October 29th - Jim Lamarque

Just outside Slidell, Louisiana and across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans is the small fishing community of that sits on the Geoghan Canal. For decades Jim Lamarque has called this sliver of Louisiana home. In fact, his family has been part of the New Orleans and Slidell community since his great-great-father and four brothers immigrated from France.

Like many who lived near the water, Lamarque lost his home in storm surge from Hurricane Katrina.

JIm Lamarque with his LSU gear on October 29th, 2008

“It was all gone, but I got my cousin over here and we demolished the house piece by piece.” Lamarque said. “We got it all to the road in four days.”

For the thirty years before Katrina Lamarque was a yacht captain, taking politicians, football coaches and anyone else willing to pay out for a day of adventure and fishing on the Gulf of Mexico. After Katrina, the owner of the boat gave up the business and Lamarque was out of home and out of work. To make money and find a place to live he moved north to Drew, Mississippi to work at a Duck Hunting Reserve. The onetime boat captain was now a chef.

“I was allowed to cook whatever I wanted three days a week, but I had to make steak one night, stuffed pork chops another, and quail the last,” Lamarque said. “I like cooking, but to be honest I ended up just cooking a lot of duck.”

When Lamarque returned to his home six months later to inspect the progress FEMA had made in the area, he found a trailer, but no electricity. The power he said didn’t come for another month and a half. So there it was, almost nine months after the Hurricane and only then was Lamarque able to move back to the plot of land that once held his house.

Building across the street from one of his brothers, Lamarque has constructed a one bedroom 1500 square foot home on 15 foot stilts with three boat slips, only feet from where his previous house once stood.

“It’s finally finished. The permits were a pain but we got it done and now I have a smaller place but it suits my needs.”

His home is comfortable, outfitted with two dozen deep sea fishing rods a few flat screens and more LSU football paraphernalia than you would see in a 23-year-old former frat boy’s game room.

When it comes to politics Lamarque is looking forward, as in all the way forward, to the 2012 presidential election and the possible candidacy of Bobby Jindal.

Jindal the 37-year-old Governor of Louisiana is someone Lamarque admires deeply.

I spent twenty minutes with him not long ago, and I’ve never been so impressed.” Lamarque said. “If we had him three years ago, I know things would have been much different.”

On the Issues

Andrew Sullivan, Michelle Malkin, Wikipedia