Home Page

The Rooster Crows Once More !

I first met Jim at Pathfinder Mission. He had come down out of sheer desperation as he could find no help to work on his Katrina ravaged home on Waveland Ave. And, on inspection, the damage was not all the result of Katrina - but years and years of deferred maintenance and termite damage all exposed by Katrina. At that point the floors had all been torn out and all that was left were some ragged floor joists - and they had to all go. The volunteers plowed into the project that first day, almost eighteen months ago, and that was the beginning of the relationship with Jim. It was a labor of love - the home was in poor shape and we ended up, over the next eighteen months, almost tearing out everything and starting all over. Jim would plow along on his own for a while and when he ran out of labor - I would get a desperate call.

It went all these months going on two years - a mish mash of contractors and volunteers. From the Amish to the Methodists to the Baptists and the Range Riders from Colorado and all the while his brother Dan - they all toiled hard on this project. We all knew it was going to be a Bed and Breakfast. Jim had to do something to crawl out of the fiscal mess the storm left him with. Thats the story of recovery in the aftermanth of Katrina for many. The final touch to the house was the sign - and that was created by the local artist Scott Blackwell.

And so it is now - almost a business. The grand opening was today. And everyone who was anyone in the local social circle was invited. No one seemed to notice the lack of trim on the doors. Come to think of it - they didn’t even notice there were no doors. Well, there was one - on the bathroom. And, there was trim missing here and there. That’s what its like here - you plan and plan and then wait and wait for the material to come in. Especially if you have special ordered it. So you learn to move around what is not available and utilize what is. And we all ignored the plastic bladders in the yard that are there to collect the sewage while the infrastructure in the street is replaced. We are all so used to these anomalies - we do not even notice them anymore. Its just the way it is.

For me, what I did notice was the dress code. It is like no other where else I have been. I love the casual Mediterranean look and feel. It's the shirts that I notice - they are so care free and all in competition to out shine the next. So like the people I see evolving from a cocoon they have been in since the storm. Yes, it is getting better - the carpet of a social life is beginning to emerge.

And so another house emerges to see and be seen. Both stand proud - just as the red rooster on the sign calling all to come and celebrate a new day.