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I’m sure by now you’ve seen something on the news about Hurricane Ike. Here in Houston, it’s more than news—it’s daily life.
The hurricane hit on Saturday, September 13, and we finally got power on Friday, September 19. I have friends who are still in the dark. The electric company says they’ll get their power back “after Monday.”
I still don’t have cable or Internet service, so I’m writing this from Starbuck’s. Hopefully, I’ll have service soon, but if I’m not able to check comments today, I’ll check them soon.
There’s a lot to be thankful for in the aftermath of a hurricane. Our house didn’t flood or suffer any major damage. USF and I live across from a bayou, so we evacuated to another city. The bayou didn’t overflow its banks, and we were safe.
I’m also thankful for things I never thought much about before—ice, hot showers, peanut butter, batteries, and water pressure.
Things I am not thankful for include dead cell phones, long lines at gas stations, creeping humidity, dead traffic lights treated as four-way stops, and my neighbors a few streets down who had power last Monday.
So be thankful when you turn on your bathroom light, make hot coffee, or read this blog. None of it would be possible without electricity.
Filed in: Jaunty News
Sep 22nd
2008
5:49 am
Laura Said:
Glad you are safe Shana.
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Sep 22nd
2008
6:47 am
Emily McKay Said:
I’m so glad you’re safe.
And to think, I’ve been a little freaked out by the signs on the marquees on the highway telling us not to go to Houston because of limited fuel. It must be very strange to be living through this.
It’s even odder to consider that if this happened a hundred years ago, we would have had no sign here that it was going on, until it hit the newspapers a couple of days later. Since the rain never made it this far inland, we wouldn’t have known the storm was there at all.
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Sep 22nd
2008
7:25 am
RobynDeHart Said:
Shane, we’re so glad you’re safe and that your house was unharmed. Hopefully life will be back to “normal” soon.
Here in Tennessee, we have gas stations everywhere that haven’t had gas in over a week. Thankfully we’ve still managed to find some, but Nashville had a bit of a panic about the whole thing.
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Sep 22nd
2008
7:40 am
AndreaW Said:
Glad to hear that you and USF are safe and that your house was spared any major damage!
(((hugs)))
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Sep 22nd
2008
8:31 am
Devon Ellington Said:
We had two major floods last year within six weeks — 8, 9, 10 feet of water. I lost my car in the first flood. people were evacuated from the second floor of our building during the second flood.
No power for over a week. No hot water for who-knows how long. No phone service for nearly a month.
Con Ed was kind enough to park trucks nearby and distribute blocks of dry ice to help us.
The Red Cross wouldn’t accept people with pets, in spite of the federal law, so those of us who had pets stayed home without amenties and sucked it up.
I showered at the theatre every day.
People were cooking in the courtyard on grills and bunson burners.
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Sep 22nd
2008
9:44 am
Shana Galen Said:
Thank you for all the well-wishes. I’m at work today, and they have internet. Yay! I swear that if I had a choice between air-conditioning and internet, I would choose internet.
Devon, where are you that it’s been flooding? Glad you’re safe.
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Sep 22nd
2008
9:49 am
Margo Maguire Said:
Ack, Shane! I’m so glad the house is ok. But hugs on the electricity issue. Wouldn’t it help if hurricaine-prone areas had underground wiring? Why don’t communities get this going?
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Sep 22nd
2008
11:02 am
Shana Galen Said:
That’s what everyone here has been saying, Margo. Why are all our power lines above ground and surrounded by big trees? Apparently after Hurricane Rita, 3 years ago, the idea of changing the system was discussed, but no changes were made.
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Sep 22nd
2008
12:11 pm
Dorothy Said:
Glad to hear you’re safe and no harm to the house.
My brother lives in Cincinnati, OH and as Ike blew through there, he lost power on Sunday and didn’t get it back until Wedesday evening.
All we get up here in Upstate NY are ice storms. lol
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Sep 22nd
2008
1:59 pm
Shirley Karr Said:
So glad you’re safe Shane! And no major damage to the house.
Our house flooded three times when I was a teen. Christmas when I was 13, we had a 24″ pre-decorated potted fir tree on an overturned paint bucket, on the bare plywood floor. Fun times!
I hope people are learning from this experience, and stocking a few extra non-perishable grocery and toiletry items. That way you can hunker down for a storm or whatever, and not wait in lines.
A lot of agencies and organizations are strongly pushing for everyone to have a 72-hour kit put together, so if you have to evacuate you can grab the kit and get on your way to safety.
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Sep 22nd
2008
3:13 pm
Kristan Higgins Said:
God bless, Shane! The simple pleasures are really appreciated when you lose them, it’s so true.
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Sep 23rd
2008
9:36 am
Devon Ellington Said:
Shana, believe it or not, I’m only 25 miles out of NYC. There’s been so much overdeveloping that flooding is a constant threat. Everytime it rains, I monitor the tiny brook that becomes a raging river, and if it hits a certain point, I move the car and start stockpiling boiled water.
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