Hurricane Tales, Part 2

"Sometimes You Just Have to Humor Grandpa"

The day before Hurricane Ike hit last year, I went down to Houston and brought Kristi's mom and dad back to Brenham. They lived in an older townhouse, and with Grandpa being sick, we didn't want to take any chances.

So the day of the hurricane, Grandpa decided that we needed flashlights and battery-powered lanterns in case the power went out. Well, I've been through enough storms to know that you don't just go out to the store and buy lanterns the day of a hurricane - they've been sold out for days by that point. But Grandpa wanted to go, so I took him to four different store here in town looking for battery-powered lanterns. Nothing. So we gave up. Now, it must be said that Kristi and I keep a pretty decent hurricane preparedness kit, full of canned food and water and things like candles and flashlights. So we would've been okay for days. But sometimes you just have to humor Grandpa.

Then the hurricane hit overnight. We never lost power at our house, but there were some parts of Brenham that did lose power. And Grandma and Grandpa's power was out (which I deduced by calling their house. The answering machine never picked up, so chances were that their power was out - which it was.) Grandpa was itching to get back home, probably because he wanted to check on things and also probably because we had such a full house (and also because we don't have cable). So he decided the day after the hurricane hit that he might need a generator. But he didn't want just any generator. He wanted a particular model Honda generator. Well, I've been through enough storms to know that you don't just go out to the store and buy a generator the day after a hurricane. But sometimes you just have to humor Grandpa.

So went out again. No generators at Lowes - they didn't sell Honda generators and a full palette of another brand had sold out in minutes earlier in the day. People were driving up from Houston to get them. At Home Depot they laughed at us. Sutherland's was closed. So I got on the internet to find the nearest Honda generator dealer. It turns out there was a dealer here in town - the next closest dealer was in College Station. But they didn't have any. So we gave up. Grandpa didn't stop griping about it, though. He just couldn't figure out why there were no generators to be had. But as with many of Grandpa's rants and stories, a lot of times you just had to smile and nod your head and let him finish.

Kristi's mom and dad ended up staying with us for several days until their power was restored, and we all had a pretty good time crammed into the little green house. But there's a moral to this story, as well as just about any story that involves Grandpa getting a wild hair: Sometimes you just have to humor Grandpa.

Hurricane Tales, Part 1

One year ago things were a lot different. Hurricane Ike had just ravaged Houston and we had a house full of people. There are a couple of stories that happened during that time that haven't been told. I felt like the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ike was a good time to do it.

"The Pharaon Bed and Breakfast"

Taking refuge from the storm in the little green house were Kristi's mom and dad, Sami dog, Lynn and Hannah and their dog as well as me, Kristi, Kayci and Noble. It was a full house. But then the hurricane knocked out my dad's electricity. He tried to tough it out, but September in Houston with no air conditioning is really, really tough (that, and his water wasn't safe to drink) and I finally convinced him to come up to Brenham. He didn't want to impose, so I told him that I had found him a room at a bed and breakfast very nearby and just to pack a bag and come. So he did.

Dad came up first thing in the morning. I told him that the room wouldn't be available until after five, so he took a warm shower and hung out on the deck with us and had lunch and just visited. Finally five 'o-clock came and we loaded up his suitcase into his car and I said I'd drive him to the bed and breakfast to check in. We got in the car and I drove him through some of the neighborhoods in Brenham, snaking my way through town in a big circle.

Finally, I told him "okay, the bed and breakfast is right around the corner here." We rounded the corner and stopped right next to my house, right where we had been parked just a few minutes before. He tried to object, but I told him that we wouldn't have it any other way. And I think he was a little proud of the way I had pulled one over on him. You see, I had not only convinced him to come up to Brenham, but I had also cleverly waited until late in the day before we could "check in" to his room, knowing that he doesn't like to drive at night. And then I had gotten him completely lost on the way to the "bed and breakfast" so he wouldn't know anything was up.

I was really, really proud of myself.

So Dad slept on Kayci's bed that night, and Kristi and I slept better knowing that he was safe and in an air-conditioned house with drinkable water.

