We’ve lived here for 5 years….and we quickly learned to carefully watch the weather during hurricane season.. We were probably a little more cautious than the natives….because it was new to us. 3 years ago when Katrina hit New Orleans we watched liked everyone as everything went to you know where in hand basket. Shortly afterwards Rita was headed for us and reported to be a Category 5 hurricane. We, along with countless others packed up our stuff and left. Rita turned out to be a non-event but we learned a thing or two from the experience. This year it was Ike. Now Ike was not forecast to be Category 5 like Rita had been forecast. We’re inland quite a bit so we decided not to leave. However, stay or go it’s a lot of work preparing for a hurricane. We dug out our emergency stuff…flashlights, radio, batteries, tarps, duct tape and all the various tools you may need…you buy food supplies, drinks, store water. You keep your cars gassed up, pack away photo’s in water tight containers. You clear your yard of anything that is moveable. You fill your tubs with water, use up the food in your frig, turn your frig and freezer to their coldest settings, even fill water bottles with water and put them in the freezer (days before) so that your freezer will stay colder for longer. You make sure all the laundry is done, that you have wet weather gear, that the dog has enough food for a month….you put towels in the sill of every window, close blinds and curtains in case the window breaks…and then you wait and see. Hurricane Ike hit our community as a category 2 hurricane around 2 a.m.. We slept on and off as we listened to the wind and the rain and the occasional “thump”. We lost power around 5 a.m. Once it was light enough to see we got up to check out the situation. First thing we noticed was the tree leaning against the living room window but it was top part of the tree..leaves, small braches but since it was pressing against the window we knew we had to clear it back before it settled or shifted and broke the window. 
So John and Jacob armed with trimmers and saws made their way through the debris to trim back the tree. We also lost a 60 foot tree in the back but it fell away from our house and took out a couple of fences but missed any structures. The mess was incredible. By noon the rain had mostly stopped…neighbors where out checking on one another, and on damages…everyone had some damage…everyone lost trees…some on fences, some on houses but even the ones on house seem to have slowly drifted down until they leaned against the house…cars and fences didn’t fair quite as well….Our road began to build with water around 11 a.m….we knew the drainage system was clogged with debris but the grates are under the road level. 
Water rose and than began rushing downhill to our neighbors house across the street….we were all out there discussing options and ready to head into Scott’s home and begin moving furniture upstairs when someone suggested driving a truck through the water at speed. They figured it would act like a plunger drawing the debris out and then allowing it to flow through. So another neighbor got his truck and ran through the water 4 of 5 times…with 15 minutes the water had drained. Neighbors helping neighbors was everywhere. John and I got into our little truck to go check out the area and check on friends. There were trees down all over the roads…and where there were trees there were people getting through in their big trucks armed with their chainsaws clearing the road….Water made some roads impassable but the trees and debris were cleared from roadways by late afternoon just by ordinary people taking care of their neighborhoods….Texans are good people…. 
It rained and rained some more all night Saturday. On Sunday we began clean up. Roads were now being blocked and down to one lane because of the piles of branches and logs and leaves and trees. . On Monday we drove to College Station to visit Alex…actually, Alex had power and the gas stations up there had gas…so we really wanted to recharge our phones, maybe pick up some ice for us and some friends, and check out the news. We had been listening to the radio but the radio stations were broadcasting the news stations who would say things like “Wow! Would you look at that….that’s an incredible picture depicting the damage done by this hurricane…” Not helpful!. On Tuesday the man who cuts our grass showed up to help us clear the yard and he even hauled away our debris and downed trees…we had the nicest looking yard on the block, ha! We also got power back…we even had our friends over because she just couldn’t miss the season premiere of “House”, ha! And shortly after House we lost power again, ha!
