OT -- We Are Refugees from Exile
by Class of 66 on Sep 17, 2008 9:12 AM PDT
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PrintBecause I've gotten so many messages from members of my BN family, I'm putting up a completely off topic post to let you know that we are alright.
Instead of living in Exile in Houston, we are, for the moment, in Austin, living as refugees in a Residence Inn -- and feeling lucky to have power and comfort.
Although our neighborhood took a huge hit from Ike, we were blessed that we had no structural damage to our house. All around us, neighbors have trees through their roofs.
I've been through tornadoes and earthquakes -- but they are very different experiences. They are over relatively quickly. And, often not so predictable.
I was able to watch the news track the storm toward my home. When the first tip of the storm hit my area, all power went out. From then on, it was all darkness and noise -- hours of wind that sounded like locomotives and loud thumps as the trees fell. (These were old trees, some more than a hundred feet tall. They shake the ground when they hit.) I stuck my head out the door, dumb me, to take a peek and saw the trees, bent at the waist bowing to the force. The sky was green.
When everything was over, we looked out the door and could not see the road. It was covered with vegetation and flooded.
It took two days to try to rebuild the neighborhood infrastructure. The first task was to clean out the drains and cut the trees that were blocking the road to give emergency vehicles access.
I hate gardening. I hate yard work. But, spent 3 days with a rake or pitchfork in hand. Most of us spent the first two days working on the neighborhood. There is an incredible sense of community here. Good humor carried the day.
On the third day, I tackled my own yard. I worked like a mad man. I realized that what I was doing was trying, as best I could, to make things look normal -- though they are far from normal.
On the third night, we held a cookout with several neighbors. People took out meat that had thawed and had a barbeque. We sat around a campfire and told stories. All we needed were marshmallows, graham crackers, and Hershey bars to complete the night.
We are without power and will be for a couple of weeks. So, we hit the road for a short rest. We will return when I can line up a generator so that I can run a refrigerator and window fan. If things don't get better soon, if the schools stay closed another week, Mrs. 66 (actually Class of 67) and Jen (hopefully Class of 2015) will head to CA. I'll stay home with the dogs and bunny.
There were some odd and funny moments -- storms like this bring out interesting reactions.
I live in a neighborhood in which more than half of my neighbors work for the huge energy companies. On the third day, our neighborhood was filled with guys with chainsaws and pick up trucks offering tree cutting services. Their prices were rather steep. One of my neighbors, who works for a major oil company complained about it to me. My response "They are doing what they learned from Exxon and BP. It's called capitalism. Supply and demand. They are riding the curve of scarcity." He smiled as he understood.
Some Texans complain about the "immigration problem" -- and call for the border to be closed. They are the same people who are calling for their yard workers, many of whom fit their definition of the "problem". IIRC, someone once wrote a play in which all of the Mexicans in a town disappeared for a few days. The play made clear the depth and richness we get from diversity. We are getting help from all people of all kinds.
I was very proud of the way Houston stepped up during Rita and Katrina. We took in several hundred thousand refugees from La. and surrounds.
We are being paid back many fold. Yesterday, the crew working around the clock to take trees off the power lines was from Mississippi. There are crews coming from Ca and Canada.
We have a blow hard congressman who was complaining, 12 hours after the storm, that FEMA was not in place and working. He also complained about 1000 busses that had been moved back and forth across the state, empty. What he didn't mention was that the original point zero was more toward Corpus Christi and the busses had to be moved back toward Houston. As to FEMA, they hit the ground, hard and quickly. They are not a "first response" team, we are. They got here quickly and are working hard.
I am a true blue state person living in a very red state. Yet, I think our State and local governments handled this extremely well. Governor Rick Perry had the state prepared. Our local Mayor Bill White did the same for Houston. And, this was a time when, with the exception of our one congressman, party and partisan have no meaning.
I am very proud of Texas and Houston. We are resilient and have a strong sense of community.
