....Now the putt putt of generators is replaced with the bee-in-a-tin-can racket of chain saws cutting up fallen trees and stray bits of shrubbery. Still going all day and most of the night... noise, none of it as interesting as the sound similar to a jet airplane right over the house when the storm was in full blow.
At this point I wish I owned a trash service...I've seldom seen so much junk piled out at the curbs. Brushy stuff, broken branches and shredded storage sheds.
We came through fine except for having to endure some minor inconveniences like no AC and only a few lights and a couple of fans if we wanted to keep the fridge and freezer going, but way better than some who had their whole houses blown away or swamped by the storm tide.
And a lot of communal cooperation...one neighbor who had an extra generator dedicated to water pumping let the rest of us string garden hoses to his well house, 100 yds in our case, but 4 households had at least marginal water supply and showers.
Then one of us would take a pickup full of gas cans daily and go looking for a station to buy overpriced petrol to keep things running.
All around it was kind of an interesting experience that I'd rather not repeat but we were luckier than most, and everybody here is used to cooking on outdoor gas grills all summer so there was no grocery problem since everything in the freezer that had partially thawed needed to be eaten. (Jenny missed green stuff but I was able to convince her that jalapenos are a vegetable).
The poor people right on the coast of course fared MUCH worse and IF they even have houses there's no telling when they'll get power. It looks like everything on Galveston island not behind the seawall is gone.
Six goofy and TuTu, I hope your families didn't fare too poorly.
Thanks for the support everybody.
Thanks to Tracy, Trueblue, Acorn, Carol, Dilly, Maddog, for checking on us.
And now the same storm went to Ohio and attacked the Cincy area knocking Joy and Six's power out I hear...we heard from Maddog near Columbus who was running on generator power kind of wondering if this sort of weather was common on the Gulf coast.
Fraid so...
Hopefully this is it for the year though....
Charlie
[ 18. September 2008, 04:30 PM: Message edited by: charlie ]
Posted by tdtid (Member # 10276) on :
Hey Charlie,
Thanks for the first hand report on how you made out with the hurricane. It's really good hearing from you and knowing how you are holding up.
I imagine the lack of air conditioning if it was hot, which trying to sleep would be a rough one in these times. But I am glad that you we safe and that it wasn't as bad as it could be.
Thanks for checking back in.
Cathy
Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
CHARLIE!!!!
We have all been missing you! So I guess this means you have power back?
The Hurricane Party was memorable! But at 5 am we all got to go to sleep while your nightmares just began....but we haven't stopped thinking 'bout you!!
I know that even though it was worse for others, your experience was difficult and real. As tough as you are, anyone would have been apprehensive as they heard a storm sounding like a jet plane roaring over their house.
So glad you and Jenny are okay. I hope your cleanup is going well and almost done! Hope the Coronas held up, and never forget how much we LOVE YOU!!!!!!
xoxooxoxoxoxox
Posted by sometimesdilly (Member # 9982) on :
well, charlie,
and toots and i were just trying to organize an airlift to drop beer into your pool...
glad you are back online..checkout your hello charlie thread too, ok?
hugs- pepper-pickles Posted by kelmo (Member # 8797) on :
Been concerned for ya, Charlie. Some parts of TX are having a hard time. Glad you were spared the worst.
Kelmo
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
welcome back charlie and jenny!!
glad you all were able to share things and grill all the things from your freezers so it didn't go to waste!!
how high did gas get there $5 plus?? went up 20 cents only here.
so glad you all are safe, and you reported back promptly. betty Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
Thank God for your safety and well being.
It takes years to recover from such events....physically and mentally.
There are parts of Louisiana still under water.
I pray for those who stayed in the most vunerable places in Texas and Louisiana.
If like anything here, some people will never be recovered or found or identified.
So sad. So tragic.
I don't have to worry about storm surge where I live.
I am a whopping 55 ft above sea level on my house pad.
No more trees around my new house.
The saying here is "Run from the water, hide from the wind".
They need to have a better system than the Saffir-Simpson rating scale for these storms.
While stating only a Cat 1 or Cat 2, they don't include the potential storm surge disaster.
Or the possible flooding rain event.
Or the size of the storm.
A small category 5 hurricane that is moving quickly may only have a storm surge of 8 ft.
