Title: Baker battles Gustav and Katrina
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Blog Entry: A couple weekends ago, 63-year-old trackman Robert Baker took home four medals at the North, Central American and Caribbean Regional Masters Championships in Clermont, Fla., including gold in the pentathlon. His biggest joy? Having a home to return to. Baker lives in Metairie, La., a suburb of New Orleans. In August 2005, he was a Katrina evacuee, and he wrote me: "It is dark outside and I don't want to turn on the TV. I just can't witness the end of life as I know it any more right now. Perhaps later but not now. It's just too painful. I can take the pain of pulled and torn muscles, or aching joints, but this hits too deep, at the heart and soul areas. My wife also arose early and she was just wondering out loud if some of her friends were still alive." He and his family had decamped to his parents' home south of Shreveport. He eventually returned to his Metairie home -- which had suffered only minor damage and wasn't underwater as he had first heard. But last month, with Hurricane Gustav, he relied on his instincts. He didn't flee. Baker wrote me: "My intuition indicated from Day 1 that Gustav would not be severe for the New Orleans area, so I stayed at home. . . . When I went to the WMA (world championships) in Puerto Rico in 2003, our flight was canceled the first day due to Tropical Storm or Hurricane Robert. When I went to San Sebastion WMA in 2005, I barely made it back in time for Katrina. And now this. I'm beginning to think that maybe I should stay home from WMA meets and just board up the house instead." Baker said he took a flight back a day early from the Florida meet and got home about 10 p.m. that Saturday night, just in time to hear the mayor of New Orleans predict Gustav would be the "mother of all storms." He also heard the president of Jefferson Parish talk of dire consequences. "At that point," Baker wrote, "I knew my intuition had to be correct -- because these two consistently say or do just the opposite of what should be said or done." So he helped his wife and daughter pack for northern Louisiana, and Baker stayed put. "Back on the home front, we lost a bit of siding and about a 10x12 area of shingles off the roof," he said. "Noticed water coming through the ceiling and with the help of neighbors put tar paper over the affected area on the roof and corrected the problem. "Other than that, everything was uneventful. Shared meals and played cards with neighbors and also cleaned the yards of neighbors who had evacuated. Only real problem was the lack of cable TV and no feta cheese for my salads. Bummer! Had no electricity from 8:37 am Mon, 8/1, to 1.37 am Wed 8/3. The heat wasn't very bad because the winds would cool things sufficiently." Back in late summer 2005, Baker recalled his track roots: "I learned much about track and field running and jumping in cow pastures. Since becoming a decathlete, I spent many, many hours practicing at the city park track adjacent to Tad Gormley Stadium (site of the 1992 Olympic track and Field trials). I saw an overhead shot of the stadium on CNN last night and it looks like a river running through it. We had finally gotten a decent vaulting pit at the city park track, but I imagine that is now gone. "Looks like I'll be running again in cow pastures. I guess that will have to do. It'll have to. As long as I can run, I know I'll be OK." Baker then shared the lessons of Masters track: "Training for and participating in decathlons has taught me to be resourceful (amid) new challenges, so I hope it helps with these new life circumstances. Right now, doing a decathlon seems like it would be the easiest thing in the world." Baker eventually returned to that grueling event, competing at the 2007 world masters championships in Riccione, Italy. In June 2008, he completed his comeback -- winning gold at the June 2008 national Masters decathlon championships in Noesho, Mo. Of course, 10 events are a breeze when you've weathered a few Category 3s.
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