File’ Gumbo Jerry LePre

Life is way too short.

As more curly gray hairs appear on my head, I have come to realize that people spend way too much time trying to make a living and far too little time trying to make a life.

Thus, as I get older and my eyesight gets worse, I have found that my vision for my life has improved. It is through this new insight that I understand each of us has a song in our hearts. A song composed of our dreams and hopes. A melody in which we find the perfect harmony of our soul.

It has been said that a man (or woman) who earns a living doing what he (or she) loves; never goes to work. This is wonderful advise. But first we must discover what truly makes us happy.

Two of my passions, the things that I love most, are experiencing the unique culture of the River Parishes and mentoring people in order to motivate and inspire them to improve their quality of life. This is my song; the overture of my heart that I must now sing.

Therefore, this will be my last edition serving as managing editor of L’Observateur, since I will be pursing my dreams. I was honored to be given the opportunity to be part of the tremendous renaissance of this paper. After all, it was one terrific year that saw a lot of historic events that included the crowning of beauty queens and championship football teams to the election of the first African-American assessor.

I will always be grateful to the publisher, Ellen Ishmael, for offering me this position. I thank her for believing in me in the good times as well as the times we faced challenges.

“Life is not a guarantee, you must grab it the best you can,” Ellen says.

However, I can guarantee that I will always treasure the friends I discovered during the journey, the time I spent working with your local community paper.

I can also guarantee that I will always love the staff and leadership of L’Observateur.

May God bless you and your families and may God bless the River Parishes.

I will miss you L’Observateur.

JERRY LEPRE was managing editor for L’Observateur.