…I hear that sometimes, but I don’t buy into it.  Sure there are big picture aspects that are the same from story to story. You have to get into the detail, though, and remember that while it’s a story to the editors and publishers, it’s people’s lives- and for that brief moment our lives are entwined.

For me, there is always someone I meet, often more than one someone, whose smile or tears leave an indelible mark on my memory. Sometimes I remember their names, other times its just someone I am only able to watch react to the adversity that has befallen them. My time in Galveston and Houston is no different. I will always remember seeing the dozens upon dozens of volunteers forming “bucket lines” to pass out water and ice to those who were in need. They were in need also, but they put their own needs on hold to aid their neighbors. But there are two individuals I will remember most of all.

For her smile and can’t-get-me-down-attitude, I will remember “Miss Robin.” She has a quaint little bed and breakfast in Houston. Robin’s Nest. After being pelted by driving rains and wind blown debris with correspondent Kris Gutierrez, producer Maggie Lineback, and photographers Guy Hernandez and Spencer for the best part of what Ike had to dish out… tired, wet, exhausted, we weaved our way into her neighborhood through downed power lines and trees. There waiting for us she had as comfortable a bed as I’ve ever slept in. Power was on surprisingly, but a man with a chainsaw took care of that.

Dangerous thing, a man with a chainsaw. I’m just glad he didn’t know where the water lines were. I got a nice hot shower. Robin has a German Shepherd. Rudy. He was brought to Houston after Katrina and left behind. Now he watches over Robin and all the guests who nest with her. Robin has the kind of face that that just says “everything’s gonna be alright.”

But then there are tears. Tears of a woman in my sat truck using my phone to call her son. Three days of no contact. Stranded on Galveston Island. I know the emotion she felt talking to her son. I feel it when I talk to my daughters after being away from home.

Galveston is much like a ghost town now in many areas. Downtown in particular. Streets empty with the exception of a power company crew in the distant block. The story is fading from national headlines now. A daily update or two on new death toll numbers or how many homes still remain without power.

There’s a new storm. Wall Street is a mess, remnants of another hurricane having swept through littering the streets with worthless financials. I can’t muster any sympathy for those swallowed by the greed that has flooded “the street.” Some politician says I need to pay more tax so I can feel more patriotic. How idiotic.

I’m headed home now. Back to Atlanta and my family. Won’t see them until tomorrow. I’ll cry when I see my girls. I’ve just been through a hurricane.

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Today was my first day to really tour the storm ravaged neighborhoods of Galveston. Ike played with peoples belongings like a big, mean old bully. Bending metal, breaking 6 by 6 lumber, and strewing boats about parking lots as if to cast them from his sandbox.

Public works crews are scurrying through sand covered roads like ants. They are literally bulldozing tunnels and pathways where roads once welcomed residents and tourists to the Texas coast. It will be sometime before residents get back into their homes and neighborhoods, much less any resemblance to any kind of tourism industry. But not to worry, Galvestonians, the tourists will come back. Mostly gawkers at first, coming in to see for themselves the damage to once familiar hang outs. We were set up for lives along the sea wall early this morning but were asked to move because engineers just aren’t sure how strong the sea wall still is after Ike’s tantrum.

Buried in the sand I saw two safes that hopefully had been emptied by the owners before the storm hit. There really was no way to tell where they came from. In many areas Galveston looks more a like a construction and demolition landfill than a once thriving beach community of 60,000 plus residents. As if there weren’t enough for rescue and EMS personnel to deal with just in search duties alone, late today comes word that and island habitat for exotic animals had “lost track” of a TIGER!! I know where all mine are.

Seems like Ike left the cage open when he pulled out. And the cattle are walking about beachfront roads as if they were back home on the range. Amazing. Oh… the President was here today. Ceremonial. Nice day for a helicopter ride I guess. Seems like a waste of fuel… that immensely sought after commodity that residents would sell their last striped tiger for. Maybe that’s where he got off too. Tomorrow is a new day and residents will start being allowed to trickle in for their first look at the task ahead of them. Look only. No touch. No collecting.

Officials have said those who attempt to stay may face fines of up to $2000 dollars. There are reports that martial law might be declared. A jail cell and three hot meals a day promised to those who disobey. A jail cell and three hot meals a day….hmmm. For some who’ve lost everything that might not be a day at the beach, but here these days, a day at the beach means hard labor. How ’bout those COWBOYS!

