 2 million breast cancer survivors today.

Is Glenn Beck the future of television 'news'?
Welcome to the "fear chamber" or "doom room," home to Fox News Channel's political commentator and television news host, Glenn Beck.

Union disclosure - more Obama hypocrisy?
There are multiple examples of how President Barack Obama has reneged on his promise to bring "transparency and accountability" to Washington, D.C., but fewer are more egregious than his cow-towing to labor leaders on the issue of union financial disclosure.

Defensive medicine is bad for health, wallets
Months into the emotionally-charged health care debate, the negative impact that out of control litigation is having on our system is finally getting some attention.

Right-sizing needed to remedy bloated labor costs
Louisiana ranks 1st in the South and 8th in the nation for the number of state employees per 10,000 population. Our state also faces a $3 billion to $4 billion budget shortfall over the next several years.

Government is missing the writing on the wall
Over the last three decades, American consumers have demonstrated precious little in the way of fiscal responsibility.

Why Louisiana needs a single board of higher education
America has the best system of higher education in the history of civilization, and many of those schools are right here in Louisiana.

Wilmer Todd  (top)

Faith is believing that God is reliable, will do what he said
Boudreaux and Thibodaux went on a camping trip in the desert. They set up their tent, cooked their supper over a campfire and went to bed. Some hours later, Thibodaux wakes Boudreaux and says, "Boudreaux, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."

We reap what we plant: Be careful what you plant
A successful businessman was growing old and wanted to choose a successor to take over his business. Instead of choosing one of his executives or his children, he decided to do something different.

True Lenten conversion must address personal shortcomings
One of my favorite stories from Anthony de Mello's "Song of the Birds" features a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. "Why aren't you out there fishing?" he asked.

Spiritual lessons abound in Saints' Super Bowl victory
More viewers in the U.S. watched the New Orleans Saints' victory over Indianapolis in the Super Bowl than any other program in television history. This is not counting the millions of others who watched the game on televisions and computers throughout the world.

Authentic love always strives to do what is best for another
Amid all the excitement about the Saints playing in the Super Bowl and the Mardi Gras' season in full swing, we don't want to forget Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is associated with love, which is the topic of this article.

What we do to help the suffering Haitian people we do to Christ
My first cousin, Kit Lozes, married Edmund C. Landry, an orthopaedic doctor from Houma. They are presently living in Knoxville, Tenn. Dr. Landry practices at Kennett Orthopaedic Center in Kennett, Mo.

Through our Baptism, we discover our true identity
Everyone is born unique with unconditional value. No other person is or will ever be just like me. We are all made after the image and likeness of God. However, each of us can only reflect a small part of God's vast Divinity. Performer Anthony Rapp said it very clearly, "There is only one you for all time. Fearlessly be yourself."

God often calls us in mysterious ways to do his work
For the past 11 years, I have been writing this weekly column for Christians of various backgrounds. Even some of my Jewish friends tell me they enjoy reading "What a Life!" I have tried to avoid theological doctrines that are particular to the Catholic Church.

Our spiritual companions are a great source of strength, happiness
A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Louisiana citizens were the happiest people in the nation. The researchers cited music and food as two reasons why we ranked first.

Some practical, positive advice for making 2010 a great year
The following motivational story is appropriate for the beginning of a new year.

Advent is time to prepare our heart of the 3 comings of Christ
The word Advent is an old English word that means "coming." Advent is the first season of the Church's year that leads up to Christmas.

Proper respect for God, all life and creation is essential to holiness
The late comedian Rodney Dangerfield started his monologues with the catchphrase, "I don't get no respect," and then proceeded to tell a factious, witty incident to make his audience laugh.

Gratefulness is at the very heart of prayer
The late spiritual writer, Henri Nouwen, suggested that our purest, simplest holiday is Thanksgiving. Christmas has become distorted by a society that has forgotten "the reason for the season" and promotes consumer madness and endless parties. Even Easter is overshadowed by chocolate bunnies and new apparel.

Jesus warned about dangers of wealth, possessions, money
While preparing this column, this thought came to mind, "How often does Jesus talk about money, possession, wealth?"

True love requires work, sacrifice - sometimes pain
I would like to share some thoughts about developing a good, healthy marriage. Here are five essential elements.

Our happiness must come from within, never from outside of us
In his book "The Christian Vision," author John Powell makes this observation: "One of the most persistent and widely believed delusions is that one person can make another happy. ... The fact is that no one can make me happy; nor can I make someone else happy. We each have to do that for ourselves."

Inspirational author outlines weekly walk toward spiritual growth
Last week, we talked about the need to change our lives from being self-centered to becoming more other-centered. This means we have to strive constantly "to put on the mind of God" as St. Paul tells us.

Jesus challenges us to constantly change our lives for the better
When Jesus started his public ministry, he went around calling for change in people's lives. He said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." (Matt. 3:2)

U.S. religious surveys show both positive, negative elements
The feature article in the Oct. 4 edition of Parade Magazine asked the question, "How Spiritual Are We?"

Can psychology and theology work together? Priest hopes so
The Rev. John Powell has published many books and produced several video programs. For those of you who are looking for a great daily meditation book, I recommend Powell's "Through Seasons of the Heart."

Some stories impart far more than just facts
Jesus often used stories or parables to teach lessons about the deeper aspect of life. It's a good teaching tool because it addresses the right side of our brain - the creative side.

Priest's prayer asks, 'Lord, teach me to say 'yes'
The Rev. Michel Quoist was born in Le Havre, France, in June 1921 and died in his hometown in December 1997. Quoist was an inspirational figure to many Christians around the world seeking to relate their faith more directly to everyday life.