Wasn’t that big a deal where I was in southwest Louisiana. I estimate that we did get gusts up to maybe minimal hurricane level, then again, maybe not. The homestead did okay except the winds blew all the skirting loose from around the double-wide. Assuming I can find it all, that’s a two-hour repair job. And a shingle on the southeast corner of the roof is loose. That takes one nail.
However, if you were in one of the low-lying areas around here, it looks to me like Ike brought in about a foot more storm surge than Rita did. Lot’s of folks got more water than they did in 2005. My nephew built a new house next to where his old one was. The old house had a couple of feet of water in it and the insurance company wrote it off as a total loss. He built a new on to the new specifications required after Hurricane Rita, which means he spent $30,000 building a mountain out here. It worked. He didn’t get water in the new house and he says water got over the mailbox on the side of the road.
He was an island in the sea of storm waters and opened his garage, got his boat out and rode around and when he got back a skunk had evacuated to his garage.
The plant had water inside my switchgear room. That makes me glad we made the decision to shut the power off before we left. Tomorrow we get to do an inspection and some tests and see about turning the place back on.
My lights at home wen tout at 0500 this morning and weren’t back on when I left there at 1400. I’m hoping to have my own electricity back on in a couple of days, though.
And our local authorities trod heavily on their collective tallywhackers on this “Ike” business. After getting their panties in a wad and prematurely ordering a mandatory evacuation for Hurricane Gustav two weeks ago, they got the vapors when people talked bad about them, so this time they didn’t order a mandatory evacuation, not realizing that despite their admonitions that they “highly recommended” evacuation, many employers could not shut down and release their workers without the “mandatory evacuation” order. Consequently, we had probably 75% of the local population stay here, and now they’re in the middle of a big mess with no lights and high water.
But we’ll manage to get through this. Lately, we have to succeed in spite of government help…
Glad you got through it okay; after what you endured with Rita you were due an easy ride. I’m still waiting to hear from my niece in TX (Ft. Hood). On the map she seems to be well south of the outer bands, but I haven’t been able to reach her today to confirm that.
Ike raised hell in Texas I reckon. Have not been able to get through to a lot of the folks in the Houston area…glad you made it through safe and without major damage..and hope they do also.
My brother and his family live on the north side of Houston. They are without power and have to boil their water. Fortunately they have a generator to run an a/c for the grandbaby and bottled water on hand.
My mother lives about an hour northwest of Austin, she only got a few sprinkles (she was hoping for more).
Dale have you heard how Cameron fared yet? Did it get washed away again?
Jim–
I haven’t seen pictures, but I think Cameron took major damage (again).
Glad to hear ya made it okay…Check out this email I got. I KNOW for a fact that the people down in your neck of the woods don’t act this way. I saw the community come together to help out when my brother’s company was refurnishing the temp buildings at South Cam High School. A truly remarkable bunch of people down there…Anyways, someone sent me this and I thought you’d be interested in reading it. As a member of the medical community, I can relate..Here goes
————– Forwarded Message: ————–
From: msha17@bellsouth.net
To: oreilly@foxnews.com
Subject: Louisiana Evacuations & Shelters
Date: Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:31:31 +0000
Hello Mr. O’Reilly,
I am a nurse who has just completed working approximately 120 hours as the clinic director in a Hurricane Gustav evacuation shelter in Shreveport, Louisiana over the last 7 days. I would love to see someone look at the evacuee situation from a new perspective. Local and national news channels have covered the evacuation and ‘horrible’ conditions the evacuees had to endure during Hurricane Gustav.
True – some things were not optimal for the evacuation and the shelters need some modification.
At any point, does anyone address the responsibility (or irresponsibility) of the evacuees?
Does it seem wrong that one would remember their cell phone, charger, cigarettes and lighter but forget their child’s insulin?
Is something amiss when an evacuee gets off the bus, walks immediately to the medical area, and requests immediate free refills on all medicines for which they cannot provide a prescription or current bottle (most of which are narcotics)?
Isn’t the system flawed when an evacuee says they cannot afford a $3 copay for a refill that will be delivered to them in the shelter yet they can take a city-provided bus to Wal-mart, buy 5 bottles of Vodka, and return to consume them secretly in the shelter?
Is it fair to stop performing luggage checks on incoming evacuees so as not to delay the registration process but endanger the volunteer staff and other persons with the very realistic truth of drugs, alcohol and weapons being brought into the shelter?