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The “Can’t keep me down” spirit I see in the faces of Houstonians is in a word- astonishing.

As I watch bag after bag of ice along with water and other supplies being loaded into cars it suddenly dawns on me. This is no federal hand-out, no FEMA pick-me-up, in fact it has nothing to do with the government at all. All of these people are volunteers, working to unload what eventually be four tractor trailers of much needed relief. I know Texans are proud, but I see it in every disaster I go to.

Private business and citizens coming together, working to help those who are in the same horrible conditions. They’re not whining about helping and they’re not waiting for the government to ride in on a white horse and save them. But this time it is Texas. And Texans are working with hearts as big as the Lone Star state itself. You’ve seen the pictures on Fox News Channel by now, I’m sure. Long lines of people waiting, wanting essentials that right now are i short supply. There are other lines. Volunteers. While those lines may not e as long as the ones of those who are in need, they are equally impressive of themselves. Men, women, sisters, brothers. Texans. Americans.

No, there is no Federal Government at this distribution point, just people. Hopefully there’s a lesson here for all of us. We don’t need government getting so big that we forget how we started this country— Individuals banding together to fight a government that would dictate how we would live our lives. A government so big that we forget how to take care of ourselves and our neighbors.

A government that wants I absolutely hate that bad things happen. But they will. Maybe that’s part of the good that comes out of the bad- we are reminded that we can come together putting aside our differences and work together to get ourselves out of a tight spot without “big brother”. Be proud, Texans!

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It’s been more than 24 hours after Ike slammed the Texas coast, another weather front has continued to dump torrential rains on the Houston-Galveston area.

There are few signs of normalcy Sunday morning, as person after person approach and ask us how long they’ll be without power. I wish I had good news for them but seeing that MASSIVE areas without power leaves me wondering if there will be power anytime in the next three or four days.

So many huge old trees have dropped branches on power lines in so many neighborhoods and business districts it would seem to be an almost insurmountable task to restore it all. But an army of 7000 utility workers will soon be hitting streets and taking to bucket trucks weaving new lines through the city like a patchwork quilt. How do you know where to start building a cities infrastructure?

Power crews will work to restore those areas hardest hit first, with a priority on essential services- police, fire, rescue, public utilities. The aerial pictures show the devastation of houses bulldozed to the ground by Ike’s storm surge. Fortunately the surge retreated quickly and officials are now beginning to get into the most heavily damaged areas to begin to evaluate damage and assist those who rode the storm out. Hard lesson learned.

As with any storm, the resiliency of those affected will take the spotlight over the next few days and weeks. Ike will be but a terrible memory for some, an inconvenience for many, a reminder to us all, that no matter what trials we face we can, and will, prevail.

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Fifteen foot swells are already pounding the sea wall leaving debris scattered along the road that parallels the shoreline. This is one monster storm. There will be no hiding underneath the bed from this. Emergency crews are staging at the Galveston convention center, parking vehicles inside in hopes of preventing the pummeling Ike is sure to deliver.

Three storms in as many weeks leave looking forward to the end of this tropical season. While I was able to find safe harbor for my sat. truck in Gustav and Hannah, the topography in Galveston didn’t allow that same level of security. After morning lives along the sea wall I have moved inland a bit to avoid the flooding. Protection from wind and storm surge are the two major factors in covering any hurricane. I found wind protection, but with the imminent threat of massive flooding Galveston Island is no place to park 700 K worth of mobile digital technology.

Predictions of a 20-foot storm surge will top the 17-foot sea wall and would have allowed fishes swimming in my truck. Stay tuned to blogs from Brooks Blanton and Maggie Lineback during the storm for up to the minute reports from coastal communities. Steve Harrigan will provide live coverage via Streambox technolgy throughout the storm and all of the Fox crews are sure to capture some very dramatic video of this monster storm as it attempts to swallow Galveston! Hannah was a great “spectator” storm.

I hope the people of Galveston Bay do not take Ike so lightly.

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Gustav has come and gone through Lafayette, leaving in his wake widespread power outages and uprooted trees. Majestic, once tall, proud Live Oaks are dethroned, pushed to the ground by the bully on the school playground. Correspondent Jonathan Serrie is doing lives from one of many locations just like that. Chainsaws will make firewood from one of these huge oaks that may last as long as the hundred years or more that the mighty oak had been growing.

