Well day one of my assignment in St. Gabe is going well. The gentleman that’s the representative on site has done a tremendous job of having everything centrally located. The site itself, a building that’s been here since ’91 but that’s been sitting largely vacant for two months or more in the Louisiana warmth and humidity, has the odor of the old country church that my grandparents have attended for the last twenty years or more. The room I’m in is full of old chemistry books and the hum of computers surrendering their data to the randomness generated by killdisk. It’s all a little creepy really; dead tree books long unread and dying electronics in the echo of linoleum covered halls.
On a lighter note, we ate lunch at Roberto’s, a little restaurant on the River Rd. just off of the Mississippi. Thanks to a “mistake” in the kitchen I ended up with two cups of Andouie and chicken gumbo instead of one with my catfish po’ boy. The restaurant used to be a general store. I reckon if one of those has to pass from this world, conversion to a good restaurant is the best possible fate. And I tell you what, this is a bit of a bone of contention. People go all over the country and when a good portion of them go traveling they eat at Applebee’s, Chili’s, et cetera, et cetera. I just do not get it. I mean I understand the need to be able to eat something familiar when everything around you is unfamiliar I suppose, but boy are those folks missing out.