Overdue Update, Part I

The snow is falling here in Atlanta, building up a nice little collection on the cars, trees, and grass outside. This is big news here in Georgia, so the news stations are reporting very diligently that in fact the snow is falling, that it is white, and that the roads will inevitably be slick tonight. One Department of Transportation representative suggested that everyone “just don’t go out”. I am obediently staying in, trying to keep a fire going, and enjoying the view out of my window. Incidentally, the snow looks about the same in Cobb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties per the local broadcasts.

This should be a great day to take advantage of being homebound and study for the big exam that I have on Tuesday, but alas, I am not in the mood. So until the mood hits me, I will busy myself with other things. The poor, unattended blog has thus entered my mind, so I will attempt to make up for some lost time. As the fire in my fireplace is virtually dying, I will take a stab at bringing to life some long-overdue updates on life.

If you have kept up with this narrative of my random thoughts and occasional updates, you probably remember that in August of 2006 I began a new adventure by contacting Marcia, my birth mother. It has been a wonderful year and half since that time of catching up on the 28 years we did not know one another, meeting and getting to know each other’s families, and generally moving forward with a new relationship that I had never quite imagined would be so enriching.

The new news is that in August of 2007, I took another big leap of faith and contacted my biological father. His name is Hale, and he lives in the small town of Jeanerette, LA. This is a little less than a 2 hour drive from Baton Rouge, where I grew up. After a few weeks of writing back and forth with Hale, he proposed that I fly down to Louisiana for a football game so that we could meet one another and enjoy something together that we both happen to love (ie – football). After a little disappointment that I would not be able to make it down for the Auburn-LSU game, we were able to arrange for me to fly down the first weekend of October. I arrived at the Lafayette, LA airport on a Friday afternoon with bags packed and heart pounding. In this small regional airport, it took only seconds after walking off of the plane to spot the 6’4” Hale, who was grinning from ear to ear and looking at me with sparkling eyes and a little glistening of tears. I could sense now in person the gentle spirit of this man who I had corresponded with and already come to appreciate as an easygoing and kind-hearted person. We walked outside and were greeted by his very loyal companion, Abby (a 6-yr old golden lab), who was obediently waiting in the back of his white pick-up truck. The drive down to Jeanerette was pleasant as we started to talk more about our lives and I heard the interesting story of how Hale ended up in what has become a dream job for him. We saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky, as there was a light rain in the air, and we could see both ends of its span across the highway and beyond. He took me first to his bayou property along the Bayou Teche, on which he has built a house for entertaining as well as relaxing (and building things in the adjacent workshop). This was to be my lodging for the night, and Abby stayed with me to keep me company. Hale and I had a drink or two, ate some wonderful gumbo that he had made earlier in the week, and chatted a bit more before he headed back home to his house up the road.

I spent a little time just sitting around after he left, taking in the environment and processing the past few hours, and then I popped in a VHS of Groundhog Day and zoned out for the night. I made it about half way through the movie before falling asleep to the sound of rain falling on the tin roof. The next morning Hale picked me up, and we went to have breakfast at a little café in downtown New Iberia (a slightly larger town near Jeanerette). While we were down there, we made a few stops. We went to see his houseboat, which was docked on the Bayou Teche right near the restaurant, having been stationed conveniently there for the Gumbo Festival which I believe had taken place the previous weekend in downtown New Iberia. We stopped by to see a friend of Hale’s who owns and operates an auto repair shop on the same street where we ate. We went to see a cousin of Hale’s who lived nearby and to whom he needed to deliver some tickets for the LSU game that night (vs Florida). We then went to visit Hale’s mother, Eve, and it was a joy to visit with her for the first time. She is in her early 70s, in overall good health, twice widowed, and according to Hale is a very strong woman. Her home was impeccably clean and orderly but at the same time warm and inviting. After a brief visit with her, we drove a few more minutes to stop by Hale’s sister Adrian’s house. She was also very inviting and is a nurse with 3 children, only one of which still lives at home but was not there at the time. Our last stop of that morning was at Hale’s cousin Wardell’s house, who was just getting ready to mow his 1-mile long (but only about 25 yds wide) stretch of backyard. Wardell, like everyone else, was very friendly, very easy-going, and we enjoyed a few minutes of laughing and talking together before leaving him to the awaiting grass.

Next on the agenda was to head back to Hale’s house and make preparations for going to the LSU game that night. We arrived around lunch time at his house, and I finally met his wife Sandra and son Brian, who is 18. I would meet his daughter later that day at LSU. Admittedly it was strange to enter their home and to make small talk, a stranger and yet in some strange way a part of this family, but we all survived the uncomfortable beginning and managed to get loaded up in the truck for the trip to Baton Rouge.

…. I’m starting to get a little tired of typing now (and you’re probably getting tired of reading), so I’ll continue this story later, probably today but I can’t say for sure.

Here are a few photos in the meantime…

Hale and his mother, Eve

Me and Eve

Bayou house (and Abby)

Bayou Teche at Sunrise