Our assignment this trip has been to service our Fox network affiliates. It can be a grueling pace in the best of circumstances, but throw in some tropical storm force winds and rain and it’s a recipe for exhaustion. The affiliate service is called “The Edge.” Jonathan provides live coverage for individual market stations throughout the country often doing as many as twelve live hits in an hour. Every hour. Hour after hour. Fox television stations from coast to coast. Remembering station call letters. Remembering station co-anchors. Laura and Mark, Allison and Steve, Jack and Jill… or was that John and Jill?

On any given story when doing lives for Fox News Channel we typically will do one or two hits an hour. Our producers Dan Gallo and Brooks Blanton work behind the scenes coordinating these continuous live shots and juggle phones better than any circus clown. At least they have a fall back career path! They do a remarkable job taking care of all of the crews needs including hotels, food, public relations with “unfriendlys”, writing scripts, helping with video feeds… thier tasks are too numerous to list them all. We have the absolute best field producers in the business at FNC and they’re an integral part of what us “the big dog”!

For the state of Louisiana Gustav was a test. From the lessons learned from Katrina there have been remarkable gains in levels of preparedness on the part of both officials and residents alike. Residents heeded the warnings and evacuated and officials were able to better concentrate on handling this potential disaster. Gustav was no Katrina, but he provided the guidepost to lead gulf coast residents as they further prepare for the NEXT big storm… and there will always be a next storm. Hannah here we come!

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1:30 p.m. : Many times circumstances of being in the field requires a bit of Macgyver to keep us on the air… and it always seems to happen when the weather is at it’s worse. The dish is controlled by electric motors that pan and tilt the dish (antenna) for tuning onto the satellite.

My motors decided to evacuate. For any of you you who have ever tried tuning your own DirecTv receiver you’ll understand how “interesting” it can be to try to locate the satellite. Try it with a dish that weighs acoupla hundred pounds… while winds are blowing and gusting 30 to 40 mph around you! Mother being the necessity of invention, there’s a new baby tool in the world today! Vice grips inventor is a proud papa.

As far as the storm goes, as of 1pm Eastern we are still awaiting the major brunt of the storms punch in the Lafayette area. Off and on rains are laying the wet carpet for Gustav’s imminent arrival.

The kind folks here at the First Baptist Church of Lafayette have shown us that Louisiana hospitality that makes this area a great place to visit… more so when the party is for something other than a hurricane!

Go Tigers!

4:37 a.m. : Correspondent Jonathan Serrie and I have covered quite a few hurricanes together, even dating back to our pre-Fox days. There’s a certain comfort level going into a storm like this with a “seasoned veteran” like Jonathan. Makes my job, and life, much easier.

My focus is to get my truck in as safe of a location as possible to allow me to keep Jonathan on the air as long as possible. What I and all the truck operators look for is protection for the dish (antenna). This trip I found what I hope to be safe harbor in a courtyard area of the First Baptist Church in Lafayettte, LA. Protection on three sides from high winds that could easily rip the dish off the truck and send it flying like an over sized Frisbee. High sided brick buildings with an exposure to the southern sky for access to the satellite are the key to keeping the dish protected. Once the storm hits I can keep the dish deployed in constant 45 mph winds. The game plan in placing the truck where it is…. the winds howl past the truck, blocked by the building and we stay on the air bringing you the latest information on deteriorating conditions.

So, the truck is in place, the cables are laid out and wrapped and protected as best as possible, and until the conditions just get too unsafe and the cloud cover too thick to punch a signal through- we’ll be here! We’ll be in the rain and wind telling folks not to go out into the rain and wind! Jeff Burton, Fox News Channel Atlanta based Field Tech.

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Hi all — I’m staff in the SE bureau located in Atlanta. I split duties between Sat truck/photog/field tec/field producer/ coffee maker! (I’m also in charge of the candy jar!)

We’re primarily a breaking news bureau and we stay pretty busy. Most of our time is spent in our region but we are sometimes sent to other areas depending crew/staffing needs. I’m exciting about blogging and letting you guys know the ins and outs of our “normal” life in the field!

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