This will be my last entry about Hurricane Ike. It will contain facts, observations, a dose of humor and end with the grieving I am experiencing. My heart has broken all over again. This post may be long, but I am hoping worth the read. BTW – WE GOT POWER LATE YESTERDAY! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy!
I went by my grandparents home the other day. The water line is about 8 inches above the bottom of the house that sits on 2 foot piers. 99% of the buildings in the small town of Bridge City, TX were flooded. I don’t know the exact population, but it is big enough for a regular WalMart – just not a superstore! Their home contained hard wood floors from the 30’s that the grandkids played slip and slide in socks on. Their next door neighbor has the same and his are already buckled and molding. 2 windows were blown out, but Grandpa is insistent they will repair even though he has not been home yet. There is at least 2 inches of mud inside from what I could see through the windows. Their cat was in the yard next to the driveway. She was the first thing I saw when I drove up. The poor thing had drowned in the storm surge. The neighbor promised me he would take care of it before they returned.
Towards the end of the storm, rescue boats and dump trucks were sent in to Bridge City to rescue those who stayed to ride out the storm. My next door neighbor assisted. A policeman realized that they picked up someone they had picked up earlier from another home, carrying a garbage bag then and the 2nd time. They ID’d him and checked his bag. Turns out a group from nearby West Orange had already set up a looting operation. Cars were waiting on side streets near the drop spots for rescues. They would get inner tubes or literally anything that would float and could be stashed in a flooded home and ride the swollen bayou into Bridge City. They would grab onto a house, go inside and get any little thing of value they could carry in bags – CD’s, jewelry boxes, etc. Then they would get on the roof and wait for “rescue”, go to the waiting cars and go back and float down again. Amazing how low some people will sink and take advantage of something causing so many people so much pain.
Now for some humor. Things I have learned about living without electricity. George Foreman grills can feed a family indefinitely! I cooked hamburgers, fish, steak, grilled cheese, etc. I also cut potatoes into tiny strips, dipped them in olive oil sprinkled with garlic powder and we had fries. I cooked canned green beans by draining them, seasoning them and putting a layer in the grill. They were fabulous. We had baked apples with brown sugar and cinnamon and even frozen hashbrowns browned up nicely. Crock pots are great for scrambled eggs – I kid you not. They take a little time, but in about 20 minutes of stirring on and off with a fork, you have fluffy tasty eggs.
Bathing was hit or miss. The last of the hot water was gone after 2 days. 2 more days of cold showers and we were ready to just stink and replace all bedding! Then Mr. Coffee came out. I put about 2 inches of water in our garden tub and spent the next hour and a half brewing 10 cups of steaming hot water at a time. It took about 15 – or 150 cups of hot water – and we were able to get in, scrub up and even wash our hair. Thank goodness the power came on the next day. While it worked well enough to make the water tolerable, it was a royal pain.
I have not heard from my elderly neighbor I took in after Humberto last year until electricity returned. I made a few calls and found out she is up north with one of her sons. I noticed her front door half opened so went in and cleaned out her refrigerator on Tuesday. Everything in it was going bad, but the fridge was not yet ruined. I hope she is not upset with me for throwing everything out, but it was all turning and at least now she won’t have to buy a new fridge.
The Bolivar Peninsula is no longer a peninsula. Everything on it was destroyed and it is now an island. Anyone growing up in SE Texas spent summers riding the ferry from Bolivar to Galveston, feeding the sea gulls and watching the porpoises if you were lucky enough to see a group. I wonder if my grandson Alex will ever get to have that experience. Also, summer weekends and Spring breaks meant Crystal Beach. It was as much a part of growing up as going barefoot. A few beach homes survived the storm, but they will be bulldozed. The coast line has been redrawn by the strong storm surge and the houses are not considered safe no matter how little damage they sustained. These areas will come back but it is so painful to see places with so many memories just washed away. The people are resilient, but it will take time to rebuild and for the pain to ebb. It came quickly with the storm surge but will not go away with the same speed the surge went back to sea. It took away so much from so many. I am blessed to only have limbs to pick up and a house to clean.
Finally, I know how lucky I am in all of this. My family is truly blessed. However, Friday I lost a very big part of my heart. I have an 8 ½ year old mini-schnauzer - my current picture. I got Gracie Mae 2 days after my dad passed away of a heart attack. She helped me through my health issues. She loved to give hugs and cuddle. Gracie was terrified of storms to the point of hiding behind the toilet trembling if it got cloudy or even sprinkled. She was there terrified throughout the hurricane. We tried to comfort her, but poor baby was hyperventilating she was so scared. She seemed okay after the storm. A little more subdued, but the generator seemed to bother her and she has arthritis. She is showing her age. Friday she acted completely normal. I found a few spots indicating one of my dogs was sick, but figured it was my puppy Buttons. She loves to eat tree frogs and they make her sick to her stomach. Gracie scratched to go out potty with my other 2 dogs and came back to the door to come in. Got her treat a usual. Late in the afternoon I called the 3 to go outside and Gracie was laying under the computer (she stays there when we are on it) and wouldn’t come out. My 15 year old pulled her out and got hysterical. Gracie was limp & barely breathing. Her eyes were blinking but dilated and darting back and forth. I could tell she was no longer with us but we wrapped her in a blanket and rushed her to the vet since she was still breathing. I won’t go into details, but it was apparent she had some sort of stomach or intestinal cancer. The vet said some dogs don’t get very ill until the end and some actually manage to hide it from their owners. I have wracked my brain trying to find some warning sign, something out of the ordinary, but there was none. I stroked her head and told her it was okay to go be my father’s pet for now as they put her down. I will mourn this loss for a long time to come. She was a connection to my father – he loved George Burns & Gracie Allen – that’s why we named her Gracie. My youngest daughter was extremely bonded to Gracie and is beside herself right now. That was her shadow. She just started treatment the same day for a serious illness. My older daughter is torn up as well. My husband was on his way home when it happened and still stunned. He can’t even talk about her. Those of you who are pet lovers know my pain. There is something missing in our home. However, I am so grateful that in the end she went quickly and did not appear to be suffering in the days or even weeks before she left us. She was playing ball the day before and barking at cats walking through the yard while Mickey, her/our cat, sat in the window watching with her.
Again, forgive the length of this post. Had to get some things out. My spasms have been a lot worse in the past week. Trying to take it easy for the next few days to recoup and recover from the continued aftermath of a Hurricane named Ike.
Take care, all –
Dianna