The trip to New Orleans proved to be the hardest assignment I have ever been on. During the last ten years I have witnessed the aftermath of countless storms and even seen the loss of life. I’ve felt sadness and been touched by those stories in the past but the trip to Louisiana hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn’t prepared for it!
I believe the combination of several ingredients came together and reached a boiling point early Friday afternoon. Friends calling with names and numbers of people missing from the area who I wasn’t able to track down, wanting to help the evacuees but not being able to do anything for them, feeling guilty because I was sleeping in an air-conditioned RV with a home to go to and seeing pets abandoned because they weren’t allowed in shelters.
My wife Ember, gives me a hard time because I don’t show any emotion. The lack of emotional displays was involuntarily changed for me last Friday. While talking with Neil Orne and Karen Carlson, a reporter from Los Angeles, I was overcome with sadness. I started crying and couldn’t stop. I called my wife and cried even harder. I told Ember I loved and missed her and after hearing her voice I felt a better.
Since being home I’ve been able to tell my story a few times which has been good medicine. I can finally talk about the experience without tearing up. Please keep the evacuees and rescue workers in your prayers.
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7 comments:
Todd-
Glad you made it back safely. Don't beat yourself up. From reading Neil's blog, you went way out of your way to help the victims. I'm sure you did much more than either of you are giving yourself credit for.
On another note, it was good reading you mention Karen Carlson. I met her when she was in Memphis at WREG. When I'm back home I watch her on the bird in LA. She is so talented!
Todd,
As a former news photog... I have been in your shoes seeing death, destruction and despair...although not to the extent of this story. On occasion, for reasons unknown to me, a particular story would get to me and sooner or later I would have to let go emotionally. It might not even be that particular story or situation but I believe just the cumulative effect of several situations all built up. In New Orleans, I'm sure you saw more in a day than I did in a career.
It is good that you let some of it go with a good cry. Keep telling the stories. That will help it get better for you. Don't forget the positive stories as well.
Todd,
I'm glad you are home safe. No one can see that kind of thing without having it affect them. In the end, you learn to appreciate things, even life itself, in a different way.
You did what you could with what you had as far as helping people. No one can fix it all by themselves. You did your part, and in so doing, helped everyone get closer to the final solution even if it's still many years away.
Stay safe and always know what a good job you did. Both as a journalist as well as a human being.
Hey Todd, I've been lurking on your blog here for a while. First of all, glad you're back safe and sound from Katrina's wake. That had to be some really intense stuff and I thank you for sharing the experience.
Can you talk a bit about the technical aspect of the trip? Did you do anything differently as a VJ than you would have before as a traditional photog? Did you two split up to get footage or did you operate strictly as a standard crew?
-Phil, Phoenix AZ
Todd,
It's hard not to be moved by what we've seen of Katrina. I am moved to tears watching it unfold on TV; and when I hear someone talking about a story they've seen, I am also moved to tears. Thank you for sharing from the heart. Keep up the good work!
Hey Phil,
We went down with two cameras, two edit bays(laptops) and two vjs. We got there early Wed. morning in time to go live. I set up the camera and lights while Neil did the on-camera work. Neil is a natural and I learned a lot by watching him work. Thursday we both shot seperate stories (Neil shot two) but I did the editing because he was driving the RV and trying to find the sat truck all without cell phone coverage. We found the truck with no time to spare. On Friday, I caught a ride with a couple who drove me around their neighborhood while Neil shot his own story and did his own editing.
Neil and Davis both helped setting up the camera and tripod for live shots. I dealt with the story feeds from the sat truck since I had experience and time was of the essence in that environment. Basically, we worked together when needed and separately when possible. We had our own editorial meeting each morning to decide the best plan of attack. I liked the options and flexibility we had.
Morning Todd,
I finally got to see one of your hurricane stories on the WKRN web site! The one where you go with the family back to see what happened to their home.
I can tell you were tired. After reading more from you about your working conditions...I think you did a good job under very difficult situations.
I don't know if it's just because you were tired or if you have been getting more relaxed doing your voice tracks but I thought your delivery was better. A little less accent too. Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing more of your work.
I hope you have some down time to recover from your trip!
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