The truth is, I never intened to be a teacher.  With a degree in Advertising Design & Commercial Art, I hoped for a high power job in the arts and publishing.  The reality of the times was Vietnam, so I ended up in the Air Force, as a Squardon Illustrator in Korea.  Upon discharge, I accepted the job of establishing an Art program at Iota High, a small rural school near my hometown of Crowley, La.  In 1975, I moved from the Cajan Country of South Louisiana to New Orleans and started working in the St. Charles Parish Public Schools teaching elementary, then junior high and finally high school Art.  Living with our history and architecture is innately southern and I soon realized that the kind of teaching which has a lasting impact on students stems from educators who use insights from their own living experiences.  Given my passion for old buildings and historic preservation, I wrote and received a Teacher Incentive grant and with Dr. Eugene Cizek, Tulane University School of Architecture, we implemented "Educaton Through Historic Preservation."  Through this program and my pioneering work in Louisiana's Talented Art Educaton, I was fortunately to garner many accolades and awards.  I retired after 30 years from teaching in 2000.  I am currently enjoying my new career as a licensed tour guide and innkeeper at my Antebellum home, "Sun Oak."