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Pat Shingleton: "Storm Coverage..."

8 years 7 months 3 weeks ago Saturday, August 29 2015 Aug 29, 2015 August 29, 2015 3:00 AM August 29, 2015 in Pat Shingleton Column
By: Pat Shingleton

Here's another excerpt from our on and off-air coverage of "The Storm." who's name was translated to "Cleansing." "After Katrina made landfall we shifted our coverage to the parishes north of Lake Pontchartrain.  Before the Noon hour on that day, I returned home to start a generator. Wind speeds were running between 40 and 50 miles per hour as I maneuvered around downed power lines, poles and debris. Expecting a short visit, I fired-up the generator, plugged in the fans and a refrigerator and was returning to the station when the accident occurred.  A side door to our home was open as was another door to the generator. Hugging my wife and daughter goodbye, the open doors created a vacuum or draft that violently blew the side door shut with my left hand lodged in the door jam. The bang of the door was followed by a trio of screams. Needing to get back on the air, we noticed it was quite a gash so I smattered the wound with Crazy Glue, wrapped it and hit-the-road.  Later that day, our neighbor, Dr. Frank Breaux, called the station seeking advice on conflicting reports from New Orleans. With assistance from our newsroom we were able to validate the reports. During the conversation I shared with him my smashed finger. His home was a short distance from ours and on my second trip home I swung by his house and when he saw the cut, he immediately told me to follow him for  treatment.  Frank is the Chief of Staff at the hospital and proceeded to clean and stitch my fourth finger.  What kept most of "his" staff in stitches was that yours truly had his finger repaired with both feet in the stirrups? I was told it was standard procedure."

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