usvi-on-line
In the path of Ike
My daughter and her new husband, who honeymooned on STJ in June have evacuated from Galveston to our home in Texarkana. Their apt is a few miles north of the island and we are just hoping the winds won't break the windows and ruin everything they own in the world but there wasn't time to do anything but leave once it was predicted to be coming to hit Galveston head on. At least they are safe here with us in north Texas but now we wait for Ike to come to us before it curves across Arkansas and heads out. They are predicting huge amounts of rain and even tornado activity for our area so keep the entire central and eastern part of texas in your prayers!
"By the time we hit Miami, the cell phones will ring and life as we know it will draw us back in, so tonight we will just continue to soak in the sounds, the sights, the tastes and the feelings of St. John."
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nothintolose
- Posts: 1960
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:36 pm
- Location: New Orleans, LA
I know this sounds nuts, and I don't know how to say it any other way, but for those of you that do get hit by Ike, you will need someone to talk to on the outside to just listen to you and be there when you go through all of the unknowns. Someone that is not in it.
If you need someone to talk to, get in touch with me or someone else from the forum. I know I sound like a nut job, but I swear to you CaliforniaGirl saved me from myself emotionally after Katrina, and I barely knew her before she pm'd me. She kept me sane when I didn't know if I even had a house to go back to or how I was gonna start all over somewhere else if our city was destroyed. It was just her little reaching out that kept this New Orleanian off of anti-depressants
I pray that all of you are safe through it all! Please though, use the forum as an escape if nothing else.
If you need someone to talk to, get in touch with me or someone else from the forum. I know I sound like a nut job, but I swear to you CaliforniaGirl saved me from myself emotionally after Katrina, and I barely knew her before she pm'd me. She kept me sane when I didn't know if I even had a house to go back to or how I was gonna start all over somewhere else if our city was destroyed. It was just her little reaching out that kept this New Orleanian off of anti-depressants
I pray that all of you are safe through it all! Please though, use the forum as an escape if nothing else.
Thank you Pianogrl and Nothintolose for your kind words! I love the people on this message board-- so positive and fun. I go on a couple of other message boards to talk about the islands and they can be a little 'stodgy'. Jokes seem to fall flat...
Nothintolose-- very good idea to talk to someone if this thing does turn worse. I tend to bottle things up. I can't (and don't want) to imagine what you went through during and after Katrina! Thanks for your encouragement.
We had to leave for Gustav only two weeks ago, taking my two elderly parents up to Dallas. Thank goodness it didn't end up coming in our area and we were able to make a run back home. Unfortunately, on the trip back, my 83 year old dad had a small stoke! We rushed him straight to the hospital, where he stayed for a week. Just got him home and here comes Ike, where we had to very gingerly load him and mother back up and make that 7 and 1/2 hour drive back up to Dallas. Too much going on too soon!
Well, back to my lifeline-- The Weather Channel and Fox News: The two channels here at the hotel covering Ike. Oh well, at least I got to see poor Geraldo get knocked off his feet by a board and fall into water while standing on the Galveston seawall
That releaved the tension for a couple of minutes!
Paula
Nothintolose-- very good idea to talk to someone if this thing does turn worse. I tend to bottle things up. I can't (and don't want) to imagine what you went through during and after Katrina! Thanks for your encouragement.
We had to leave for Gustav only two weeks ago, taking my two elderly parents up to Dallas. Thank goodness it didn't end up coming in our area and we were able to make a run back home. Unfortunately, on the trip back, my 83 year old dad had a small stoke! We rushed him straight to the hospital, where he stayed for a week. Just got him home and here comes Ike, where we had to very gingerly load him and mother back up and make that 7 and 1/2 hour drive back up to Dallas. Too much going on too soon!
Well, back to my lifeline-- The Weather Channel and Fox News: The two channels here at the hotel covering Ike. Oh well, at least I got to see poor Geraldo get knocked off his feet by a board and fall into water while standing on the Galveston seawall
That releaved the tension for a couple of minutes! Paula
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California Girl
Thanks for your sweet words, Elizabeth. You know, when you're sitting here in California watching all the destruction done by these storms, you want to help, but you're too far away to be very effective. If all it takes is a little e-mail to help someone, then I feel better. Not only do I feel like maybe I helped in some way, I also ended up making a friend for life! Love ya girlfriend! 
Paula, if you need to vent, PM me! I'm a good listener! So sorry to hear your parents have had to go through all this crap! It's bad enough & stressful enough when you're young & healthy, but older people in ill health just don't need that going on! You're in my prayers! Keep reporting!
Paula, if you need to vent, PM me! I'm a good listener! So sorry to hear your parents have had to go through all this crap! It's bad enough & stressful enough when you're young & healthy, but older people in ill health just don't need that going on! You're in my prayers! Keep reporting!
