Writing this post for those inquiring about our experience. We are an hour from Galveston, in Sugar Land, southwest of Houston. A warm thank you to those who called, sent notes by mail/e-mails of concern. I was shocked when the first call the morning after the storm was not from family but a client. Overwhelmed by your love!
This year my birthday on 9-11 was spent in hurricane preparation. Lots to do! We were well prepared. Friday evening winds picked up. It took a long time before the rains came. Most Houstonians were ready... wanting it to 'come on' and 'get out'! The anticipation was annoying.
Things got worse as the winds got stronger and the night got darker. We were teased as the tv/lights went on and off. We knew at some point power would end. Just before midnight it happened. Due to possible tornadoes we moved into my prepared walk-in closet (thankfully decluttered). Petie, our parakeet, sat above in his cage on a shelf. Gemma, our 4 month old Golden Retriever puppy, in her kennel outside the door. My 11 year old daughter and 14 year old son had their sleeping bags spread out as they made a party out of it. And finally, Pumpkin, our beautiful white cat with big light blue eyes sleeked in and out all night keeping me company as the rest drifted to sleep.
This was one long night by light of a small lantern, hearing the winds howl, and the rain pour down. My comfort was Frank Billingsley, our caring meteorologist (the best of the best), taking calls from Houstonians so he could tell them what is going on in their area since no one had power to see the radar screen on tv. Our wonderful Houston Mayor, Bill White, provided regular updates. All night I listened to stories we could all relate to of individual people in the 4th largest city in the country. We were like one small community. I was hearing about our fun get-aways like Kemah and Galveston being wiped out, fires raging, areas where our friends live destroyed. Comfort came from our great leaders calming the fears of listeners and reassuring the community of 5 million people now in the dark that we would make it through. The worst part of the night came when I lost that radio station.
Then the hours slowed down to minute by minute. The strong winds pounded making me wonder how long things such as the roof, windows, trees, fence, could endure. I thought if only we had sunlight things would be better. The best strategy was to stay in a place of faith and trust. I was confident we would be fine. I was confident the sun would come up. And it did.
Shockingly, we were in the 4% to have power around 8:30am. We lost shingles off the roof, and a very small section of our fence came down. In our neighborhood we were shocked at the fingerprint of Hurricane Ike. Huge trees yanked out of the ground by the roots with the grass around it still attached.... all over the place. All of the Houston area (2.25 million households) without power, streetlights down, and massive destruction. Most kids were out of school for 6 days and just started back this week. Some don't have schools to go to anymore.
As I said earlier, we were prepared so when the long lines for hours at the gas station and empty shelves at the grocery store came we were enjoying the beautiful weather after the storm and were able to get out and volunteer as a family. So able to help others because we were prepared.
Great stories, tragic stories, funny stories emerged. Here are a few of the funnies (or not so funny) :
Yesterday they did a bit on the radio 104.1 ' Stupid things you did preparing for the Storm'; these are great examples of why you should 'think things through':
~ One guy waited too long to pick up a generator locally so he drove to San Antonio (a 2 1/2 hour drive one way) to get 3 generators in case his power went out. When he got back to Houston the gas stations were out of gas so he had 3 generators and no gas to run them.
~ Another guy decided to fill his bathtubs with water for flushing toilets, his dogs, etc. in case the water was compromised during the storm. He got some phone calls and an hour later his house was flooded before the storm even arrived (forgot to turn off the running water).
~ A neighborhood was delighted to have their electricity on two hours after the storm. Then a neighbor decided to cut down a tree. It fell on the wires and knocked the neighborhood out of elecricity... 10 days later they still have no electricity. I think he is lucky if he is only banned from the neighborhood barBQs!
So it's important to plan but also to stay present and think things through. Think as if you are already in the situation so you know what you would want/ need. Then once prepared, trust you can handle anything.... and that you have the support.
I am very proud of Houstonians. Not only did they open their doors to Katrina victims during their tragedy... but they have proven to be a city of people in action helping others even as victims themselves. Thanks to the great leadership in encouraging neighbors to help neighbors!
Thanks to all of you for caring!
~ Beth