Why am I writing all of this here? Because, BN is my community, too. I really appreciate all of the messages I've received from many of you.
So, no one word about football, Ben Ball, or the rest? Funny, I've just not had time to catch up. As rabid a fan as I am, I feel so far away from all of that.
But, now that I have a 'net connection and am stuck in a hotel room, I'll dig back in.
Best to all of you.
sjh
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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Glad to hear that you are fine
That was quite the comment you had to your neighbor. Here in Birmingham, gas prices shot up $.50 cents in one day and people started panicking, so the stations ran out of gas. Fortunatly for me, I drive a compact, live 5 miles away from work, and have everything else I need at a close distance, so I haven’t fallen victim yet.
I noticed you said “I’m proud of Texas” rather than “I’m a proud Texan.” I know you the feeling. They can take us out of CA, but they can’t take CA out of us.
I Will Always Be A Californian
Wow, perceptive of you to catch that. I never think about it, but I never think of myself as a Texan. I like Texans but I’m not one. Jen, who will have spent more years here than anywhere else before she goes to college, also thinks of herself as a Californian.
sjh
by Class of 66 on Sep 17, 2008 12:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Thanks for the update and perspective
May everything get back to as close as normal as it can be soon.
And good comeback with the capitalism line.
Great to hear the community helping each other
and keeping up a good spirit. I hope the damage was minimal and it sounds like the storm brought your community closer together. I’m glad you’re well, 66. Feel free to give a holler if you need a hand anywhere in LA. I’m sure myself and other Bruins will be more than willing to help out.
1000 Points of Light
I never understood Bush the Elder’s “1000 points of light” perspective — the idea that the goodness within a community takes care of the community.
Having lived in Texas 6 years and a couple of disasters, I do now. It is a very Texas thing.
It’s not a substitute for more formal help — but the goodness of people, their neighborhoods, their religious organizations, their civic clubs and their sense of neighborhood is a powerful force in this restoration.
I don’t remember feeling the same way after the fires or earthquakes of the early 90’s.
I’ve lived in many places in CA and never felt as close to my neighbors as I do here. In fact, from the first day, after the moving truck moved away, and more than half the neighborhood dropped by to bring food and say “hi”, until this week when I was standing thigh deep in water with them clearing out the muck, I’ve enjoyed something very special that I’ve not had before.
We will return to CA. That’s where I want to live. But, I hope we bring back a sense of neighborliness that we did not have before. You know — pass it forward kind of stuff.
sjh
by Class of 66 on Sep 17, 2008 12:59 PM PDT up reply actions
Great hearing from you
Glad you and your family are doing OK.
Glad you and yours are OK
Thanks for your perspective, always appreciated by me and others.
My family had, and still has, severe damage from Katrina. It wasn’t just houses and bridges that got wrecked. It was community. Social structures, built up over decades, are in tatters. In many places, still, the atmosphere is ghost town, both physically and socially.
I am very glad to hear that we are dealing with Ike much better than we dealt with K. Thanks for taking the time to update us and let us know you’re on the rebound. I’m sure you’re looking forward to the day when Bruin blogging is, again, a priority.
All the best
Big Picture
’nut, you are very correct. The short term physical losses look staggering now.
But, the greatest damage will be intangible — things we don’t think about but that linger for a long time.
We will lose friends and neighbors — especially some of the older (that from a Geezer) people who will sell out and move out rather than face rebuilding their homes. Our community will change and not for the better.
A neighbor/friend who came to Houston last year, from Pasadena, works as a researcher at MD Anderson, Houston’s flagship cancer research and treatment center. He said that our last big storm, Alicia, ruined careers. In the flooding and power outages, lab experiments that had been in progress for years perished and with them, so too perished the careers of the scientists who were too dejected to start again.
As a cancer survivor, my mind raced to the potential “cures” that were lost with that research.
