Cultural roots run deep in Abita museum

Even as strip malls and banks keep popping up where pine trees used to be in St. Tammany Parish, there are still pockets of beauty, peace and charm. For instance, I was at St. Joseph Abbey on Sunday, waiting for my daughter's play practice to end at Benet Hall. If I had to pick a place to wait, this would be at the top of the list: sitting on a bench at the edge of a pond on a beautiful spring afternoon. Azaleas blooming, birds singing, turtles plopping into the water.