Mr. Fait [recording below]. Slidell, Louisiana (2007)

In the spring of 2007 I had the pleasure of visiting New Orleans to lend a hand post Katrina and to make some photographs. I stayed with Gulf Coast Volunteers for the Long Haul in Slidell, LA where most of our days were spent gutting damaged homes.

On my off days I traveled with Regina Harrison who is an active member of a Creole heritage organization in Slidell called Creoles Sans Limites. On those days we would travel around St. Tammany Parish to visit the people in her community and make photographs of them. One day I had a small recording device in tote and made just one recording. I stumbled upon it yesterday and thought the blog would be perfect place to share it. It is a conversation between Regina and the man pictured above, Mr. Fait who is 92 years old. Regina is asking Mr. Fait to speak in Creole, a language that is largely lost in new generations. His wife of 68 years chimes in at the end of the recording. It’s such a simple and endearing conversation between family.

A conversation about Creole language between Regina and Mr. Fait (2007)