METAMORPHOSIS: Building the Dome of a Home

e even more complicated. Not quite a Gilligan's Island situation, but these were serious factors
to contemplate.
I agreed to stay with the news crew after Kerry reassured me that they were not concerned about
their safety. He had just returned from Iraq and felt nothing could be as intense as bullets
whizzing by whispering his name. He and the news crews' attitude was basically, "Hey, no one is
shooting at us, this is a piece of cake." I was overwhelmed by their immense dedication to
deliver the news to us.
News crews risk their lives to bring us the stories we watch while lounging on our comfortable
couches. To share the world's events with the public, they repeatedly put themselves in harm's
way. I was humbled by their devotion and developed a new level of appreciation for them. Kerry
Sanders and many of the crew were Floridians. By September 16, 2004 Florida had felt the
effects of Tropical Storm Bonnie, Hurricane Charley, and Hurricane Frances. After Hurricane
Ivan, Florida was also struck by Hurricane Jeanne. Hurricanes can feel personal and Kerry
wanted a front row seat for this one.
With Ivan‟s impending arrival, the opportunity presented itself to share with a large audience the
alternative building strategies we had discovered for coastal living. How better to accomplish
widespread knowledge dispersion than through the news coverage of Hurricane Ivan making
landfall at the Dome of a Home's location? Our mission to promote the awareness of alternative
building strategies was being fulfilled beyond my wildest expectations. This was the silver lining of
Ivan‟s storm clouds.
Four vans hauling supplies with Kerry Sanders, Correspondent; and the NBC crew of AJ
Goodwin, Producer; Craig White,
Cameraman; and Chuck Stewart,
Sound Engineer, pulled up to the
Dome the afternoon before
Hurricane Ivan arrived in full force.
They were literally prepared for hell
or high water with enough food and
water for three weeks; medical
supplies; generators and fuel;
several forms of communication
including transmission dishes,
satellite phones, short wave radios,
and cell phones. And they had an
insane desire to experience the
Dome's hurricane resistant qualities
first hand. They partially unloaded
the vans and then parked them
between the buildings at the
Catholic Church – high ground for Pensacola Beach. But, not high enough. Ultimately, after
Hurricane Ivan abated, Craig and Chuck would row a boat to the drowning vans in the Sound to
retrieve the rest of their equipment.
Everyone chose a bedroom intent on getting a good night's rest before Ivan's landfall the
following day. We awoke to a beautiful day – as is typical of the day before a storm. Blue skies
with low humidity made preparations for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Ivan bearable.
Hurricane Ivan had slowed so we had more time than initially predicted. The NBC crew set up
their equipment while I duct taped the windows and vents. After I finished the last minute details,
I drove around the island to check on my neighbors' progress.
The tension was palpable; the mood was serious and somber. Those of us who survived
Hurricane Opal in 1995 were having flashbacks: weeks and possibly months before we could live
8