I don’t even know where to start.
We all thought we were prepared, and I guess for the most part we were, but how could we know exactly how bad it would be? I look at that last post, when I really figured we were looking at about a four-hour or so power loss and a few downed tree limbs, and I feel kind of stupid.
The storm itself was pretty scary. I was bunked in my nephew’s room on an air mattress when it really got going at around 2am, and the power started to surge. It went on and off about seven times before we finally lost it for good at around 4. All you could hear was wind and rain that seemed to be coming in sideways slices, and sometimes you heard a bang or a smack and didn’t even try to figure out what that was. We woke up on Saturday and it was still rolling, and we got a look out the windows and saw some branches here and there. Around five that afternoon we were sweltering, so we headed outside to stand in the rain and cool off (by then the wind was gone). Our parking lot looked like it had been forested–downed trees and huge limbs everywhere (thank God nothing fell on the cars, but we did here that one apartment in the complex had a tree come in through the roof). If you’re not a Houstonian you have to keep in mind that we live in the Piney Woods part of Texas, and have a forest literally right on the other side of the fence bordering our complex. It looked like the tops of the trees had been picked up from there and deposited on our stoops, stairways, and sidewalks.
We went home Saturday night with delusions that surely the power would come on by morning…and then that night we had the most hellish thunderstorm I think I’ve heard in years. Turns out that was a cold front, which was a huge blessing–at least it cooled everything down. By this point my aunt had all of us ready to knock her out with a pine branch. (You have to know her to understand…let’s just say that being in close quarters with her for more than about half an hour is a bad situation. She expects to be waited on, hand and foot, didn’t bring any food with her but was content to eat ours, and didn’t shower or bathe in the four days she was cooped up here–I guess out of sheer laziness. It was miserable. But I digress…) One more night, no power, and by Sunday we were running out of food but I heard on the radio that Target was open, so I went running up I45 for supplies. The stores were mobbed, and there were no frozen foods or fresh milk, produce, or even ice. When I got there, the staff was throwing everything from the freezers into garbage bins–apparently the generators weren’t powering them, and the food had started to spoil. THAT was a pretty heartbreaking site. I grabbed what few canned goods were left on the shelf, and stood in line for an hour and a half to check out.
Monday, still no power, and news that school wouldn’t be back in session until at least Thursday, and more than likely we’d be closed for the entire week. We heard about things getting ugly at the gas stations, where folks had been waiting for twelve hours to fill up, but then somebody would cut them off and get ahead in line. Or someone would drive up in a Suburban and fill it all the way up, then fill two or three containers, too, and the pump would be emptied out when the next person pulled up. Luckily I think that’s about as nasty as it got–I haven’t heard about looting or anything like that. The FEMA trailers are here and there handing out ice and water and food, and we’ve stayed away because there are people who need it way more than we do. I mean, cold Chef-Boy-R-Dee is gross, but at least it’s something to eat.
Thank God, today at around noon the power came back on. I’ve never been so grateful for light, or warm water, or a stove (no more lukewarm food!) in my life. I swear, I never thought it would take almost four days to get the power back, and I hear there are still over a million people without it. We’ve driven around town and even up on our side, there are collapsed roofs, downed lines, and demolished structures all over the place. We passed a trailer park that was destroyed; you could see into living rooms and bedrooms because the sides of the buildings had been ripped right off. Man, we were so lucky. We never lost running water, we had enough batteries to keep the flashlights going and the radio running, and we had that gorgeous weather when it really SHOULD have been in the 90s like it usually is this time of year. The only thing we lost was about $100 or so worth of food in the fridge and freezer. And a little bit of sanity, but that started coming back once I dropped my aunt off at her house.
So, what have we learned from this adventure? Well, for starters, I’m so damned grateful I didn’t move down here and resume my residence life career–the scene at the local universities can’t be pretty, with classes canceled and a few thousand residents stuck without power and with nothing to do. I’ve also learned that we need a bigger battery-powered radio (my little one wasn’t really adequate…) and a few more flashlights. And a big cooler, because our styrofoam one didn’t really do the job. We need to follow that damn Red Cross’s advice and have a disaster kit put together as soon as possible (hell, we could get another one–hurricane season doesn’t end for another month and a half…) My sister and brother-in-law proposed stashing some money in a high-interest savings account so that if this happens next year, we can just evacuate.
I’m just glad this shit is over. We don’t have school until next Monday, which is a blessing (free time off is always kind of nice, right?) and a curse (I’m getting stir-crazy, plus we have to make up every day we miss–and at this rate we’ll be in school until July; plus losing six days of instruction kind of sucks.) So I suppose I’ll relax for the first time since Thursday, and enjoy the luxury of television. Thanks to everybody for your thoughts over the past few days–really, it could have been so much worse. I think it’ll take a trip to Galveston to realize just how lucky we are.
) and looking around at new cars. Another truck is completely impractical. I’m thinking about either a Fit (I love my mom’s) or the non-boxy-looking Scion. Something cute and zippy that gets great gas mileage. I’d love a Prius, but they’re still a little out of my price range. We’ll see what happens, any suggestions?