I don’t know how well we are really coping with Ike. I’m a pretty even keeled person — almost relentlessly optimistic. When I had picked up every twig and leaf on my front lawn, when there was no physical labor left to drain my energy, I felt a bit lost. I got depressed driving away from my home and community — but without power, it was just too hard for all of us to stay. Austin is one of America’s great college towns. In the mid-90’s I shot a TV series here and was in the city for 14 weeks. I loved it. I’m hoping to get to that point. Mrs. 66 has coined the term “hurrication” — sort of a vacation forced by a storm. We are in a mall. I’m at the Apple store blogging with all of you. She and Jen are getting pedicures — something they never do.
One of the hardest things for me is to go through this without my Dad. He’s been gone more than a year but under the pressure of the storm and clean up I find myself wanting to call him for reassurance and comfort. There are moments of trial and moments of accomplishment where I just look up and talk to him.
Being old, I have to guide Jen through all of this. She’s been amazing. She’s a bit of a princess, I think that’s what Daddy’s do to their little girls, but she was in the streets with me on the first day, leaf rake in hand, clearing gutters and storm drains. As we walked from house to house, she twirled her rake and marched out her color guard routines — lest she get rusty before the next Friday night football game.
But, even Jen had her moment. We stopped at a restaurant on our way out of town to Austin and she broke down and cried and laughed — she called it cackle crying. She told us that she just felt overloaded and needed to unload. She did, and now she’s doing well.
I have to get over that part of me that thinks I can and must make everything right. Once I do, and I know I will, I will have reached become a high level cope guru.
It looks like my iPhone has recharged, so I’ll leave the Apple store with one last story:
This being Austin, the home of the Horns, there are stores that sell nothing but Orange things. One had a large screen TV looping a Horns football game. Guess which one? Yes, Vince Young stomping on the hopes and dreams of sc.
Ah, life is very good.
sjh
Why is it that I feel my IQ go up whenever I read your comments?
I’m no psychology expert, but I am married to one, and the fact that you and your family have found ways to cope with the stress is very good. Speaking as a survivoring teenage girl, 16 is a very difficult age (though I think 14 is the hardest) so I can’t image coping with a natural disaster at that age, but if Jen copes by practicing routines, by all means encourage it.
Your story about MD Anderson struck a cord with me. Before I got my current job, I was temping in the pathology department here at UAB. I saw all the hard work the grad students and post-docs put into their experiments and I can’t imagine the frustration those researchers went through (at least Mr. BB’s research is in databases, which hopefully are backed up several times over).
And yes, all dads treat their daughters like princesses. I’m nearly twice Jen’s age and I still have my old man wrapped around my finger.
by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 17, 2008 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions
66, please be sure to let us all know if you ever do any creative writing, fiction or otherwise. You have a way of depicting life in ever-so-recognizeable terms, and then lending your thoughtful perspective. It is a pleasure to read your words. All the more so that you’re writing them under these difficult circumstances. Jen is lucky to have you for a dad. And, with “hurrication” and “cackle crying,” you are lucky to have your women, for inspiration and terms coinage.
She’s a bit of a princess, I think that’s what Daddy’s do to their little girls
And, the other side of that coin:
I have to get over that part of me that thinks I can and must make everything right.
Honestly, I don’t know how to separate the two. Bruinbabe, my daughter is 22. “Wrapped around her little finger” would be giving me too much credit.
There’s a scene in the movie “One Fine Day,” with George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer, where Clooney’s character is talking to his adolescent daughter. Paraphrasing, he says, “(Name), when you get older, and you are tempted to take a man’s heart, chew it up, and spit it out, just because you can, please don’t.”
To which his daughter replied, in the most delightfully innocent voice, “OK, Daddy.”
Nut, The Acorn Does Not Fall Far From the Tree
I had no idea that BB200 was your daughter.
If Jen grows up to be like BB2000, I will have done a good job. I cannot imagine how proud you are of her for all she has done and all she is.
