I left everyone hanging after my 9/11/08 Ike post. Here are where things stand: All my family and friends are alive and well......maybe not perfect, and maybe their homes & yards need some repair, and maybe they are tired of living without electricity, but all things considered......well.
Since we have all seen the pictures and heard the stories of Galveston and Houston, this blog post will mostly be centered around the people I know, the pictures they took, and the first-hand accounts from Lake Jackson, the Brazosport area and The Woodlands.
Many do not yet have electricity so they have been unable to download and e-mail their pictures. I will continue to update this post as I receive pictures and stories.
Hurricane Ike came ashore in Texas at 2am September 13, 2008 just 1 mph short of a Category 3 Hurricane. Galveston took a direct hit but the storm span was 600 miles across. It left 4 million without power.
Common Storm Words & Themes:
"Camping" - most people have paralleled their post-storm life to camping; they may be living in their homes but it might as well be a tent; no light, no air conditioning, no computer, no tv, no refrigerator; their culinary delicacies include canned goods and perishable items that fit into an ice chest
"Noah's Ark" - oh, I had to laugh at my friend Robin who evacuated with her family & their pets to a hotel; she said everyone in the hotel had at least 2 pets and she felt like she was on Noah's Ark
"War Zone" & "Ghost Town" - stores closed; empty streets; devastating damage; no gasoline; no communication; no electricity; no phone service; most streets undriveable due to the debris
Where is Paul Revere when you need him???
As everyone across the country watched the hurricane blow through the Texas coast, people who needed information the most, didn't have it. Citizens of Ashtabula, Ohio were far more informed than my brother in his family who sat helpless in their home as vicious rolls of thunder shook their house and trees cracked and fell around them. Once power was lost, people lost touch with EVERYTHING. In fact, those who still do not have power, are still out of touch. Remember that the next time you are watching CNN. You will have more information than the powerless folks who are sitting in the dark, quiet wondering what is going on. And I am talking about the Brazosport area. Those in Galveston are far worse off.
Lake Jackson, TX
Going on 9 days, my parents and friends in Lake Jackson still do not have power. Most everyone left town under the mandatory evacuation but upon their return, they came home to messy yards, downed trees, downed power lines, a little home damage and no electricity. School is starting tomorrow and it leaves one to wonder how everyone will get dressed with no lights, no hair dryers, no computers for homework, & no washing machines or dryers to clothe the kids & teachers. It will be a challenge but I think most people are ready to get back in to some sort of routine. We can only hope the power will be restored this week. My parents went to church this morning and it too didn't have power. They said it was packed, hot & dark. But that didn't seem to bother anyone as most are ready for some sense of normalcy. There was no sermon but instead a time of musical worship and a lot of storm stories!
The only pictures I have of Lake Jackson are ones I got from the newspaper. I will get others when my family & friends can use their computers.
A church lost its steeple and it pierced the glass windows when it landed.
Mangled power lines - a common sight throughout the Brazosport area; no wonder it is taking so long to get the power restored
The Woodlands, TX
Most people in The Woodlands didn't evacuate since it is almost 90 miles from the gulf coast. Its proximity didn't keep it from harm's way. With the power, force and speed of the hurricane, 90 miles inland didn't seem to matter. My brother's home didn't fare so well. One of their backyard trees fell and hit their home. The main trunk missed the house by 3 feet (a true blessing) but a branch gouged through the roof and into their kitchen. Sheri, my sister-in-law, and my nephew & niece, Hunter & Summer, witnessed it. (story & pics below) Needless to say, after dealing with it raining in the kitchen, a hole in the roof, living out of an ice chest on PBJ & tortillas, no power, no football or decent food, they packed up the family & the dog and came & stayed with me until The Woodlands power was restored.
My House & The Evacuees
Take a glimpse into my house and what the evacuees did in the DFW area.........
Hunter loves to interview people (we think he might have a future in newscasting). Here are pics of him conducting an interview with Summer recounting the tree story.
Hunter set the stage and gave facts about Hurricane Ike. He told us how scary it was to see a tree come through the kitchen ceiling. He told us he cried and was really scared when his mommy left him in charge of Summer as she frantically ran out in the rain and into the street to find Dada (who was helping a neighbor that had also just sustained major damage).
