brief visit from Quebec

I meet all kinds of people at work. A man from Quebec came by today. He was going to Ville Platte and wanted some information on a particular business. I helped him out with what I knew and I showed him the phone book. He mentioned that it's been a long time he's passed in the area and that he was from Quebec. He also asked if I spoke French. I told him I didn't but ma mouman and mon poupa did. He smiled and said a friend from Connecticut had said basically the same thing; his mere and pere could speak French but not him nor other people his age and younger. He mentioned the decline of French in Louisiana and how in the past French speaking kids were punished for speaking French while at school. He then told me Canada had punished the Inuit if they spoke their language in school. We both agreed that was a bad deal and he went his way while I went back to work. I wasn't aware of French heritage in the US beyond Louisiana until recently. I had learned about Missouri and Maine but Rhode Island and Connecticut are new to me. Follow the links for interesting reading. Here's another interesting post concerning the French in Maine: The day bigotry will die in Maine.