And, if Jen speaks of me the way BB2000 speaks of you, I will have done a good job.
If Jen adapts well to her new surroundings, as BB2000 has done, yet misses me and wants to be home, I will have done a good job.
If Jen finds a man as good as Mr. BB, I will be happy.
And, I’ll gladly pay for a wedding if I can be assured that Jen will beam with joy the same way that BB2000 did at hers.
Either I will get to Alabama, soon, on work, or one of BB2000’s flights through Houston will allow us to connect. I really look forward to meeting her — and maybe you, at a game this year.
How very cool to now see the relationship between two of my BN friends.
sjh
I hate to disappoint you
But Nut isn’t my dad, though I appricate all of you kind words. He was refering to his daughter who is 22.
I’m sure Jen is going to be just fine.
by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 18, 2008 7:14 AM PDT up reply actions
As Emily Litella would say -- Nevermind
I got thrown by “BruinBabe, my daughter …”
An old man mistake.
All the comments about your remain the same. Your Dad is a lucky man.
sjh
Being 2,000 miles away kills my old man to no end
It makes it worse that he won’t get on an airplane, mainly out of fear.
The best thing my old man (and my mom) did for me was not let me worry about the expense of college. They told me as long as I wasn’t flunking out and I had a part-time job, I had no reason to worry. When I was on the house corp board for my sorority, I saw too many young women working 35 hours a week while balancing a full class load because their parents didn’t have the money. It was only then that I realized the gift my parents gave me because they knew going to UCLA was my dream.
Now if I can just get it through my old man’s head why I won’t root for South Central.
by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 18, 2008 7:52 AM PDT up reply actions
Fear of Flying Therapy
When I was teaching young law students to become trial lawyers, I worked with a psychiatrist to help the students overcome the widespread fear of public speaking.
The fear of public speaking is America’s No: 1.
The fear of flying is America’s No: 2.
America’s No: 3 is that a child will go to sc.
BB2000, the airlines have great programs to deal with fear #2. They do things like explain aeronautics and airplanes, give your dad a tour of planes and maintenance facilities and, in some cases, take him (and others) for a spin. I have flown millions of miles. In my early years, before I really settled in, I was “shocked” by certain routine plane noises which seem threatening but are not, once you understand them.
Can you encourage your dad to take one of these courses? I know seeing you is its own reward, but maybe you can lure him with a slab of Dreamland ribs. They are worth the flight.
sjh
The first step to overcoming fear is to admit it
And my old man doesn’t do that. He had some bad experiences when he was in the army, and he hasn’t been on a plane since. His old excuse was that he had no place to go.
I used to have a terrible fear of flying, and it was a combination of short flights, hypnosis and Mr. BB that got me through it. If I didn’t have Mr. BB, I would have never been able to see so many amazing places because my fear would have held me back (my mother-in-law comments how she can’t believe I was the same person who was so terrified when she first met me).
It’s sad on a few levels because my dad loves history (something he passed on to my brother and I). When Mr. BB and I went to DC a few years ago, I kept telling him how much my dad would love it. It saddens me to say that I don’t think he will ever see those sites, or would even come to Birmigham if we bring a Bruin baby into the world while we are here.
Mr. BB keeps telling me cutting down on our trips to LA will encourage my parents to visit, but now I have a niece who, even though she is only three days old, has me wrapped around her tiny finger, so now I want to spend my time with her.
I know it will all work out. It’s getting to that point that has always been frustrating.
by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 18, 2008 9:31 AM PDT up reply actions
BB2000,
My dad is now in his 80’s, and he has never come to visit me since I moved from Washington to Kansas in 2000—even when I had cancer surgery, he (and my mom) just won’t fly any more, and won’t come.
