METAMORPHOSIS: Building the Dome of a Home

With a great sense of peace, I went to the meeting, knowing that it would all end as it should.
With the support and vision of Ms. Norton and Mr. Tice, we received a majority vote in our favor,
with only one dissenting vote by Mr. Martin McGuire. Another hurdle jumped, but we were not
finished yet. Although it was just a formality for the Escambia County Commissioners to sign a
piece of paperwork acknowledging receipt of the grants into the county budget, it was postponed
for two months because of scheduling delays. Many of the commissioners were being
investigated for alleged criminal acts; the FMAP grant was not priority for them at that point. Our
project stalled until the paperwork was signed and entered into the official records. Finally, ring
three was completed and we could move on to the actual construction process.
It seemed ludicrous that we would have to struggle so diligently to construct a hurricane resistant
structure on a coast that had felt the effects of several hurricanes. It was then that I understood
the insanity of politics. While Webster has other definitions for the word politics, mine would
become:
The insane game of spending too much time, energy, and money to fight the established powers
to accomplish a project that makes logical sense.
Yes, I had become a cynic in the process.
But, I would also become more convinced than ever as events unfolded that a higher purpose
existed for this Dome of a Home. Certainly there have been times of doubt, and still are, but
there have been instances of great knowing that this project was larger than us and held a
purpose of its own.
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