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nothintolose
- Posts: 1960
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:36 pm
- Location: New Orleans, LA
Paula - we are here for you for sure. It really helps to get it out of your head and into the keyboard.
So, did Geraldo break his nose again??? I'll never forget the footage of him "rescuing" people here...or Sean Penn's boat sinking when he came to rescue people.
How are you doing today? I have to be honest, seeing all of the flooding has brought back alot of bad memories and stuff that is still there so I had to stop watching it. Will listen on the radio but seeing the pics was freaking me out...post-traumatic stress coming back I guess. Still, if you need to talk, pm me or Margo (I know she is an awesome listener).
So, did Geraldo break his nose again??? I'll never forget the footage of him "rescuing" people here...or Sean Penn's boat sinking when he came to rescue people.
How are you doing today? I have to be honest, seeing all of the flooding has brought back alot of bad memories and stuff that is still there so I had to stop watching it. Will listen on the radio but seeing the pics was freaking me out...post-traumatic stress coming back I guess. Still, if you need to talk, pm me or Margo (I know she is an awesome listener).
Thanks so much you two! I appreciate your concern more than you know. Thank God the sea wall in our area held!! The reporters that made their way over to it in the middle of the storm (crazy guys!) said water was splashing over, but still we really lucked out there. I'm SO thankful. We had more wind damage in our area it sounds like from all the 'rumors' we've heard. We're dying to get back home to see the house. We bought that lot 14 years ago because we fell in love with the seven 98 year old pecan trees planted in a large circle on it. We lost one to a small tornado right after we built the house, the other three were torn out in Hurricane Rita (a couple of weeks after Katrina),and the last three are in the back east side-- the side the wind came from in the storm. Unfortunately if they fell it would be across our house... No one is allowed back in yet, we're waiting to get back in to start clean up. As of now, we're just waiting it out keeping up with things on tv.
Poor Geraldo-- when he was knocked down he managed to keep his head above water, no broken nose! But right after that he 'planted' himself straddled across a large sego palm and looked to be holding on for dear life as he reported during the storm. He's certainly all about the drama! During Rita he was here,too, and found a flooded underpass to hysterically point out how high the water was. Only thing is, it's always flooded there! Oh well, I did appreciate him being there to give us an idea of what it looked like while we're stuck here away from home.
Hopefully this is the last of the storms for the islands and all us on the coast for the year. Thanks again for your concern!
Paula
Poor Geraldo-- when he was knocked down he managed to keep his head above water, no broken nose! But right after that he 'planted' himself straddled across a large sego palm and looked to be holding on for dear life as he reported during the storm. He's certainly all about the drama! During Rita he was here,too, and found a flooded underpass to hysterically point out how high the water was. Only thing is, it's always flooded there! Oh well, I did appreciate him being there to give us an idea of what it looked like while we're stuck here away from home.
Hopefully this is the last of the storms for the islands and all us on the coast for the year. Thanks again for your concern!
Paula
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California Girl
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nothintolose
- Posts: 1960
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:36 pm
- Location: New Orleans, LA
I ended up looking for the video on YouTube and saw it; they have links to the vault too CaliforniaGirl
They were talking about the seawall on the radio when I was listening to it earlier. I didn't realize how high it was till they said how high it was. Thank goodness ya'll have it.
Don't let the "rumors" get to you. We heard ALOT of rumors that were not true while we were waiting to get back. Try not to think about the negatives right now; it will just drag you down.
I can tell you that when you get back you are gonna go through all kinds of feelings (FlaGeorge warned me it would happen and he was right) which include being at a loss for what you are gonna do next, overwhelmed, depressed, pi$$ed, depressed, etc. You will get through it though and your communities will be stronger and more close knit for what you have been through together.
While you are away, you may not realize it but when you get back home, you will realize why you chose where you live as your home and just how much you love your "home". I could go on and on, but I won't.
Good luck when you get home. Let us know when you get to go back in. Hopefully they will have restored power by then. Make sure to bring mosquito repellant when you go back home! The skeeters are gonna be horrible.
Oh and the whole Katrina then Rita a few weeks later came to mind with Gustav then Ike a couple of weeks later. Crazy!
They were talking about the seawall on the radio when I was listening to it earlier. I didn't realize how high it was till they said how high it was. Thank goodness ya'll have it.
Don't let the "rumors" get to you. We heard ALOT of rumors that were not true while we were waiting to get back. Try not to think about the negatives right now; it will just drag you down.
I can tell you that when you get back you are gonna go through all kinds of feelings (FlaGeorge warned me it would happen and he was right) which include being at a loss for what you are gonna do next, overwhelmed, depressed, pi$$ed, depressed, etc. You will get through it though and your communities will be stronger and more close knit for what you have been through together.
While you are away, you may not realize it but when you get back home, you will realize why you chose where you live as your home and just how much you love your "home". I could go on and on, but I won't.