I have finally managed to get almost all the way through my frustration with this, though it still pains me that there is so much we won’t ever get to do and see together—my brother’s hydroplane races, places right here in the U.S that I know he would love so much…
Last month, I went out and spent a whole week with my parents—just with them. I ashamed to tell you that I hadn’t seen them in two years—I thought maybe if I stayed away they would finally come to see us…I blinked first.
I’m glad I did. It turns out that life really is too short. Like yours, my parents put me through school, both college and law school. I’m giving up to them on this one. They’ve both really aged in the past couple of years, and they just don’t need the aggravation.
There was an older couple on my plane from KCI to Denver, and they were struggling at every juncture—they clearly had not flown in a very long time, if ever, and they were flustered by the entire process. I helped them as much as I could, because I truly felt for them, and I couldn’t help but think, “That’s the way my mom & dad would feel.”
I’m sure your parents aren’t nearly as old as mine, and everyone’s family is different, but I thought I would just throw my two cents’ worth of experience in there. As for me, I will be traveling to see my parents on a regular basis from now on, and I’m just not going to expect any more traveling from them, for whatever reason. They win.
Love My Bruins
by Bruingirl83 on Sep 18, 2008 10:58 AM PDT up reply actions
BG83
Your story is well taken. Yes, my folks are in their late 50s, and I can certainly empathize with their fear of flying. But at the same time, I would like to see them put a little more effort into visiting, instead of complaining to everyone about how little they see me.
Your story reminded me of Mr. BB’s grandparents, particularly his grandmother. They lived in Green Bay and Mr. BB’s family moved to CA in 1986 and was pretty much all the family they had. Mr. BB’s grandmother always complained about how old she was and all her aches and pains. It would drive my mother-in-law crazy. When Mr. BB’s sister got engaged, his grandparents told my in-laws that they weren’t going to come to the wedding. My mother-in-law was beyond upset. But in reality, they couldn’t travel anymore, and she finally came to that realization.
Now that our niece is born, it is going to make it near impossible for me to cut down on travel. I have such amazing aunts, and this is my chance to return the favor. I can’t imagine not having a role in her life.
by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 18, 2008 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm So Glad
for you—and your little niece. She is so fortunate to have a connected and loving extended family…I predict great things for her, and for your future little Bruin babies, too. :)
Love My Bruins
Special Treatment
As we get old, we are offended when people suggest we take advantage of the “special” treatment available to older travelers. But, they are often the difference between being locked in a small area and seeing the entire world.
My father could barely walk yet refused to use a walker. I bought him a cane and he hung it on his arm and carried it instead of using it.
However I was able to convince him, after a lot of effort, to use the golf carts at the airports so that he could travel to see all of us.
There are a lot of ways to make travel easy for older folks, IF they will take advantage of them.
There are lots of reasons old folks don’t want to travel. Using the special services made available by the airlines is a symbol of aging that many do not want to embrace.
For all out there with parents who feel that they are too feeble to fly, check out the special services available. The airlines will take people from the sidewalk to their seats — at no charge. (And, a huge benefit is expedited security clearance.)
I love the way our threads morph. Now we are on a traveling old people thread. Unfortunately, this, too, is one of my songs.
sjh
And as for the #3 fear
My old man would have loved to have told people he had a kid at each school. My brother applied to South Central, but they lost his transcript and he ended up going to Long Beach State. My old man vowed he would never cheer for South Central again, but that went out the window when they started winning in football.
My other biggest pet peeve with my old man is that he doesn’t understand why I won’t root for South Central. He keeps saying how good it is for the Pac-10. I keep telling him that he doesn’t understand what cross-town rivalry means. I guess it was because he grew up in a house divided. My grandfather went to South Central (mainly for geographic reason and he didn’t finish) while we all know where Uncle BB went. Of course, my dad never questions Uncle BB on why he doesn’t root for South Central.
You dads can also be quite frustrating at time.
by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 18, 2008 9:42 AM PDT up reply actions
It's all in the comma
A single comma distinguishes a side comment from an introduction. Sorry for the dashed esteem.
