METAMORPHOSIS: Building the Dome of a Home

usiness to be managed." Never have I felt the mystery more evident as I stood witness to, quite
literally, a dream come true.
After the tour, Jim and his crew asked if Mark would do an interview and would we mind if they
did some of their broadcasts off the front deck. Would we mind??? Are you kidding??? Icing on
the cake; not only did Jim allow me to show him the Dome, he was going to broadcast live from
the Dome!!! I could watch him on my TV and see him on my deck simultaneously. Wow!!! I was
beside myself. The magic just continued to blossom. Sunday, June 5, 2005 renewed me,
reinvigorated our zest for the Dome (tired of hurricane repairs), and reassured me that all was
going according to plan.
Late Sunday night, we said goodbye to our new friends. I missed them already – even as we
joked on the doorstep about their staying in the Dome of a Home during the next storm headed
this direction. Little did we know how prophetic that scenario would be.
Four days later, we received a phone call from Jim Cantore. Tropical Storm Arlene was headed
to the Panhandle. Jim wanted to know if we would be willing to let him and his crew use the
Dome of a Home as their base of operations. Hmmm…let me think about it– NOT!
Estimated time of arrival: 7 hours. Okay, I needed to manifest some cleaning fairies, and fast.
Lo, and behold, a cleaning crew shows up a few hours later for the regularly scheduled two week
clean. I had completely forgotten it was cleaning day. I was very happy about that bit of luck!
So, it was off to the grocery store to secure some grub…and all those hurricane preparation
necessities.
Overwhelmed by the events of the last week, I became emotional as I pushed my grocery cart
among the walking wounded. The masks of my fellow shoppers reflected the horror we felt
inside. Hurricane Ivan haunted each of us as we remembered all we had lost, all we had
diligently tried to repair. The material loss is devastating, but the damaged spirits require more
than blue tarps to stop the leaking fear.
Yes, Arlene was only a tropical storm --- Ivan's baby nine months later. Yes, we know, Arlene is
minor compared to Ivan. But, it doesn't feel minor. Arlene is the first storm of the season and we
were already a target. Already! so early in the season on June 10, 2005. For those who had
been optimistically declaring there was no way we could be hit twice so quickly, Mother Nature
proved she definitely does what she wants. And what about 1995, Hurricane Erin in August and
Hurricane Opal in October? And Florida's plethora of storms in the 2004 season?
As I determinedly gathered my supplies, I felt the despair of my fellow Floridians. We bought our
supplies, not to prepare for Arlene, but to exorcise the demons of Hurricane Ivan. We overprepared
as if we could retro-prepare for Hurricane Ivan. By the conclusion of my shopping trip, I
wished for Lucy, the corner therapist in Charles Schultz's cartoon strip Charlie Brown. Heavily
laden with food, I planned the meals for the next few days. Would we lose electricity? Water?
Geez, I hoped not. I prepared for Weather Channel's arrival as they prepared for Tropical Storm
Arlene's arrival.
I have a whole new level of respect for the news and weather media. Never have I seen such
diligence under such intense pressure. The Weather Channel's crew was up before the sun and
worked until 10:30 pm, with only a few breaks in the afternoon. Just enough time to eat quickly
and re-group for the next segment. In the background, I observed with complete awe the
competence and team work exhibited by Jim, Eddie, and Michelle. The timing and attention to
details requires a focused unit that trusts each other immensely. This group works like precision
machinery.
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