Good luck when you get home. Let us know when you get to go back in. Hopefully they will have restored power by then. Make sure to bring mosquito repellant when you go back home! The skeeters are gonna be horrible.
Oh and the whole Katrina then Rita a few weeks later came to mind with Gustav then Ike a couple of weeks later. Crazy!
The latest with my evacuees is that my daughter's school where she teaches first grade has flooded and has partial roof collapse. They may try to move those students to another campus so for now they are out for the week. Her husband, who attends University of Texas Medical Branch on Galveston Island is at this point out indefinitely due to flooding, etc... their main concern is getting the medical center up and running. Their apt is a few miles north of Galveston Island in Texas City and we don't have any definite word on damage, just that they are out of power, etc and asked not to come back until told to do so. They are here in north texas with me and safe but we are glued to the Texas Cable News Channel TXCN, which is giving us lots of information. Everything down there is in a huge mess and almost everyone is without power. There was a huge rain storm today due to a cold front and all the extra rain is not helping the flooding.
"By the time we hit Miami, the cell phones will ring and life as we know it will draw us back in, so tonight we will just continue to soak in the sounds, the sights, the tastes and the feelings of St. John."
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Ron in South Texas
- Posts: 249
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:15 pm
- Location: Skidmore, Texas
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Ron in South Texas
- Posts: 249
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 4:15 pm
- Location: Skidmore, Texas
We were on the "good" side of the storm...which is the southwest side. All I got was 103 degrees of dry Texas heat and about a 15 mph wind out of the west to northwest...and 10 family refugees from Port Lavaca (which is where Ike was targeting earlier in the week).
I've lived on the Texas coast my whole life and have been through every hurricane since Carla in 1961. I'm not one of those people that stay...I board up the house and run like Hell. Discretion is the better part of valor!
I've lived on the Texas coast my whole life and have been through every hurricane since Carla in 1961. I'm not one of those people that stay...I board up the house and run like Hell. Discretion is the better part of valor!
Last edited by Ron in South Texas on Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere!
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nothintolose
- Posts: 1960
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:36 pm
- Location: New Orleans, LA
For those of you wondering what you can do to help the places affected by the hurricane's, I highly recommend donating money to the Red Cross or Salvation Army and have it go directly to hurricane relief.
I know the Red Cross especially is doing so much in the badly hit areas.
CruzBayB - thanks for the update. Please continue to keep us posted.
I know the Red Cross especially is doing so much in the badly hit areas.
CruzBayB - thanks for the update. Please continue to keep us posted.
Yeah, tell me about the mosquitos! They are normally TERRIBLE in our area anyway. Strangely enough after Rita went through and we were able to get back in the area there were no mosquitos. It was very still and the heat was just oppressive. I'm not looking forward to that again. I know what you mean about the community pulling together-- heck, neighbors that we barely knew and would usually just nod to when we would catch them outside would flag us down to talk-- one even insisted on giving us a pistol he had to ward off intruders. It's funny when you're on survival mode personal interaction seems so much more important.
Jorge-- Thank you for that info! We passed a long string of military vehicles heading into the area as we were evacuating. I'm guessing that's to do with FEMA?
We're hearing about so many friends homes that were damaged. Our neighbor just up the street from us had his chimney ripped out,garage caved in, and tree uprooted and thrown over a neighbors home. (poor people...) My son's father in law has a special pass and is going into our area in the morning to report on our home. My husband is DYING to get back closer, so early in the morning we may be heading back to at least my parents home (1 hour away from our home) to see if we can stay there with a generator. This has been terribly hard on my dad-- I thought keeping him away would be better, but he wants to go home and check on things so bad that if possible we'll do that. If we do leave I may not be back on this board for awhile and I do sincerely want to thank all you for being so supportive! And for the others who have had homes damaged or flooded-- my prayers are with you!
Paula
PS-- I forgot about Geraldo and his world shaking discovery in Al Capones vault, ha ha!
Jorge-- Thank you for that info! We passed a long string of military vehicles heading into the area as we were evacuating. I'm guessing that's to do with FEMA?
We're hearing about so many friends homes that were damaged. Our neighbor just up the street from us had his chimney ripped out,garage caved in, and tree uprooted and thrown over a neighbors home. (poor people...) My son's father in law has a special pass and is going into our area in the morning to report on our home. My husband is DYING to get back closer, so early in the morning we may be heading back to at least my parents home (1 hour away from our home) to see if we can stay there with a generator. This has been terribly hard on my dad-- I thought keeping him away would be better, but he wants to go home and check on things so bad that if possible we'll do that. If we do leave I may not be back on this board for awhile and I do sincerely want to thank all you for being so supportive! And for the others who have had homes damaged or flooded-- my prayers are with you!
Paula
PS-- I forgot about Geraldo and his world shaking discovery in Al Capones vault, ha ha!