However, a huge storm like Katrina/Rita/Ike may have storm surge potentials of 20ft and up.
Katrina blew in a 20ft surge initially. When the back end of her eye wall hit,
The storm surge was 32ft.
Whatever didn't get washed inland on initial approach,
Did get washed out on the back side.
That is what happened in Gilchrist, Texas.
They can't even find the debris to look for those who may have stayed.
It is either in the swamps further inland or got washed out to sea.
That storm surge does not take in account the waves produced on top of it.
Ike had 50ft waves around the eye wall in the Gulf.
So tragic.
My prayers continue to go out to those who must endure.
Let us know if you need anything Charlie.
Prayers and positive thoughts coming.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Glad you got your power back on, charlie!! What a relief!! My brother said he used to dread paying the electricity bill, but he will no longer hate it!!!
Just figure out the cost per day and you will see it is well worth every penny!
Praying for all of those who are still suffering in TX and La. It's a horrible thing.
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
Hey. Charlie! Glad to have you back!!
My family does not have power yet, but it's due back by Monday according to the Centerpoint Energy website. They also have a generator. Since they're in the burbs, they never lost water. They have a gas water heater and stove, so they could cook, and a generator for the fridge.
They are taking turns cooking dinner with a couple neighbors, so I take it it's a dinner party every night.
Their beach house was on Crystal Beach. I used the satellite images to look for it and saw it was only a slab. On the bright side, they don't have any trash to pick up there because it's ALL gone!
In Houston, they had a couple very large trees fall, one missing the house by ONE FOOT!
So, they're still in the dark and have been spared the pics of Crystal Beach so far, though I think they finally got a paper today.
Glad to have you back! See you tonight in chat!
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
Oh, my power didn't go out! We got lucky! Ninety percent of the power was out in the area. Hubby's office just got theirs back yesterday. Schools were closed. It was weird having schools closed for a hurricane day in Ohio!
There are still 200,000 in our area without power. It's supposed to all be restored by Sunday.
Posted by MADDOG (Member # 18) on :
Hi Gang! I got hit real hard here lost some favorite trees, very good doggy trees,trees for leg lifting and such.
Shucks I almost floated that blue ash tree out of there anyway .
But the white pine was good for drinking coors under,like being in colorado with the pine smell and all.
The jet stream got hijacked by a cold front slamming into that huricane,and came down to earth causing the damage.It actually was not the huricane winds but the jet stream that got us.
MADDOG
Posted by MagicAcorn (Member # 8786) on :
Welcome Back.
Missed you!
Posted by lou (Member # 81) on :
I spent a couple months in a beach house on the skinny end of Galveston Island and once we had a norther blowing 40 mph,which shook the house. Would hate to have been in that house on stilts in a higher wind. Bet it is gone too. Apparently the storm surge came in from the bay side where there was a seawall, so even the wall did not protect them.
Wondering what happened to the dangerous pathogens in the university lab there? They said they destroyed them all before the storm, but that seems unlikely.
Glad you came thru it OK Charlie and Jenny.
Posted by charlie (Member # 25) on :
well I just had to close this thread with a pic of a sure candidate for the Darwin award at the edge of the Galveston seawall last weekend. No it's not me.......
Posted by Mo (Member # 2863) on :
so glad you're doing allright!!
mo
Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
Of course that isn't Charlie pictured; his Corona would have blown away! Like he would ever chance that!!!
Posted by ponytail (Member # 36) on :
Waves to my long lost friend Charlie ... glad to read you came thru Ike w/out much problem! That dang storm reeked havoc everywhere it seems!
We were powerless (except for my sweet, precious generator) for almost a week up here! The wind knocked down all kinds of trees and stuff! I'm glad all the trees around me are across the road in the forest! All I lost was some branches on the lone pine by the barn and part of a horse shed ... whew!
Feeling really lucky about now! Hugs to ya ... hope y'all are doin well (sick wise).
Sherry
Posted by charlie (Member # 25) on :
Yikes Sherry....you seem to get these storms worse than we do even though you're 75mi north of us. Was the same with Rita as I remember.
We didn't have any physical damage but no power for days.
We're OK lymewise...hope you are too....just maintenance abx now and then.
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