Every spring before the pandemic, Bossier City and Shreveport residents craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the military aircraft gamboling across the skies in the annual Barksdale Air Force Base Air Show.

I saw a billboard on a trip to Texas to see my grandchildren with the word “freedom” beside a picture of someone taking off their mask. It certainly is a thought shared by many. However, the most accurate picture depicting freedom in this pandemic is a picture of someone receiving the vaccine.

When most of the region was shut down because of too much ice and not enough water, Bozz Baucum, the owner of Marilynn’s Place and Ralph’s Place in Shreveport, wasn’t. He was at work boiling water in his commercial crawfish rig to cook meals for teenagers at the Rutherford House.