No more Cajun land, no more one hour commutes each way, no more quickly assembled office space, no more living with Gracie & Ryan & Sara Gootee, and Derek Gardes and Michael DeGruy and whoever else needed a place to stay.

We're heading home....back to no late night grocery stores and desolate streets and rubble everywhere and bad smells and vacant neighborhoods and a ten minute commute to work. I miss our home; I miss Lakeview; I miss hearing The Contemporaries sing at 10:30 Mass; I miss Angela Hill and Jim Henderson. I miss walking into a store and always recognizing someone. I miss my garden and the bird of paradise that had bloomed for the first time a week before Katrina. I miss waving to my neighbors when I left for work. I miss doing the crossword puzzle every evening in the Times Picayune. I miss going to Yoga and seeing my friends there. I miss going to the show on Friday nights with Toni Koloski and being three minutes away from her. I miss our friends calling us up at the last minute to go eat. I miss Schaefer & Rusich.

And that's why I'm going home, even though I know all that's gone. Because I know that all of these things can happen again. It will just take a very long time. But if we all stay away, it can't happen. I'm looking forward to Jazz Fest, the return of WWOZ, lights that turn on and clean water.

When I crossed the 17th Street Canal for the first time last Monday, my love for the city returned with a burning intensity. The Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain and Bayou St. John run through my veins as much as my O positive blood.

So watch out, New Orleans. WE'RE COMING HOME!

George Rodrigue, famous Blue Dog artist and cajun country
native, has joined the releif effort. Find out more...

Read more on Page 2 >

On a sunny Sunday, in Duson, Louisiana, just outside Lafayette, I had the opportunity to interview Gregory and Janell Forstall of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Gregory is my mom's younger brother. The Forstalls are currently staying with Janell's first cousin, Vickie Matirne and her family in Duson. Their son Jake, a St. Stanilaus student, and Gregory's mother, Gloria Forstall, are staying in Miami, Texas with family there. I wanted to interview Gregory and Janell for a number of reasons. The first is that they live and work in Bay St. Louis, one of the most ravaged communities on the Gulf Coast, one of the hardest hit. I've seen it too, and it is hardly recognizable. Another reason for this interview is an attempt to call some attention to the area. The Gulf Coast, including towns like Bay St. Louis, is getting little attention from the national press in the wake of the flooding in my home town, New Orleans. The spotlight on New Orleans ought to be broadened in my opinion. The final reason is to share the sentiments, ideas and trepidations of the small business owner, the struggling but optimistic local contractor and the heart of the Gulf Coastal denizen.

The following interview on October 9th 2005 is with Gregory and Janell Forstall, owners and operators of Forstall Flooring, 833 Highway 90, Bay Saint Louis, MS 39520.

Port Reduction: What does Forstall Flooring do?

Forstall Flooring: We are a flooring retail/sales and installation store. We do residential and commercial projects including custom ceramic tiles, stone countertops, and specialty showers.

PR: What happened to your home & shop during Hurricane Katrina?

FF: Our home was totaled by a wind driven surge. It calls to mind the opening sequence to The Wizard of Oz. The shop, office and warehouses were wrecked. Five warehouses, tools and inventory and our vehicles will not be covered by our commercial insurance because they are considering the damage caused by flood. Unfortunately, the insurance company did not require us to have flood insurance because we were not in a flood zone.

We are working through this. With the help of family and friends from Lafayette, including Robert and Dawn Mire, we gutted the main office and shop on Highway 90 in Bay St. Louis on Saturday, September 17th, nearly 3 weeks after the storm. It was a good start.

PR: Are you working now?

FF: Janell is working for Forstall Flooring as well as Lockbuster, a locksmith in Lafayette, with Vickie Matirne. [Greg] is trying to get the business back up and running; now we're receiving contractor material and everything must be off loaded by hand. We are currently stocking material for four residential jobs.

PR: What is the future of Forstall Flooring?

FF: Retirement in five years! Just kidding. We will continue on the same path as a small local business in support of Bay St. Louis and its people. We are interested in writing local subcontracts and working for local general contractors, like Ronnie Artiques GC. We are here to stay and to help the rebuilding efforts.

We've got 3 local crews, 2 to 3 men to a crew, 3 staff members working as management and sales.

PR: What is the post Katrina reality of Forstall Flooring?

FF: We hope to have a strong cash flow in November. We are actively re-structuring in house organization to take Forstall Flooring from a successful mom-and-pop operation to a dynamic flooring solution center that can meet all the requirements of modern business.

PR: What is you opinion of the future of Bay St. Louis?

FF: Bay St. Louis will survive. It will be a better place than it was. The spirit of our town has endured and that will bring the people of Bay St. Louis back here.

Read more on Page 2 >