METAMORPHOSIS: Building the Dome of a Home

Like a desert mirage, we saw a young man loaded with equipment stumbling in our direction.
Another survivor! We thought we were the only ones on the beach and here is another human. I
felt like Robinson Crusoe; unexplained joy filled my soul to see another person in the wasteland
that was our beach – alive and seemingly well. Mike Theiss, an independent, free lance storm
chaser had ridden out the storm in the Portofino Condominium parking garage. I cannot imagine.
We helped him with his equipment and brought him to the Dome‟s Survivor Camp. I have seen
Mike‟s raw footage of Ivan and am amazed that he is mentally stable after that experience. In his
film footage, the water is rising rapidly, the wind is howling relentlessly, and all he has for
protection is his car in the garage. I heard from Mike after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf coast
in August 2005. His front row seat in Gulfport, MS was the only building left standing after the
storm. He said it was intimidating enough for him to question the wisdom of storm chasing a
monster like Katrina. But, at least, his storm footage will be a valuable tool in learning more about
catastrophic hurricanes. After a morning of filming, it was time to get NBC's film footage off the
island for national broadcast.
Little, petite AJ volunteered to run the film off the island. She was bent at a ninety degree angle
to offset the wind's buffeting. She knew this would be a one way ticket off the island, but she
knew that the show must go on. Have I mentioned how much I admire the crew‟s dedication? I
went as far as the bridge with her, then I branched off to go to the west end of Pensacola Beach,
past Peg Leg Pete's.
I trudged through the sand, water, and debris for five hours to survey the damage further down
the beach. I knew that my neighbors and friends would be hungry for information. Not knowing
about your home is the most torturous part of the storm's aftermath. I wanted to be able to report
as much as possible to the friends who called. Boats were in homes, swimming pools, and in
the middle of the roads. Many times I was overwhelmed with emotion as I realized that it would
be a very long time before the island recovered from Ivan. Later, while giving the mayor a tour
through the Dome, he commented
that he expected it would take eight
to ten years to fully recover.
I saw about ten other residents that
had elected to stay; but, I saw
absolutely no one from the outside
world. Helicopters flew overhead,
but ours were the only footprints on
the newly swept beach. Slowly,
survivors began to emerge. At the
end of our exhausting day, we used
the water from the hot tub to take a
"shower" and settled down for a
gourmet meal. Before the storm, my
neighbors asked me to empty out
their refrigerators if the power was
off. As a result we had steaks,
lobster, liquor, and cigars to celebrate our survival of Ivan, the Terrible.
Underneath the majestic Milky Way and brilliant stars, I imagined what it was like to be on the
beach centuries ago, before light pollution and tall buildings obscured the panoramic vista.
Again, I was filled with emotion in the serene aftermath of Ivan. I slept well and gratefully, did not
dream.
The next day, we began seeing troops and National Guardsmen on quad runners. Several of the
area bridges were severely damaged, so their supplies were delayed.
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