http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/hurricane/ en Feedback@tbo.com Copyright 2008 2008-01-10T18:18:00-05:00 http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/hurricane/comments/home_finally/ We are home after 11 days covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
It’s strange to be back in Tampa with plentiful gas, electricity and cellular phone reception.
I was in a local CVS an hour after we dumped off the rental cars and ditched our rented recreational…]]> Katrina's Aftermath: Baird Helgeson and Crystal Lauderdale 2005-09-11T16:52:18-05:00 http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/hurricane/comments/see_ya_skippy/ State, local and federal authorities have become pretty fanatical about keeping everyone other than emergency vehicles and residents out of heavily damaged areas.
Trouble is, that’s where the best stories are
So each day we are posed with the same dilemma: Happily obey the wishes of law…]]> Katrina's Aftermath: Baird Helgeson and Crystal Lauderdale 2005-09-07T11:39:10-05:00 http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/hurricane/comments/we_wont_go/

Baird Helgeson retrieves the antenna from the RV after clipping a downed…]]> Katrina's Aftermath: Baird Helgeson and Crystal Lauderdale 2005-09-06T13:58:42-05:00 http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/hurricane/comments/we_stink/ We smell funky. Bad. We’ve been living out of an RV for a week now, sustained by only one shower a few days ago. We are careful not to stir up an offensive breeze when we pass each other. Is that swamp mud?…]]> Katrina's Aftermath: Baird Helgeson and Crystal Lauderdale 2005-09-05T13:40:05-05:00 http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/hurricane/comments/reaching_the_epicenter/ We found a bizarre pocket of cell phone reception at the edge of a washed out bridge in Bay St. Louis, Miss. Cell phone reception is almost as cherished as gas in these parts. Even with no power and running water, news of this place spread fast. A nasty…]]> Katrina's Aftermath: Baird Helgeson and Crystal Lauderdale 2005-09-05T03:16:25-05:00 http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/hurricane/comments/bobs_gas_adventure/ So maybe we are cheating a little. Residents all over the Gulf Coast must wait in long lines to get gas. We have Bob. Everybody should have a Bob. The Tribune’s famed sports reporter has joined our journey to serve as gas gopher and general errand runner. We give…]]> Katrina's Aftermath: Baird Helgeson and Crystal Lauderdale 2005-09-04T01:00:15-05:00 http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/hurricane/comments/the_stench_of_survival/ An aspect of hurricane aftermath seldom conveyed by television or newspaper is the soul-stopping stench. Katrina's Aftermath: Baird Helgeson and Crystal Lauderdale 2005-09-03T17:13:35-05:00 http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/hurricane/comments/air_conditioning_no_longer_included/ It’s tough to tell your parents you banged up the cherished station wagon. It’s even more difficult to tell your employer you tore off the air conditioning unit from the roof of the recreational vehicle they rented to cover Hurricane Katrina. This seemed as good a venue…]]> Katrina's Aftermath: Baird Helgeson and Crystal Lauderdale 2005-09-02T02:23:08-05:00 http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/hurricane/comments/sunrise_on_dauphin_island/ Katrina's Aftermath: Baird Helgeson and Crystal Lauderdale 2005-09-01T10:42:34-05:00 http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/hurricane/comments/night_under_the_stars/ It’s possible to fool yourself into thinking Hurricane Katrina wasn’t that bad until you see Dauphin Island, just off Mobile, Ala. The west end of the 14-mile long island is a wasteland of homes that were ripped from their pilings and wiped into the sea. Others are so steeply…]]> Katrina's Aftermath: Baird Helgeson and Crystal Lauderdale 2005-09-01T01:59:45-05:00