I've been to several dozen countries and traveled all across the United States. I love Louisiana, and it is a place like no other.
First of all, it's home. There is a strong bond regarding family in our state, and the way we treat our family and friends extends to everyone. I love walking into any tiny gas station or restaurant and feeling like I'm with aunts and uncles, grandparents, brothers and sisters, when I don't know the people at all.
I grew up on many acres of land in Ascension Parish. Its beauty and experiences amaze me every day. The loquat tree near my house would bloom and offer its fruit for jams. When March and April came around, citrus aromas rose from the navel orange and lemon trees.
By May, the scent of magnolias filled the air, mimosa trees bloomed soft and fragrant and crape myrtles filled the landscape with color like a kaleidoscope. Come October, the satsumas came and the pecans fell to the ground, ready to be harvested and shared with my grandparents.
I loved watching the sun descend in a different shade every evening, red, orange, pink and everything in between. A couple of doves lined the telephone wire, cardinals flew and sang and spoonbills congregated along with egrets and herons at our pond. At night, raccoons, foxes, deer and coyotes quietly took over. What a sight.
But Louisiana is not only something you see. It is something you taste and feel in the company of people you love. Sweet tea in a tall, scratched plastic cup. Sauce piquante over rice with a slice of Texas toast. An outdoor fish fry with music playing and the smell of hot oil in the air.
I love that I can call this place my home.
NICHOLAS GARON
St. Amant