Am I less than compassionate when it frustrates me to scrub emesis from the floor near a nauseated child while his mother lies nearby, watching me work 26 hours straight, not even raising her head from the pillow to comfort her own son?
Why does it insense me to hear a man say ‘I ain’t goin’ home ’til I get my FEMA check’ when I would love to just go home and see my daughters who I have only
seen 3 times this week?
Is the system flawed when the privately insured patient must find a way to get to the pharmacy, fill his prescription and pay his copay while the FEMA declaration allows the uninsured person to acquire free medications under the disaster rules?
Does it seem odd that the nurse volunteering at the shelter is paying for childcare while the evacuee sits on a cot during the day as the shelter provides a ‘daycare’?
Have government entitlements created this mentality and am I facilitating it with my work?
Will I be a bad person, merciless nurse or poor Christian if I hesitate to work at the next shelter because I have worked for 7 days being called every curse word imaginable, felt threatened and feared for my personal safety in the shelter?
Exhausted and battered but hopefully pithy,
Sherri Hagerhjelm, RN
Glad you came out okay. I thought “talleywackers” was only used within certain family lines. Hummmm…….
Y’all can check this out, delete it or whatever. Personally, I think that Paul is “dead on” judging by what I’ve heard. Here ’tis:
——————————————————
By: Paul Marx
Owner of “Louisiana Proud” KBON 101.1FM
NOTE: Just so this is not interpreted to be a “racist” observation, let me make it clear that this writing refers to ALL races!!
What is going on? Why do some people feel that everyone else, including the government, owes them?? It seems that there are some people who think that in cases of emergencies they automatically become everyone else’s responsibility and have none of their own? That needs to change!!
For Hurricane Gustave, I saw the vast majority of the people who were getting on evacuation buses, knowing there was a few hours of bus ride ahead of them, do so EMPTY HANDED! Not even a bottle of water for themselves or even their little children! They’ve had days to prepare, but they prepared nothing! How about a couple of sandwiches for the trip? No.
I watched the news and saw people complain about the place they had been evacuated to being “filthy” with trash! Many of those complainers are sitting or lying on cots furnished to them. Well, I’m sure it’s not the volunteer workers who dirtied the place. My advice is get off your asses and clean up!!
For one of the past hurricanes, I received a phone call at KBON 101.1FM radio from an evacuation center. Keep in mind, this center had several hundred evacuees housed there for their safety. Well, the caller explained to me that there was an 18 wheeler that arrived with water, meals and other supplies, and asked if I would announce that they needed volunteers to help unload the truck. I have to tell you, I lost it. “You mean to tell me that you have hundreds of evacuees in that building and you want me to ask someone to leave their house and their family to come and unload THEIR truck?” I asked Before the person could answer I recommended “I’ll tell you what to do. Go inside and tell them the truck is there and needs to be unloaded and that you need volunteers. If no one offers to help, you simply lock up the back of the 18 wheeler and tell it to go somewhere else where it will be more appreciated.”
In another situation, I received a call and was asked to announce that they needed volunteers to help serve meals to their two hundred or so evacuees.
My advice again to that caller was to get some volunteers among the evacuees and if they refused, then simply don’t serve food.
I am concerned that the day will come when we will have a lot of trouble finding anyone willing to open their doors to the people who need to evacuate, and I cannot blame them if they choose to not make evacuees welcome.. After all, they have nothing to gain by doing so. People come into centers, halls, etc. and practically trash the place They complain to the press about not being comfortable, the place being dirty, not liking the food, not getting water often enough, and more. Then they leave the place in filth!!
I am concerned that the day will come when people will not volunteer to leave their home and families to go and “wait on” people who have absolutely no appreciation of them and what they are doing to help. Imagine volunteering to help someone out of the goodness of your heart and not only, not being appreciated, but being criticized for your service. Personally, I’d rather stay home with my family then give my time to such ungrateful people and would not blame anyone for feeling the same way.
I saw on the news recently where the Red Cross was having problems getting donations to help the people of hurricane Gustav victims in our area. Could it be that people around the country are seeing the “whiners” and the “unappreciative” and just don’t feel like giving to such people, knowing it will not be appreciated?
It’s my belief that the American people are great, kindhearted and generous people, and are very willing to help people who are trying to help themselves but I think more & more of us Americans are feeling less & less generous to people who just don’t appreciate it. It’s important to know that no one owes you anything. It’s important to know that people will help you a lot faster when they see you trying to help yourself.
I am concerned, and you should be too.
God bless America , God bless Louisiana and God bless you!
Paul Marx
KBON 101.1FM