Andrew Jackson's Hermitage

I couldn't drive through Nashville without taking a few hours to tour the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's home just outside of town. This place is not only beautiful on the outside, but every room is furnished with the original furniture which President Jackson used. They will not allow pictures inside the building, but suffice it to say it is beautiful.

The wall paper in the entrance hall was manufactured in Paris, France, and features a scene taken from Homer's Illiad. It still looks beautiful.

A hero in the war of 1812, Jackson and his army drove the British from New Orleans, and rode his popularity from that victory to the Presidency. No wonder Andrew Jackson Elementary School bears his name. The "Battle of New Orleans" was fought in Chalmette!

The view from the back porch is shown above. The home was a part of a cotton plantation, and the rustic building in this picture was one of the slave quarters.

Tonight, I'm in Laurel, MS, about two hours and fifteen minutes from Chalmette. I'll have time to see some of Chalmette on Sunday before the SAINTS play the Chicago Bears for the Championship. I don't think I'll see many people on the street during the Saints game.

WOW!!! This Is A Great, Compassionate Class

The kids blew me away today! I stopped at Granby Elementary to pick up the supplies and cash the class was collecting for the Project at Andrew Jackson Elementary. A whole case of supplies and $446.64 in cash (held by the two girls in the front right) were raised over the holidays and the first week after. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT! When we first discussed the problems at Andrew Jackson, the class thought they might be able to raise $50.00, and that would have been terrific. But, $446.64????

I can't say enough wonderful things about this group of young adults. You can tell by the smile on my face (back left) that I am very proud of their compassion and their hard work in raising the money.

Not just the children, but Mrs. Dicke (front right) deserves to be recognized. When she heard that our teacher in Andrew Jackson Elementary (Donna Schultz) was starting on her master's degree in night school, she offered to share her entire professional library with her. In addition to the other supplies, I'll be bringing two cases of Mrs. Dicke's professional books to Donna Schultz. This story just keeps getting better and better!