She had commented about having her old man wrapped around her finger, and, well, I could identify.
Oops!
Thanks. I’ll try not to make that mistake again.
And, thanks for the posts in this thread. I particularly relate to the “OK Daddy.” These girls really have it down, don’t they?
sjh
sjh
Hurricanes
As a former resident of Florida, I have a deep respect for the power and danger of the tropical cyclones. I also know first hand what a well prepared state government can do when disaster strikes. Jeb Bush made hurricane readiness a priority, and even when the state was getting hammered a few years ago, the organized response was tremendous.
I compare it to this past winter here in Virgina, when an anticipated ice storm still brought the area to a dead stop.
Bob O. (Signholder #3)
Great news indeed.
I’m glad you and your family are OK. I hope everything is back to normal soon for you, the family and the pups. You mentioned that you realized the yard work was an effort to make things LOOK normal, but you will be surprised how much good it does the human soul to accomplish something as simple as cleaning up after a storm like that.
Remember that it’s an ill wind that blows no good; chop that stuff into firewood!
HEC
A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden
So To Hear From You 66
As always, thanks for the brilliant and moving insight. We’re all thinking of and praying for you and yours.
Love My Bruins
While we are on the subject of OTs
Fox, I think you would be interested in this.
by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 18, 2008 7:46 AM PDT up reply actions
You have got to see that one.
I have been in four Magic Flut productions, two in German and two in English. English is by far the best unless you are fluent in German. The plot is absurd, of course, but there is a lot of really good music, starting with the overture. If the overture had rock drums in it somewhere, it would be a number one hit. Let me know if you decide to see it, and I’ll give you all the scoop you need on what to look for. The big show stopper is, of course, the Queen of the Night’s second act aria, but there are many others I like just as well. This was probably my biggest real opera part – I played Papageno. He is one of the few characters in opera whose age is stated — he’s 28 — and I was somewhat older when I played him. (I had been a lawyer for 28 years, or something like that, at the time.) And that’s why all of opera begins with the premise called “willful suspension of disbelief.”
The acutal performance will be in March
Right smack dab in the middle of the tournament. We’ll play it by ear.
by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 19, 2008 7:52 AM PDT up reply actions
Smack dab?
You’re turning into an Alabaman. If you find yourself saying “Dag nab it,” immediately turn on “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and get yourself back to the west coast, if only in a cosmological sense.
Really, I thought it was if I started saying "Ya'll"
Which I don’t. A funny story about that is when my brother came out to visit earlier this year, I found him saying ya’ll. I told him he had only been in the South for a few hours, but he told me he says it all the time (he has a good friend who grew up in Orlando and lives in Atlanta, so that’s where I think he gets it from).
I haven’t noticed lately if I say it as much, but when I first moved here, I kept saying “Dude”. Again, you can take the girl out of CA, but you can’t take CA out of the girl.
And for the record, I loved “Querr Eye for the Straight Guy”.
by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 19, 2008 9:30 AM PDT up reply actions
What's this fuss about Ya'll??
Though it may simply be an ode to my own Texas roots, “Ya’ll” has long been a part of my vocabulary.
Y'all is good
Most other languages have a second person plural pronoun. We have “you” meaning the person you’re talking to, or “you” meaning all of you. That’s another dumb thing about English. We need the German “ihr” which means “y’all.” I much prefer the Southern “y’all” to the New York “youse.”
But I still think “smack dab” is as Alabaman as “Duuuudddde” is Californian. Here’s one other language trait to test. Read that last sentence in your best British accent. Then read it again but put the word “then” at the end. Anything ending in the word “then” sounds quite British, then. As in the famous Monty Python episode entitled “What’s all this, then?”
Or if you start it with "right"
I love the British. It probably explains why I became an English major. When I went to London last year, I felt like I belonged there. The only other places I can say that about is the UCLA campus and the general West LA area.
by bruinbabe2000 on Sep 20, 2008 6:56 AM PDT up reply actions
That's true, of course, I quite see that, but dear me.