Over breakfast consisting of a chocolate covered donut with sprinkles, Summer tells us the story:
"A tree came in our kitchen. We were in our dining room and this huge crash came in our kitchen and our cabinet was leaking. Some ice came in on our floor. I was scared. Then I went to Hunter's friend's Alex's house and watched 'Curious George'."
Very good Summer! I'll translate a few things. "Ice" = what looked like ice to a 3 year old was sheet rock & dry wall that crumbled down onto the kitchen sink, countertops and floors; How did she watch a movie with no electricity? The neighbor had a portable DVD player that still had some juice. They came over and got Hunter & Summer so Sheri & Derek could start cleaning up the mess and trying to prevent more rain & debris from getting in the house. Using pieces of plywood and a tarp, they were able to get the hole covered until they can get a more permanent repair.
Next Hunter interviewed Dada. Let me start by saying that Derek (aka "dada") is THE best story teller. He keeps an audience captivated and somehow makes every story into an adventure that leaves you waiting for more. And funny.......his stories will make you laugh. In written blog format, I'll try to do his stories justice. Too bad I didn't record this.
Hunter: "What was the hardest part of the hurricane?"
Derek: "lack of communication; missing college football weekend; being out-of-sorts; sleeping with windows open and hearing the neighbors shouting and their generators running"
Hunter: "What was the funniest part of the hurricane?"
Derek: "Two stories. First was in the midst of the storm as trees starting falling, our neighbor came running outside in the pouring rain wearing a soaked wife-beater shirt, a yellow hard hat, and woody woodpecker boxers & the cow was out of the barn."
(Summer in the background laughing hysterically, "Woodpecker with cow out barn!!" I hope that's not the story she chooses to tell on her first day back at Mother's Day Out.)
Derek - con't.: "The second was the story of one of my customers. These are guys that work at Seaside Lumber in Bolivar and for some reason they decided not to evacuate. Six of them were on the roof of their lumber company and the waters continued rising, now to a dangerous level. They decided to jump off the roof and swim to safety at the church next door. As they began to breathe a sign of relief upon entering the church, they almost lost their breath as they noticed a lady who had evacuated with her pet lion!"
After Derek told me this, you always wonder if the customer told it with any hint of exaggeration. Come to find out, as I was looking at hurricane pics on the internet, I came across pictures of Shackle the lion. It's a true story.
"Shackle, an 11 year old African lioness, lies at the First Baptist Church in Crystal Beach, TX. The lion and her owner waded through Hurricane Ike flood waters to the church after they were unable to make it off Bolivar Peninsula prior to Ike's landfall."
If I had to choose a theme song for Hunter & Summer's stay at my house, it would be "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake. We must have listened to that song no fewer than 30 times. Here are a few pics of them getting their groove on.
Ft. Worth Zoo
We took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and spent a day at the Ft. Worth Zoo. They got an evacuee discount!
What was your favorite part of the zoo?
Hunter: the snakes & penguins
Summer: the train rides
Enjoy the pics!
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While we were at the zoo, Derek stayed at my house to catch up on work and bond with the dogs.
Have I talked about the food and how hungry this crew was when they arrived? After eating out of an ice chest for 2 days, when they piled out of the car, they had ravenous appetites and ate the Chicken Spaghetti, Garlic Toast and Chocooate Sheet Cake (the recipe is coming Wonder!) like they hadn't eaten in a month. Hunter wore my apron and helped me cook. He's an excellent taster!
Phone service was not as available as we would have liked, especially the day of and the day after the storm when we were trying to account for people and damage. We were so thankful when we didn't hear, "All circuits are busy. Please try your call again later." Here is Summer telling PaPa & Mel about the zoo.
The caption for this next photo could be "higher ground", "survival", or "spoiled". Roxy is used to having the house to herself. She couldn't find a time or place to eat in peace so I put her food & water on my bed.
Time To Go Home
Word came in at 10:30 one evening that power had been restored in their neighborhood. They waited until the next morning to verify it was still going strong. I was thanked immensely for my hospitality but Roxy & I benefited from their visit as much or more than they did.
KV with Hunter & Summer (and both dogs)
Good-bye!
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