GOOD PUBLICITY . . . Daughter Catherine, who’s been visiting from Bend, Ore., picked up a copy of the April issue of Southwest Airlines’ Spirit Magazine, which was distributed on her flight into New Orleans, and it included a wonderful six-page spread titled “Your Adventure in Cajun Country.” Mentioned were sister Marcelle’s cookbook, “Who’s Your Mama, Are You Catholic, and Can You Make a Roux?”, Babineaux’s Slaughter House in Breaux Bridge (boudin), Bayou Cabins in Breaux Bridge, Walter “Butch” Guchereau’s Lake Martin tours, Cafe des Amis in Breaux Bridge (turtle soup, barbecue shrimp), Cajun Country Cottages in Breaux Bridge (with a nice photo), the Cycle Zydeco race and the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival. I can only imagine how many thousands of travelers got a look at this spread aboard Southwest Airline flights. HISTORIC WISDOM . . . With all the economic turmoil our nation has experienced, and the controversial recovery efforts put forth by Congress and the Obama Administration, the following words of wisdom by President Abraham Lincoln penned almost 150 years ago (and currently making the rounds on the Internet) seem to ring truer than ever: “You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. “You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. “You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. “You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. “You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. “You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn. “You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence. “You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves ...” You’ve got to wonder if anyone in Washington thinks along those lines. THIS & THAT . . . Grandchild No. 13 arrived on April 15. Blake Andrew is the son of daughter Therese and Shane Bennett who live here in St. Martinville. That’s our fourth grandson (lots of girls) and Therese and Shane’s sixth child. Everyone’s doing fine. LSU Tigers – LSU held its annual Purple-White spring football game last week and the roster of the two squads included four St. Martin Parish athletes. Projected as a starter at defensive tackle is Breaux Bridge’s Charles Alexander, a 6-3, 310-pound senior who has already earned three letters. Also from Breaux Bridge is sophomore wide receiver John Williams, while Cecilia is represented by sophomore kicker Trent Hebert. Freshman defensive back Ryan St. Julien is a Catholic High-New Iberia product from St. Martinville. They will continue a long tradition of St. Martin Parish Bayou Bengals and we look forward to following their careers.