That’s from the Mikado, very British, and applicable just about anywhere.
Or my favorite line from the Mikado, while the sisters are telling Yum-Yum that her husband is to be beheaded in a month, Peep-Bo says, “and that is, in its way, a drawback.”
As in “Getting beat 59-0 is, in its way, a drawback.” Which is proof of why all Bruins should study Gilbert and Sullivan.
Magic Flute?!?!?
I’m going to the LA Opera production in January. It’s so nice to be heading back to civilization…
Flute plot
Don’t look for one. There is no plot. Actually, it has a plot, but the plot is very lame. But I think it’s got some of Mozart’s best stuff in it. Just enjoy it. But don’t try to analyze it. Don’t look for the references to the Masons, and don’t try to parse out Mozart’s ornamentation. Just enjoy it. It’s very luxurious music.
Good news
It sounds like you guys are coping really well with it all, fair play to ya. I hope they get things back up and running soon.
Good to hear you're okay 66
Best wishes getting everything straightened out in the next few weeks.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Sep 18, 2008 12:15 PM PDT reply actions
66
I just saw this post and am so glad to see you and yours made it through uninjured. I was wondering whether you had stayed in Houston or got out ahead of the storm. Having spent 4 yrs in Houston myself, I have several old classmates who are still in the area, and I was really worried for all of you. I’m sorry to hear the power won’t be on for another 2 weeks, but am thankful your house held together ok, and that the trees missed it. Hope Austin treats you well until you can get back home.
I endured Ike in a Holiday Inn next to Reliant with my 80 person Colorado Urban Search & Rescue team. (We were in LA the week before for Gustav). We lost power about 10, then spent the night and morning cleaning the hotel for something to do. We left Houston about 1pm and were in Galveston that evening and spent the next 36 hours doing house to house searches (with a smaller team from Oakland – their team doc was a UCLA grad from 1986, so we had lots to talk about). Nearly every building has at least moderate structural damage, and many along the shores are a pile of sticks or are simply gone. One of the Texas task forces was covering the western end of Galveston while we cleared about 90% of the east half and city before being swapped out for a fresh crew from Indiana. Fortunately, most of the people who stayed in Galveston were safe, and just needed food and water, but we did evac many to shelters or hospitals.
What a mess. We’re all hoping life can get back to some semblance of normalcy for you and the Gulf Coast soon. And hopefully, Ike will be the last one of the season.
greg in denver
Glad To Hear From You, GBruin
and, thank you for helping our Texas brothers and sisters in need.
Love My Bruins
by Bruingirl83 on Sep 19, 2008 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions
Thank you, Bruingirl
and thanks for your thoughts last week. Hope you didn’t get too much of Ike’s remnants in the KC area.
greg in denver
Greg -- Thank You!!!!
I wish I had known you were in the area — I would have tried to do something to show my gratitude to you and the others who came to help. On “cook out night”, two nights after the storm, I brought a big back of pulled pork I had smoked to the outdoor feast. I would have loved the chance to share it with you.
Wasn’t the storm amazing? I’ve been through earthquakes and tornadoes and each is destructive in its own way. But, for the sheer duration of destruction, Ike takes the cake.
We had heard that more than 40% of the residents refused to leave Galveston before the storm. We had really expected a horrible aftermath. The loss of any life is tragic, but we are surprised that there were not far more deaths than have been listed.
I think we got very lucky. When the storm hit, it was listed as a 2 but 1 mph short of a 3. I wonder what would have happened if it had been a 4.
We started making Lemonade from the lemons we collected this week. Trying to make the best of our stay in Austin, we enrolled Jen in a scuba class for the weekend — something she’s wanted to do so that she can do some dives in her high school aquatic sciences class. Class of 67 and I will hike outside Austin, tomorrow. Until game time. Then I’ll look for a sports bar so that I can watch our game.
