Portrait

The plane landed without incident. It was a small plane. The flight was a little over an hour. Got off the plane and went to get my suitcase at baggage claim. It was very easy because there were not many people in the airport. Baton Rogue seems to be a small city. I didn't see Mike and Marion anywhere. I tried my cell phone, but only got a sign that said 'zone'. It didn't seem to be working. Looked around for a pay phone. Found two. There was a sign on both of them that said, 'out of order'. Went to another part of the airport and found a couple more pay phones. More out of order signs. Went outside and talked to a sky cap and asked if there was a phone anywhere. He let me use his cell phone. I dialed Mike's number and got a message. I decided to go back inside one more time to look for Mike and his wife. This time I was more observant. Inside I spotted Mike and his wife sitting in some chairs and recognized both of them from a picture I had seen on the internet. I went over and greeted them. They said they had seen me when I went by them earlier, but thought that I must be someone flying out. Mike thought it was me but wasn't sure. We went out to their truck which was waiting outside. A friend of their was at the wheel.

On the way to their house they took me on a quick tour of the city of Baton Rogue. The first thing I realized was quite a few of the buildings in Baton Rogue are quite a bit older then they are where I live. The style of many were French. The history in this part of the country is at least 100 years older then in Washington state. The highlight of the trip was to the capitol building, which is a building in the shape of a large oblesk.

Things in the Vestabule


Mike walked over to the front of his house. There was a row of plastic lawn chairs lined up in a row. Mike went over and sat down. We stayed outside for awhile and lingered. Neighbors came over with a little girl. The little girl's name was Butterfly. They talked of local drama. Mike's cell phone was constantly ringing. He was constantly engaged on the phone with friends and deals.

Portraits and Knick Knacks


There is a fish pond in the front yard. Mike points out the fish to me. The black one comes when he calls it. There is also a trout living among the store bought gold fish and other species. A bird had landed near the pond with a fish egg on it's leg. The egg fell off and landed in the pond. This trout has grown to a fairly large size in comparison to the other fish. Mike then feeds the fish. We linger outside for a little bit, and then we go in.