Tattered Jeans
More than pain: The people of Louisiana can't be defined by an oil disaster
Sep 15, 2010 | 1:50 pm

Rickey Verrett
Photo by Katie Oxford
The more time you spend in the Louisiana bayou, the more you fall in the love with the hurting, but proud people.
The Crosby Chargers, from left: Jacob Billiot, Luke Wheater, Blaize Danos, Fred Hebert and Kirk Foret
Photo by Katie Oxford
The Crosby Chargers, from left: Jacob Billiot, Luke Wheater, Blaize Danos, Fred Hebert and Kirk Foret
Editor's note: Katie Oxford is on the ground and in the boats in Louisiana, reporting from the heart of the Gulf oil spill disaster. This is her 13th and final piece from the scene. Years ago, my mother gave me a small glass. “It’s called an ‘End of the Day’ glass,” she said. Meaning, the glassmaker had taken all the colors of paint he used that particular day — threw them in a vat and produced one last piece. The end result, as you might imagine, was always a surprise and certainly, a one of a kind. This is how I think of the People of Louisiana. Eclectic. Original. Always, surprising, in a warm way. Like home, on Christmas morning. The people of Louisiana carry Muscle...