“It wasn’t like it was at first, where you could just do it on weekends and it just be like a functional, going out, partying thing. It had become a habit. All those years, I was functioning, but I would justify it as ‘I’m just taking diet pills, and I am drinking just to calm my nerves.

Lt. Gen. Langley’s mother gave birth at Barksdale Air Force Base in 1960. Her husband, Willie C. Langley, was stationed at BAFB. When Lt. Gen. Langley was just 3 years old, his father was transferred to Homestead Air Force Base in Florida. The family eventually moved to other parts of the country, but that didn’t mean Lt.

“We’re among the group that likes to cosplay,” Comb said. “So, if you’re an avid Harry Potter fan, maybe you will dress up like Hermione, Harry Potter or a character from that franchise. Or, if you’re really into a certain show or maybe an anime (short for animation) show, maybe you’ll try and replicate that character.

“Periodically, we do customer surveys on our website and here at the airport,” said Mark Crawford, marketing and public relations manager for the Shreveport Airport Authority. “We’re always asking about ways we can improve things, whether it’s the parking lot or the food service.

“We were just a really simple, blue-collar family.” Betty Alvis was an X-ray technician. Loye Alvis retired after 23 years in the Navy (and three wars), then got a job at a factory. Both had a strong work ethic, which they instilled in their youngest son.

“I’m trying to give people a place they would be proud to live in,” Lee said of his work in the Cedar Grove and Allendale areas. “They’re happy to live in the nicest house on the block in those neighborhoods, and they grew up in those neighborhoods. They don’t want to leave.

Lyons, a long-time Southern Trace member, was in the first group to play the course after a seven-month closure. The redesign was part of a $4.2 million project which began last year and included a new irrigation system, all-new greens and improvements to the practice area.

First stop: Venice. The water taxi driver didn’t get the memo that he was supposed to take us from the airport directly to our hotel, which has a boat dock. That would have been so easy. Instead, he dropped us off in what looked like the middle of town, with tourists crowding narrow walkways and alleys.