Although they are not predicting restoring power in my neighborhood until late next week, i took a step that will ensure it is back on sooner. I bid on and bought a used generator on eBay. I’m sure the power will come on before I get to use it.
Finally — how do I know I live in Texas? Because, although the schools have no power and will not open until mid week at the earliest, the high school football players at Jen’s school have been ordered to show up for practice on Monday.
If Jen is ordered back for band duty, we will drive home Monday morning. Actually, the hotel is full Tuesday and we will probably return home Monday, anyway. We will have to stop, somewhere along the way, to shop. We threw out all of our food, including condiments. Most of the stores around us are still closed so we will shop in Austin and pack our stuff in ice.
I realize how truly blessed we are to have the resources to have alternatives.
Greg, thank you for your heroic, compassionate efforts. You have no idea how much it means to all of us and how much more to me because you are a Bruin Brother.
sjh
Thanks for the thoughts
I actually looked for an email or business phone to wish you good luck on Thursday/Friday. I did find your website for your production company – do you really have an Emmy?! Amazing!! Anyway, this was my first time back in Houston since graduating in ‘96. Kinda bittersweet, returning this way, but it was far better being there than watching it on TV from CO (though I did have some doubts while watching the HVAC ductwork blowing by my window at 4 am, and hoping it wasn’t going to blow through my window!)
That’s hilarious about the football teams practicing on Monday, though really is not that surprising. Football is truly king in Texas. But it’s also a good example of how Texans are a tough and resilient bunch. Nearly everyone in Houston and Galveston who we encountered just seemed to be focused on getting back to life (a very different mindset from other folks we worked with in recent years, Miss SJ Lee notwithstanding). Your neighborhood cook-out night and “making lemonade” are perfect examples. It makes it all the more worthwhile and rewarding to hunker down through a storm and go to work in the mess the next day.
Here’s to the ongoing cleanup and recovery, and an invitation to all the Bruins to contribute to whatever relief organizations you prefer. Our S&R work there was short-lived, but contributions to the Red Cross and other charities will help a lot of people bridge the gap until they can be back on their own feet. And the Texans I know get back up faster than almost anyone.
And for what it’s worth, the grocery stores and the SuperTarget around the med center and south on Main/Kirby were open and stocked on Wednesday when we left.
greg in denver
Good to hear
that you and your family made it through fine. You were in my thoughts when Ike made landfall, along with several of my friends and former classmates now making Houston their home.
Closing the Thread
After 13 days of darkness, we now have power.
Thank you San Antonio CPB for the line crews that worked day and night to get us hooked up.
More than a third of Houston is still without power. Many are without water. I feel blessed that we navigated the aftermath so easily. Of course, that’s a byproduct of our having the resources to do so. My heart breaks for those who must stand in line waiting for FEMA handouts.
My last few days were spent engineering my own power grid. With a used — bought it on eBay — generator, several long extension cords, power splitters, gas cans, and a childish feeling that I was building with an electronic erector set — I set out to power my home and those of two of my neighbors. Throw in one window air conditioner held in my window by those foam swimming noodles, and I was in hog heaven. Amazing how quickly one can adjust to a much simpler form of life.
Our neighborhoods still show Ike’s destruction. Every home has a huge pile of rubble in front of it. Trees for some. Roofing materials for others. We’re waiting for the FEMA trucks and front end loaders to get the stuff out. It’s not a threat — but it is a bit depressing. I think that’s why we always try to clean up after disasters — back to my point when I started this thread — we need to look outside and see that things are “normal”.
What will I take from this experience? The incredible destructive power of nature. The power of a small community to fight back. Ingenuity and camaraderie. Acts of kindness. Acts of grace. And, a new understanding of, on the one hand what it means to be prepared for a disaster and on the other that one can never be prepared for a disaster.
sjh
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