Friday, Sept. 25, 2005.- I woke up this morning to news that the Astrodome closed its doors overnite. As I get ready to head out to the dome to cover the story, I quickly glance at the headlines... "Astrodome at capacity, but buses with evacuees keep coming" reads the local Houston Chronicle.
This would be a day this reporter will forever remember... as I walk around the grounds of the Astrodome hundreds of evacuees... a man comes up to us, I can see the pain on his face... "Where's the FEMA office, he asks, I have my mother inside, she's sick, she needs medical attention, but noone seems to be able to tell me where to go! Andrea, a fellow reporter, shows him where we think he needs to go... we can only hope he found the help he seeked. "We must get in there... we must go talk to the evacuees..." A volunteer offers to help us, she tells us how bus drivers outside the Astrodome area are also desperate. They are here in Houston, outside the dome, yet many haven't had much food either.
We're now outside Reliant Center, one of the Astrodome's building, those who couldn't get in the dome are now here, outside at the parking lots. Policeman on horses, buses lined up, around the parking lot, small piles of garbage are starting to pile up, as I walk, one single tennis shoe lays on the ground... and the closer we get, a smell of everything mixed together... and we're outside!! in Houston, Texas. Couldn't even imagine how it was back in New Orleans at the Superdome.
It's very hot outside, as I work closer to the front door, I talk to a man... he arrived this morning about 3am. He says "I have been wearing these clothes since last Sunday" he adds. Not very far from the main entrance, the volunteer showing me around, asks me to come in. After checking with a police officer at a makeshift fence, we're Ok, no questions asked... I finally walk in.
So here it is... reality. Hundreds around me, many on cots, sleeping, or at least trying. The noise is loud, a thousand voices, and a thousand more. Signs mark different areas "Elderly..." "Women only" "No food in sleeping area" as I walk through the hallways, a long line against several of the side walls. People waiting to eat.... many elderly in wheel chairs... mothers holding infant children.
And then... a young man walking around with what looks like a refrigerator opened box... a name painted on it; he's hoping to find among the thousand cots he walks around.
