Bob Anderson is The Advocate's Florida Parish's Bureau chief. He is responsible for news coverage in Livingston, Tangipahoa, St. Helena, St. Tammany and Washington parishes.
Anderson is a 35-year-veteran with The Advocate, having won more than 40 state, regional and national reporting awards.
Prior to taking becoming the Florida Parishes bureau chief he served as the paper's environmental editor.
Links to past columns can be found at Through a Glass Darkly
On our last day as Assumption High seniors in 1967, Clyde Pierce and I painted black polka dots on his white Rambler and drove it to school. It looked like a bloated Holstein and moved just a little faster than a cow. Later that day, it quit moving altogether.
After my wife died — a year ago tomorrow — I began to notice little projects she never finished. That brought back memories from losing my father and my Uncle Vincent. My father had cartridge cases lined up like little soldiers to be reloaded in his shop.
From Lake Pontchartrain, viewing the lonely lighthouse at the mouth of the Tchefuncte River reminded me last week of what special structures lighthouses are.
When I was a child, crossing the Mississippi River on one of its numerous ferries always stoked my imagination. On a good day in the 1950s, traveling with my father, I might get to cross the river on two different boats.
Every kid needs a friend like Uncle Bert. I called him uncle, but we shared no blood, just spirit. He was my father’s fishing companion, co-worker and best friend. He became my friend too.
