METAMORPHOSIS: Building the Dome of a Home

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SURVIVOR OR VICTIM As Katrina looms in the Gulf, I add yet another story to our ever expanding book. If Katrina strikes as the monster she presents herself to be, the emotional trauma and scars will be evident long after the waters have receded. When people finally understand they may not have a home any longer and all of their memories have been washed away, their initial gratitude for just surviving plummets into a deep grief. Grief for the friends you will no longer see on a daily basis; grief for the inability to have your support system near you in your greatest time of need; grief for the loss of your job; grief for the loss of mementos and pictures that have personal intrinsic value; grief for the life that will never be again because you are irrevocably changed. And the thought that there are people without transportation to leave the city has me mortified. I am in a deep state of sorrow for the upcoming victims of this storm. It should be a human right to have a way to escape an oncoming storm that gives us several days notice. Even this afternoon on Pensacola Beach, water was rising significantly. After Ivan, there was a set of construction posts that hadn't been seen in decades uncovered. Hurricane Dennis covered them up last month. Early this afternoon, they were uncovered half way again. So, we are definitely expected some storm waters to flow over the island --- yet again. I am tired, stressed, and worried for my neighbors and friends. I know the Dome will fare as well as any structure out there, but I am sad to see my neighborhood become a debris pile yet again. It's a week since Katrina irrevocably altered time. I feel the same residue of despair in my heart as I did when 9/11 happened. It‟s a deep knowing that life will never be the same again, for any of us. I am aware that for many, time becomes relevant only in BK and AK. Katrina will divide their lives into Before Katrina and After Katrina. Ivan's reign as the event that defined my time was short-lived. Less than a year actually, who would have thought? 47
The incomprehensible situation continues to compound. From the lack of food and water; levees breaking; anarchy terrorizing the victims even further; deteriorating sanitation conditions; putrid stagnating water; deceased victims absent of burials; to the slow response time of federal aid, the situation becomes ever graver. Survivors of the actual hurricane must now survive the aftermath. Medication is running out for many of the refugees; there are reports of people still trapped in their attics; the unbearable heat facilitating the potential for diseases and deteriorating health conditions; and the heart-rending decisions to separate families to expedite evacuation. The scenes are reminiscent of a disaster movie. It's likely if we saw all of this occurring in a movie, we would say, "It was over the top, too much, it could never be that bad." And like the survivors in the movies, small groups of people banded together to increase their odds for survival in a world gone mad. Some groups decided to strike out on their own to see if they could fare better being active instead of waiting on an organized effort by the government. While the logistics of organizing a relief effort seem insurmountable, Hurricane Katrina was not a surprise. The government knew a storm was heading to the Gulf coast. Not just any storm, but a Category 5 monster bent on stalking its prey. True, no one knew exactly where she was going to strike, but there was a general location identified by hurricane watches and warning. And it was painfully obvious the communities affected would need help. And quickly. Forces should have been mobilized and readied well before landfall. They could have been organized to respond wherever they were needed immediately after the storm subsided. It is not a surprise that water, food, emergency personnel, and military support were required after Katrina ripped through the coast. If, by some miracle, the disaster wasn't as extensive as anticipated, then gratefully, the readied troops could return to their previous duties. Obviously, people and supplies should have been ready to move ASAP to the affected areas. A prominent politician recently stated, ""If we can't respond faster than this to an event we saw coming across the Gulf for days, then why do we think we're prepared to respond to a nuclear or biological attack?" I guess that is what frightens me most – that the American public has been lulled into trusting that our government has its act together. A complacency exists because we assume that the government is organized and has a plan for catastrophic events. When the directors of FEMA and Homeland Security state they didn't foresee the problems and they were unaware of the situation in New Orleans (although the news networks spoke of little else), we, as the American public, should be concerned about their abilities to lead and protect us in a time of crisis. Thankfully, many men and women are helping where they see a need, instead of waiting for orders that may never come. I salute the troops, emergency personnel, reporters, and volunteers who are, quite literally, in the 48
Page 2 and 3: Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ..
Page 4 and 5: Our mission is to help reduce the s
Page 6 and 7: 2 HURRICANE IVAN Surviving the Stor
Page 8 and 9: Fortunately, before I had left for
Page 10 and 11: ack on the island in our homes; end
Page 12 and 13: for the entire house, so we all sta
Page 14 and 15: They slept in the parking lot of th
Page 16 and 17: esistant than its conventional neig
Page 18 and 19: 3 Mother Nature's Influence in My L
Page 20 and 21: The winds spawned an F-1 tornado th
Page 22 and 23: Two hours before the intense impact
Page 24 and 25: The kitchen trash. 4 HUMBLE BEGINNI
Page 26 and 27: The cost of submitting the applicat
Page 28 and 29: equired building codes for the coas
Page 30 and 31: 6 METAMORPHOSIS The Dome Home would
Page 32 and 33: In utter shock, I stopped my sobbin
Page 34 and 35: 7 SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN The
Page 36 and 37: I compiled our wish list into a sev
Page 38 and 39: VALERIE A Tribute to our Friend Jon
Page 40 and 41: asked him to split his energy betwe
Page 42 and 43: dangerous boats of debris. Not a si
Page 44 and 45: 10 TO HURRICANE HELL AND BACK THE U
Page 46 and 47: arrange for transportation to the n
Page 50 and 51: trenches helping in innumerable way
Page 52 and 53: I have learned to be mostly unattac
Page 54 and 55: As I edit this book, I find there i
Page 56 and 57: Although our counties are now suppo
Page 58 and 59: Even with all of the heartache, tea
Page 60 and 61: The SEAPILE piling is placed into t
Page 62 and 63: The balloon created quite a stir on
Page 64 and 65: that hold the balloons‟ pieces to
Page 66 and 67: FLEX-C TRAC, solved our dilemma and
Page 68 and 69: PRODUCTS SELECTED FOR THE COASTAL E
Page 70 and 71: DENSGLASS GOLD® EXTERIOR GUARD Den
Page 72 and 73: With its double pane, glass block i
Page 74 and 75: Another significant advantage of ea
Page 76 and 77: We used foam insulation throughout
Page 78 and 79: frustrated with my family, I rememb
Page 80 and 81: usiness to be managed." Never have
Page 82 and 83: Architecture Magazine: Dome Home Su
Page 84 and 85: 14 THE THUNDER ROLLS The thunder ro
Page 86: The Skybird Lodge would address the

METAMORPHOSIS: Building the Dome of a Home

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