Having a retired editor for a husband comes in extra handy for this blogger.
After reading my earlier post, he pointed out that I had failed to offer a clear description of where Honey Island Swamp is located in Louisiana. An attempt to craft a clearer description of its location smacked me with the realization I had no idea. I had just ASSUMED I knew! (To the uninitiated, it is about 35 miles north-northeast of New Orleans just east of Slidell.)
A visit to Wikipedia provided specifics:
The Honey Island Swamp (French: Marais de l'Île-de-Miel) is a marshland located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana in St. Tammany Parish. Honey Island earned its name due to the abundance of honey bees once seen on a nearby isle.
The swamp is bordered on the north by U.S. 11, on the south by Lake Borgne, on the east by the Pearl River and the west by the West Pearl River. The swamp is located within the Pearl River wildlife management area and managed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
It is one of the least-altered river swamps in the United States. Considered by many to be one of the most pristine swampland habitats in the United States, the Honey Island Swamp covers an area that is over 20 miles (30 km) long and nearly 7 miles (10 km) across, with 35,619 of its 70,000 acres (280 km²) government sanctioned as permanently protected wildlife area.
My family's Friday afternoon departures to the houseboat years ago took us down U.S. 11 from Hattiesburg. When we crossed what we called East Pearl River my excitement ratcheted up. I knew at that point we had crossed from Mississippi to Louisiana and we were getting close to our destination.
But I never realized from East Pearl River to West Pearl River everything on our south side was Honey Island Swamp.
There are so many gaps in specifics from my younger years. I just accepted everything the adults in my life told me about the world around me and the lives of my parents and older relatives. I rarely pursued the details. Now I would love to know more. Those details I do remember of their life experiences are treasures.
Blogging is one way I am attempting to save memories both ordinary and special. What are your strategies?
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I am beyond saving memories now because I have forgotten almost everything that I knew. Tell your editor husband when I do things and don't tell people where they are I figure they're just like I am and if they want to know where it is they will ask Google. Bloggers are not looking for details we're looking for stories that entertain us and I like your description where the Honey Swamp is better than the one from Wikipedia. Yours because I know where Slidell is and so when I read that I knew exactly where it is. Sometime I asked Bob but most of the time I look it up by asking Google girl even things about editing like which word Should I use. Please do not let him read my blog haha he would be marking it up with a red pen
ReplyDeleteOh, I completely understand. there are so many things from my younger years that I have no one to ask about. Now they are important and interesting...then they were just the life I knew. I am grateful for the old photo albums that help me make my way through the "weeds" of yesteryear.
ReplyDeleteSue
blogging is very good for this purpose. I have no sense of direction whatsoever. And have never heard of this place, but it is very cool.
ReplyDeleteI think a blog is a great way to share those special times with family and friends. I also post to Facebook regularly .
ReplyDeleteI think different things are important to us at different times of our lives and we then have questions as we grow older. If we are fortunate there is still a mother, or a sister, to compare notes! And of course, now there is so much more info at our fingertips with the internet. And isn’t it great that learning new things keeps us young?!
ReplyDeleteOh, I so wish I had asked more questions. And seems like memories come to me in bits and pieces...sometimes more comes till I can flesh out the story. Other times things remain vague and I am left wishing I could remember more.
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