The dog and I were just leaving the Belle River landing after our usual walk on Sunday when as least two ambulances went roaring past followed by a lot of cars with flashers going.

I heard later that a man on a motorcycle ran into a van. The cyclist was killed and I haven’t heard about the van occupants except I don’t think anyone was hurt seriously. The cyclist apparently did what so many do on that road. (Or maybe it was the van?) Somebody shaved off the curves by driving in the middle of the road and didn’t see the vehicle coming the other way.

Hwy 997 to Bayou Pigeon is a treacherous road – it’s winding, narrow and has no shoulders.

People routinely drive way too fast, kids think it’s kind of like a race track, and there’s just no place to erase errors in judgement. If you’re driving recklessly you either hit someone coming the other way, hit the levee or head into the woods and trees.

At last, rain! A nice rain. It was not pounding down, beating everything to pieces. There was a little thunder to keep everyone awake. My husband said it was the first chance he’d had to wear the really nice raincoat he bought months ago.

I had another encounter with a skunk on the levee. Fortunately, my dog, who is totally untrained but obedient, stopped when I yelled, “No.” She was running toward that little black something – a plaything? – in the distance when I saw that tail stick straight up. Skunks don’t seem to run from danger. This one sort of ambled into the bushes, quite leisurely.

I suppose they figure they’re well protected, so why hurry.

The new bathroom was installed at the Belle River landing in pouring down rain. The building itself was smaller than I’d expected, but large enough for men and women doors facing the levee.

It sits atop a large concrete/metal holding tank, which was said would have to be pumped out occasionally. Right now, the whole thing sits three or four feet, maybe more, above ground.

I assume when the weather gets better dirt will be spread around the exposed tank part and/or steps will be built. It’s a brown, almost square building with a standard, shingled roof.

I watched as the General Crane machine lifted and lowered first the holding tank into the hole, then put the building on top. It was pretty nifty.

Most people had umbrellas, but two of the workers obviously didn’t expect such weather and were looking pretty soggy in dripping shirts and short pants. The entire process went pretty quickly. I guess nobody wanted to stick around longer than necessary.

Now, if we can just get something similar at the two recreation sites everything would be wonderful. I’m told that bathrooms at the parks would not be so expensive, since municipal sewage, electricity and water already exist.It would be nice if they’d build a meeting room in Belle River, so we can have a nice place to distribute commodities, et al. Life would be good!

Teche News’ Lower correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be contacted via e-mail at lcooke9417@bellsouth.net.