Morons, Idiots and Horrible Parents

For those of you who may not be aware, the Houston/Galveston area over the weekend suffered a direct hit from a strong category 3 hurricane - Ike.  Beginning on Wednesday, people on Galveston Island were given MANDATORY evacuation orders, along with people from areas near the coast, including the Bolivar peninsula.  They were told that this storm had a larger than normal storm surge and that if they stayed that they were on their own.  Early reports were that 90% of the island had evacuated, but on Friday that was amended to 60%.  A full 40% of the island decided to stay.  

Morons.

Then came the pleading from the government.  The residents that decided to stay in the MANDATORY evacuation area were told that they faced "certain death" if they stayed and that they would be on their own.  And they stayed anyway.  The news was full on Friday of people walking around on the seawall in Galveston taking pictures and watching the giant waves slam against the seawall.  

Then, Friday afternoon the storm surge began and the wind started to pick up.  The water went OVER the seawall, even before the hurricane had gotten there.  And they stayed, even as police went door to door BEGGING people to evacuate.  

There were reports that the reason some didn't evacuate was because they couldn't afford the gas or because they didn't have anyplace to go.  So they rounded up a bunch of buses for people to board which would take them to a shelter.  Some went, but most stayed. 

Then the winds began to howl at hurricane force and the rains began.  And the calls began.  Morons called 911 begging and pleading to come be rescued from their homes because the water was rising or because their roof had already been blown off.  And the police and the Coast Guard put themselves in danger to save as many of the booger-eating morons as they could before it was simply too dangerous.  God bless them for trying, but I don't think they should have.  Those who stayed were given LOTS of opportunities to go.  They can't say they weren't warned, and they thumbed their noses at the same people who ended up saving their sorry butts.  It may sound callous, but at some point there needs to be some accountability.  And yes, even with loss of life.

How many resources were wasted because of such stupidity?  Thank God there were no reports of the first responders suffering any casualties.  

Why did they treat Ike like it was a joke?  So they could have a hurricane party?  Really?  What part of MANDATORY was unclear, exactly?

Because "I survived Carla and Alicia and Rita and I'll be fine this time."  First, Carla was in 1961, and you were a lot younger.  Second, Carla hit further down the coast, sparing Galveston a direct hit.  Alicia (1983) hit square on, so kudos to you for surviving it, but yet being too stupid to remember all the death and destruction that it caused.  Rita (2005) hit the Sabine pass.  Galveston was again spared and was on the good side of the storm.

So now we're treated to their sob stories and "heroic" tales all over the TV and newspapers, as if we're supposed to be proud of them and their remarkable feat of staying alive.  And as the photos of the survivors start to trickle in, what amazes me and yet incenses me at the same time is how many parents decided to to keep their families either on Galveston or on Bolivar.  I saw one guy on the news talking about how he stayed, but had to leave his home during the storm and hopped in his speed boat with his family, including young kids (wearing life jackets, luckily - thanks for that, father-of-the-year) and somehow managed to navigate to the Galvez hotel, where the emergency response teams were holed up.

And then I saw the following photos, which were taken from the Houston Chronicle's web site, showing "parents" with children as young as four months (!!!) who stayed and had be rescued and taken care of after the storm.  Be stupid with your own life if you want to, but PLEASE don't force your kids to stay in harm's way because you think playing chicken with a hurricane is a game.

Just look at the kids.  They're obviously exhausted and, I'm sure, traumatized.  I'm not a big fan of CPS, but I think someone should seriously question the judgement of these "parents."

The caption on the Chronicle's slide show page said that this baby is only four months old.  As a father of a six-month old, I find this kind of irresponsibility unconscionable.

Morons on parade.  Actually, waiting to be spoon-fed.

The caption on this one read that this lady is assessing the damage to her fiance's car.  So, let me get this straight...  you had transportation, obviously fairly new and most probably in good working order, and yet still decided to stay?  And now there will be an insurance claim that will contribute to yet higher insurance premiums.  Thanks, moron.

Old enough to know better.

Again, old enough to know better. Wipe that smirk off your face, lady.  Those guys who are helping you have families that you're keeping them from.

I'll end this little rant by saying that I hope that every last one of these morons gets a bill from the local authorities, itemized with such things as "officer's hazard pay, helicopter fuel, bottled water, etc."    I also think that the next time they call a MANDATORY evacuation, they should wait until the traffic out of town dies out and then go around arresting all the fools who think they know better than anyone else.  Charge them with a felony for disobeying a direct order from the governor, mayor and local officials.  At least in custody, they won't need to be plucked from some rooftop somewhere.