Florida’s notebook fiasco

Zahra, Julysa, Trish, Irene and I started the morning in Pensacola, Florida’s Naval Aviation Museum which was so informative and amazing. Julysa aptly described the experience as a time warp. The free museum sends visitors back in time to before some were born and makes you feel like you are really there. For example, some of the exhibits looked so authentic they rivaled the USS Alabama battleship experience. We met two ladies who regularly volunteer at the USA 1943 exhibit who described what it was like to live in small towns during that time and showed us what daily life was like as we walked through a dime shop where people had to pay with food rations and money, through a typical living room with working radio playing a recording of war news updates and storefront windows honoring the town’s troops. Basically we received a history lesson like no other.

Also, the volunteers complimented our enterprising reporting skills and said they were thankful we visited the museum and are devoting ourselves to journalism in college. They were just really proud that we were trying to cover military stories and the oil spill incident and representing our college. It was cool getting a genuine compliment from women who’s husbands and families fought in the war and had experienced so much in life and they said they were impressed with the way we conducted ourselves.

It was so cool being able to climb into the cockpit of actual aircrafts in the museum and see what it would be like to sit inside one and imagine being drafted or signing up to protect our country flying jets, planes and helicopters.. and actually blimps, space shuttles and hot air balloons would be included. I learned a great deal and have so much respect for the men and women who serve in the military. Not that I didn’t already but this museum makes you think twice about sacrifices and environments/situations the country sends our troops to deal with.

But, anyway, the haunted lighthouse was the point of this blog! Basically I climbed 177 steps to the very top of the historical operational lighthouse in Pensacola, just like the other two students and two advisors in our group. I enjoyed conquering a fear of heights which was sort of challenged when I went up in a hot air balloon in East Texas on assignment. I loved the ghost stories and rustic interior of the tower and stopped to stand in the window ledges along my way to the top. I get up there enjoy the view and joke around a bit. At that point, I think I should be taking some notes just in case I forget some of the details and views from the top of the tower. I reach in my back pocket where I am positive I carried my reporter’s notebook the whole trip and … it’s gone!

Zahra and Julysa say I pushed them out of the way screaming “My notebook!” and bolted back down the steep stairway. I was seriously more worried about losing notes from stories I covered throughout the entire week. The potential loss of all those direct quotes, names and observations I made during interviews and knowing that I could never get all that information back was scarier than falling down a flight of stairs at full speed. My main thought was my advisers will kill me if I lose all this information. I could just hear them commenting on me having a vacation rather than a week of work. I checked every single window sill on the way down. Finally I made it to the bottom of the tower in time to run into Irene.

Great, my notebook is lost and I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I couldn’t believe my carelessness. I ran through the lighthouse living quarters through the blood-stained bedroom and even to the haunted cellar alone. These were desperate times! Finally I go outside to check the car and find my notebook is safe in the seat I had been sitting on the entire time. My legs are still aching right now and my lesson for the day is clear. Know where your stuff is at all times ESPECIALLY your notes! I just couldn’t imagine losing information from dozens of sources over this past week and trying to scramble to put together even one of the 8-10 stories on my plate.

Scary situation. Here’s to wishing this never happens again. I’m referring to the potential loss of notes and not the lighthouse and museum experience, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Also another new food experience: I tried key lime pie tonight at the restaurant on the beach and loved it.

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