Monday, September 15, 2008

Hurricane Ike

As most of you have read, I am a Houstonian transplant here in Lille, France. Most of my family in friends live in Houston and are now either weathering the aftermath of Ike without electricity or have scampered off to other cities to avoid the hassle.

From the looks of the pictures I have seen in the news and the internet, Galveston was just devastated. It sounds like my family is alright though. My Mom went to San Antonio and is staying with friends. I hope she stays there for the rest of the week at least. Word is my little pink house has survived without any obvious damage. Everything I read says that roads are blocked with trees, electricity is out in most of the city, gas is scarce, ice is rare and some fo the stores are price gouging and selling bags of potato chips for $10. Bastards...

Dad, Sandy and my half brother Ralph weathered the storm at their house that is about 30 minutes north of Houston. They lost electricity on Saturday and have been told it could be 3 or 4 weeks before it is turned on. Everyone clap your hands for propane grills and my step-mothers propensity to pack her freezer for a two month shut in! Sandy's son is coming down all the way from Minnesota with a generator that they can use to power the garage apartment. And yes, they are smart enough to ventilate it so they don't all die from carbon monoxide poisoning. So far one child has died because his parents put the generator in the garage.

I hope everyone I know and love is safe. So far everyone I have emailed with or spoken too has just missed the worst. Two houses on my Dad's street were badly damaged with trees coming through the roves. I'm so glad his house is ok, with his healing broken arm and other things I don't know how he could have handled it! Thank goodness Ralph is there to help out. He is such a great guy. I have tons of photos and plan to blog everyday this week to tell you all about the fun things I did last week, but I don't feel right boasting about my good times today when so many are having to worry about their lives right now back home in Texas.

My prayers are with you all in the affected areas. I especially hope the Torres family in Groves (Port Neches) is ok, I think you guys were in a pretty hard hit area.

Hugs from Lille...

2 comments:

islandgirl4ever2 said...

Hi Susan,

I am really glad you posted this and that your family/friends are okay!! I was thinking about you yesterday (night) and was going to write to you to ask if you fam. and friends were okay... I know that it's a lot to worry about.. I'm just relieved that they are okay and I am praying for others who have suffered from the storm... It reminds me of when the fires in Cali were raging last year and a lot of my friends had to evaculate their homes.. .Soooo scarey!!
Take good care,
Leesa

wcs said...

Glad to hear your people are ok.