Let’s be a good neighbor to St. Mary

Just one weekend after we joined our brothers and sisters in remembrance of Hurricane Katrina, we have another opportunity to lend a hand to show support to our community in our time of economic crisis.

The Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival will rock ‘n’ roll in Morgan City, an event that has drawn up to 75,000 people in years past.

But in the past several months, both the shrimp and petroleum industries have been taken through the ringer, in the wake of the BP Horizon oil spill.

But Morgan City mayor Tim Matte said it best when he explained his thoughts on the festival.

Matte said the festival isn’t about celebrating the conglomerates like Exxon, Shell or even BP that make up the oil industry. It’s not about celebrating the multi-billion dollar seafood industry, either.

Actually, the mayor explained, the festival has nothing to do with money at all.

But rather, it’s about supporting the individuals who make up each entity.

Because yes, even today, for every multi-million dollar business or industry, there are countless individuals who clock in and out from 9-to-5 to provide for their families.

This weekend is about the moms, dads, grandmothers and grandfathers, who dedicated their lives to make our community and ultimately the Louisiana way of life something that we can be proud of – even in the face of adversity.

This weekend is about showing support to the “little guys,” the people we go to school with, share church pews with each Sunday and randomly run into at the grocery store.

It’s about honoring our fellow Louisianan in this fight – a fight that even as the oil gets skimmed off the Gulf of Mexico – is still only beginning.

So if you’re looking for a chance to make a difference in this (supposed to be sunshine-filled) weekend, go out and support our brothers to the west in St. Mary Parish.

Because if we don’t support Louisiana in this time, how can we expect someone in Montana, Vermont or Michigan to do the same?

So go out and show the nation that we’re still standing strong in the face of adversity and support our brothers and sisters in Morgan City.

We’ve seen a lot of bad things in the past five years in our state.

And I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to throw in the towel on Louisiana just yet – not by a long shot.