North of Interstate-10

I spent most of my career analyzing tax policy before retiring in the Spring of 2020. After dedicating most of my career to research and writing, this blog is a continuation of those pursuits, but with a focus on things that have influenced me or that I find interesting. While I find tax policy interesting, I don’t anticipate ever writing about tax policy, or politics either. This blog is more likely to focus on culture and history, in the hope that things that have been interesting and meaningful to me might be the same to others.

Music may be a recurring theme and is the blog’s genesis, as the first two blog entries are expanded versions of emails I sent to office mates while I was still working. Also, my blog’s name is a “play” on Sonny Landreth’s 1995 album/cd entitled “South of I-10,” which is a tribute to life in South Louisiana. In the interest of full disclosure, my hometown is Shreveport, which is in northwest Louisiana and is bisected by I-20, not I-10. Nonetheless, after growing up in Louisiana, I moved to Wisconsin and still reside here. My migration, no doubt, contributes to my fascination with the two states’ cultures.

Lagniappe is a Louisiana word meaning something given unexpectedly as a bonus. Often, my research finds something interesting, but tangential to my posting’s topic. As a way to share these “tidbits” of information, some postings will end with a “lagniappe” relaying this trivia.

Contact Rick with questions or comments.