Ike will be remembered
September 16, 2008 (Tuesday)
My last blog was written around noon on Friday, September 12, 2008, from Houston. I drove back to Rockport today. This is the fourth day since my last blog.
If you live in a place where you have had electric power and/or access to television and the internet, you probably know more about the storm’s damage than I do.
I stayed at my home in Houston, alone, throughout the storm and until this morning. From 10:45 p.m. Friday night, there has been no electricity in my part of town, along with one and one-half million other homes and businesses in the Houston area. Curiosly, some parts of town never lost power. Other part of the area, like The Woodlands, have been told not to expect power to be restored for a month.
I sat in the dark, with a flashlight, and radio, as the storm came ashore and traveled north through Southeast Texas. Millions of others did the same. East of Houston, property was damaged or wiped out, as was much of Galveston. When it came through at my house, the wind blew all night and part of the morning.
I recall Hurricane Celia in 1970 in Rockport, when the wind blew twice the speed of Ike Friday night, but as I recall, it was over in four hours, and it came in the middle of the day. Ike came in the night, and took its time coming through, doing damage everywhere it went.
Many trees were knocked down or damaged, in turn damaging power lines, and that has been the biggest effect in Houston. A city of millions without electric power has many problems, but most of the deaths were in areas harder hit, and our hearts go out to the people in those places. In time power will be restored. Life will get back to a more nearly normal pace. At my age, there wasn’t much to do except sit and wait so, after four nights with no power, I decided I would drive the 3 hours back to Rockport. Ironically, I helped Dwight board up this house on Wednesday morning, a week ago, because the storm was thought to be headed here.
So, coupled with two funerals, one here and one there, and other related events, the storm has discombobulated this old man. Please pray for all those who suffer because of Ike. Many people have real problems now. I have none.