Wednesday various places began to re-open…grocery stores, restaurants…John was one of the limited personnel they asked to come back to work on Thursday…My company re-opened Friday. And we got the power back on Friday at the house. We had phone service starting on Wednesday….One of John’s friends got through to us Wed. afternoon but it was a rough connection. But Wednesday night my sister took a chance and got through to me to let me know Dad had suffered a stroke that night….fortunately he seemed to be doing well and there was no permanent damage. There are just times in your life that there is absolutely nothing you can do except pray. I was wondering if I can even get a flight out of Houston should I need to but knew I’d cross that bridge when I got there….and well, PTL at least the phone worked, ha!
Since Ike things, for us, are back to normal. We learned a few things though….first…we’re not staying if they call for a Category 5…no way, no how. Second, the most important food you can have in your cupboard is chocolate. Third, there is nothing like a cold drink. Most importantly we learned that you can depend on your neighbors and your friends and that after a few days without power everyone has a huge BBQ and everyone is invited, ha!
So John and Jacob armed with trimmers and saws made their way through the debris to trim back the tree. We also lost a 60 foot tree in the back but it fell away from our house and took out a couple of fences but missed any structures. The mess was incredible. By noon the rain had mostly stopped…neighbors where out checking on one another, and on damages…everyone had some damage…everyone lost trees…some on fences, some on houses but even the ones on house seem to have slowly drifted down until they leaned against the house…cars and fences didn’t fair quite as well….Our road began to build with water around 11 a.m….we knew the drainage system was clogged with debris but the grates are under the road level. 
Water rose and than began rushing downhill to our neighbors house across the street….we were all out there discussing options and ready to head into Scott’s home and begin moving furniture upstairs when someone suggested driving a truck through the water at speed. They figured it would act like a plunger drawing the debris out and then allowing it to flow through. So another neighbor got his truck and ran through the water 4 of 5 times…with 15 minutes the water had drained. Neighbors helping neighbors was everywhere. John and I got into our little truck to go check out the area and check on friends. There were trees down all over the roads…and where there were trees there were people getting through in their big trucks armed with their chainsaws clearing the road….Water made some roads impassable but the trees and debris were cleared from roadways by late afternoon just by ordinary people taking care of their neighborhoods….Texans are good people…. 
It rained and rained some more all night Saturday. On Sunday we began clean up. Roads were now being blocked and down to one lane because of the piles of branches and logs and leaves and trees. . On Monday we drove to College Station to visit Alex…actually, Alex had power and the gas stations up there had gas…so we really wanted to recharge our phones, maybe pick up some ice for us and some friends, and check out the news. We had been listening to the radio but the radio stations were broadcasting the news stations who would say things like “Wow! Would you look at that….that’s an incredible picture depicting the damage done by this hurricane…” Not helpful!. On Tuesday the man who cuts our grass showed up to help us clear the yard and he even hauled away our debris and downed trees…we had the nicest looking yard on the block, ha! We also got power back…we even had our friends over because she just couldn’t miss the season premiere of “House”, ha! And shortly after House we lost power again, ha!
Wednesday various places began to re-open…grocery stores, restaurants…John was one of the limited personnel they asked to come back to work on Thursday…My company re-opened Friday. And we got the power back on Friday at the house. We had phone service starting on Wednesday….One of John’s friends got through to us Wed. afternoon but it was a rough connection. But Wednesday night my sister took a chance and got through to me to let me know Dad had suffered a stroke that night….fortunately he seemed to be doing well and there was no permanent damage. There are just times in your life that there is absolutely nothing you can do except pray. I was wondering if I can even get a flight out of Houston should I need to but knew I’d cross that bridge when I got there….and well, PTL at least the phone worked, ha!
Since Ike things, for us, are back to normal. We learned a few things though….first…we’re not staying if they call for a Category 5…no way, no how. Second, the most important food you can have in your cupboard is chocolate. Third, there is nothing like a cold drink. Most importantly we learned that you can depend on your neighbors and your friends and that after a few days without power everyone has a huge BBQ and everyone is invited, ha!
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