Rochester, NY
10:48 AM
What a morning. Katrina arrived in Rochester last night. I am staying on Lake Ontario. This meant huge waves, high wind and rain. I tossed and turned a lot last night in getting prepared for live TV. Not that I wanted to, but I was able to see the clock at 1:32 AM, 2:41 AM, 3:46 AM, and I finally got out of bed at 4 AM. I went downstairs and saw all of the damage she had done in New Orleans and in Mississippi. I have been in those casinos that moved a few blocks. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have your house in water up to the roof. Devastating.
I watched the news for a while and then hit the shower. I drank my protein shake and headed out into the gale force winds. I was in sweats and such because I didn’t want to get my TV duds all wet and wrinkled. I was armed with a suit bag and a backpack that had my camera, some Worthwhile Magazines, and a photo album.
I arrived at CBS at the same time as Brad VanAuken. He was joining me on the show. It wasn’t raining hard at all there. We found our way in and were greeted with, “Is it OK if we bump you up to 6:20?” It was fine with us, but some of the people who were tuning in to see us at 6:40 might mind. We agreed and I went to change.
It was pretty low key. We were in the studio while they were shooting the weather and doing the news. It was interesting to see how it is done and see it live. It is fast paced.
They grabbed some pictures from me and gave us mics. A few minutes prior to 6:20 the reporter came over and asked which one of us was Andrew. I obviously said me. She asked me some questions and then it was time. There was no make-up or anything like that. They sat Brad and I on a couch and she sat to my left. “15 seconds,” was shouted out and my heart began to race. “Where do I look?” I asked her. And she told me to look at her when I talked.
And 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, music and “Welcome back to Wake Up Rochester…” We did the interview. It was all a blur, but I think I did pretty good. You can see it online. Check out the Press section to cut and paste the link.
Once it was over, I wished they would’ve used a different main picture. The two shots from the Firehouse and the State Supreme Court would’ve made better stories in terms of interviews. I should’ve let them know that.
And I wish I didn’t talk about bugs. And I never mentioned the website, and I was surprised they didn’t either. They did show, but not talk about, the Worthwhile Magazine.
But all in all I am very happy with the end result. I didn’t freeze on live TV. Afterwards I said to Brad, “That wasn’t so bad. I can do this.” We both laughed and headed out to breakfast.
I got home at about 9:30 and at about 9:50 I was looking Katrina in the eye. She had knocked the Jet Ski out of the hoist. I took off my glasses and headed out, pulling the ski as far up the beach as possible. The waves were big and the rain and wind did not feel good, but the water was OK. My dad came out and we secured it. He headed back inside. I headed into the waves and the water. I was a kid again, bonding with Katrina for a few minutes. I got cold and here I am. What a morning.