By Leonard Gray – L’Observateur

I saw a fascinating story on “Good Morning America” Sunday morning, all about the contrasts between two American cities. One – Stateline, Nevada – leads the nation in its population being the most transient. In other words, practically everyone there is from some place else and most of them won’t still be there in a few years.

The second city examined was Vacherie – judged by the United States Census as leading the nation in having a stable population. The story didn’t really get into the statistics, so I did.

The population hasn’t really changed, number-wise in the past year. In fact, St. James Parish as a whole recorded 0.0 percent population changed in the past year. Births pretty much equaled deaths and people moving out were matched by people moving in.

The story was heartwarming and spoke well of the River Parishes lifestyle which so many of us take for granted.

The television story talked about being able to leave your house or car unlocked at night and the comfort of having immediate family, and generations of families, close at hand.

It was also a reminder not to take such things for granted, and to appreciate your friends and families. We have something remarkable here, and it’s been noticed.

LEONARD GRAY is assistant managing editor of L’Observateur. Call him at (985) 652-9545.