OK I found what I was looking and changed the code to the following:
{if $main eq "catalog" and $current_category.category eq "" OR $smarty.get.pageid eq "24"}
{include file="customer/main/welcome.tpl" f_products=$f_products}
{/if}
{if $main ne "catalog" OR ($main eq "catalog" and $current_category.category ne "") and $smarty.get.pageid ne "24"}
<div id="middlecolumn">
But the middle and left columns are still displaying under the flash on the satic page, how can I fix it? I am on a tight deadline, someone please help. Thanks.