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Norris Cook is a New Orleans native who enjoys fishing, a pastime he inherited from his grandfather, Albert C. Cook. Norris reminisces on his grandfather’s green skiff boat, with its Louisiana decal and a distinctive dent in the front. He recalls duck hunting in the waters of Southeast Louisiana with his grandfather, a man he says was well-known in the community. Albert was an industrious salesman of whatever he caught on that green skiff. To Norris, Albert was his role model and a father figure that taught him how to make his own living and to be self-sufficient.  

When Katrina hit, Albert’s health had been declining for some time, suffering from multiple strokes. The storm relocated Albert to Monroe, Louisiana, losing access to vital medical care. He died in 2007 in Touro Medical Center in Uptown. 

The storm sent Albert’s skiff boat behind a laundromat across from where he lived. When salvage crews came to clean up the wreckage, they took the boat with them.


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