Road Tour Journal, Day Five
This is CBS News correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi's Web-exclusive daily road report.
My entry is a little late today. I could tell you that's because we were driving through the bayou and we couldn't get wireless but it might also have a little something to do with the fact that we spent the night in New Orleans and Bourbon Street is open.
Regardless, this morning we hit the road at 6 a.m. I ate dry Captain Crunch cereal in the car and fell asleep slumped in the passenger seat. My producer, Mike Solmsen, drove and when I gained consciousness we were in Houma, La.
By 7:30 a.m. we were in the kitchen with Tiffany Comeaux and her three amazing sons. Ten-year-old Brice was making waffles while his 7-year-old brothers Brandon and Broady, who are twins, downed Boo Berry Crunch.
Tiffany's mother, Karen, was kind enough to make us a big pot of coffee before she took the kids to school. I don't think we needed to tell her we all went out last night — she could tell. Mothers can always tell.
While Karen took care of us, Tiffany took care of her three boys by getting them ready for school. Anyone with three kids knows that can take military precision. In which case, Tiffany should be an admiral. She runs a tight ship! The thing is, these days, Tiffany doesn't have the luxury of taking a morning off and letting her husband take care of the kids. Her husband was killed in Iraq about a year ago.
We talked to Tiffany about what the past year has been like, how she feels about the war now and what she senses about Americans' views of the war. She said she didn't think we should back out of Iraq now because it would mean her husband, who was her high school sweetheart, died in vain.
Tiffany has learned a lot about loss this year. Which is why she says, even with her world turned upside down, she turned her home over to Hurricane Katrina evacuees and moved in with her parents for a bit. "Our losses are nothing ... our homes can be re-built," one of the evacuees told us. "Tiffany's loss can't be replaced."
Just spending the morning with Tiffany and her mom, I can tell you the two are amazing women and they are a lot a like. Even though they've had a horrible year, they both still seem more concerned with helping others and getting them exactly what they need — whether it's a place to stay or a stiff cup of coffee.