Posted on 09/29/2005 4:40:58 PM PDT by ForGod'sSake
Some personal observations on Rita...
For starters, I'm on line now thanks to a newly purchased(since in a stroke of brilliance, I recently sold my 6 year old generator that I never used and only loaned out a few times) 5600W generator. I was also able to purchase the last 21,000 BTU "window" a/c from Sears in Lufkin Texas. For those unaquainted with "tropical" climates, with the temp and humidity competing for which one gets to 100 first, "uncomfortable" is an understatement. Especially for me because I would prefer to get out and work in 40 degree weather then even 70 degree plus. And yeah, I ask myself at times, WTH am I doing in east Texas? Well, it's home.
So, a couple of days before Rita is due, I check in with my daughter and son-in-law who live in mid-Jefferson county(Beamont/Port Arthur area) to get an idea of their plans(and suggest one if necessary ;^)). My daughter tells me she and the grandbabies are planning on coming to my place the next day. I "suggested" the sooner the better. They ended up leaving late that night(Thursday), heading in my direction. It took them three and a half hours to make what is normally an hour and a half trip. They arrived in downtown Chester Texas(home sweet home) in the northwest corner of Tyler county around 2:00 in the morning. BTW, son-in-law, who is an ER nurse, had to stick around; he works at Baptist hospital in Beaumont.
Since I've lived in hurricane country most of my adult life, normal and routine preparations were made(fact is, I stay "prepared" most of the time anyway). Fill jugs for drinking water(most go in the freezer), fill a bath tub(for flushing water), additional water in an outside tank(which also keeps it from going airborne), everything not tied down brought inside, etc. Send my daughter to the store for last minute non-perishables on Friday before the storm. By Friday evening, we're as ready as we can be with one exception which I'll get to later.
An aside; during this time the in-laws have not decided what they're going to do or where they're going to go. I suggested it didn't matter as long as they got out of Jefferson county. After some fits and starts, they made a last minute dash for the northwest Houston area instead of up here to the piney woods, which turned out to be a smart move since Houston was mostly spared.
So, by Friday evening it appears western Louisiana and east Texas will take the hit from this storm. I pass out the flashlights, set up a meeting area if things get really bad and we get separated. I make sure the grandkids understand what's going on and they need to get some sleep because we may need to get up early. I have set up a tent in their bedroom so it's sort of a camping thing for them.
By midnight winds begin to show some serious signs of aggression. At 1:00 A.M. we lose power. By 2:00, the moaning and whistling through the trees becomes continuous. Daughter in the Azores with other son-in-law calls to see how we're doing. We report we're doing fine under the circumstances, but it's going to get worse. Hurricane winds are hitting us by 4:00 and everything's holding together. By 6:00 we're getting wind gusts near 100 mph, and the "eye" is still approaching. At 6:30, daughter in the Azores calls again and before she hangs up my "tool shed" becomes airborne. This upsets her immensely because amongst other things, she was here during the construction phase of it. She also realizes I had it anchored down pretty well, but as it turns out, not well enough.
Daylight arrives, and actually seeing what we've been hearing all night is unsettling(but I don't let on). The gusts from this storm were just incredible. I've been through a couple other storms but they weren't like this one. Their winds were more consistent, that is, the difference between the sustained winds and the wind gusts were not as great. Rita was something to behold; at times the winds almost seemed to die down, only to be replaced by gusts stronger than the last ones. For the last few hours we've occasionally heard the cracking of limbs above the wind and the distinctive "thump" of a tree hitting the ground. And the "eye" has still not passed. These piney woods are being torn to shreds and we haven't seen the worst of it yet. I pray to God to watch over my humble abode and this small gathering.
By 10:00 or so, the eye has finally passed us; daughter in the Azores calls again, and we can report the worst is over. We're still here and no major damage to life, limb or property. She's ecstatic, and she's not the emotional one. My thoughts go to the people to the east of us. We were on the "clean" side of this storm and "news" reports notwithstanding, we received no more than three inches of rain from Rita. I can't say whether the weather station's rain gauges allow for sideways rain or not, but we got nowhere near the rain reported. The wind itself is another matter. As it turns out, we were no more than twenty miles from the center of Rita when she passed and for those that have been this close to a major storm, no explanation is needed. If you haven't been there, no explanation will suffice.
By mid afternoon the winds have died down to the point where we can venture out. We don't get far. Most, if not all the roads around here are impassable. Big trees lose to big wind every time, and they litter the roads. However, the locals, being the industrious sort, crank up the John Deere's and begin pulling trees out of the roads and pig trails in these parts. I grab my chain saw, throw it in the back of the truck and take off. Along with a few others, we're able to clear most of the debris in our little neck of the woods. Question is, where are we gonna go?
Last I heard, six counties in southeast Texas are still without power and some of us are not likely to have electricity for several more weeks. Which brings me to another point. That is, my generator, since I'm also running a window a/c on it, is using about 10 gallons of gas a day. At $3.00/gal; do the math. That's not the worst of it however. The nearest gas we've been able to find is about 25 miles away, and rationed by the station owners(the lines move faster). Most have a limit of $25 - $30 per person. That's barely enough to keep the generator going, not to mention getting there and back. Enter, pay-at-the-pump stations.......after hours. My brother and I went to Diboll Texas last night and pumped almost $200 of gas in various containers, including a 50 gallon drum left over from my Y2K stash. We're set for about three days. Some good news, a "cool" front has passed through the area and I was able to turn off the a/c. From the looks of things I shouldn't need to turn it on again til maybe day after tomorrow.
I've actually run on longer than I had anticipated, but whatever.....
I've got some pics that I'll post as soon as I get 'em sized and formatted. Daughter also took some video of the storm that might be of interest, but will not likely be uploaded on a computer any time soon since they're not even able to go home. Interesting times.....
Oh, and the one exception I mentioned earlier. My "tool shed" had an open side on it. The thought never occurred to me to seal it off with something, like plywood(which we had just laying around). If I had sealed the open side, the wind may have not been able to get in and "lift" it, and flip it over after traveling about six feet. Oh well; next time.
FGS
like the way the equipment from the shed is all still so nicely lined up....thanks for the pics
Thanks for the tip. I hadn't thought about it, but I have access to some big ones that should work nicely. Getting lined out on the backhoe will be the next trick. I'll perhaps need to fix the city maintenance crew(both of 'em) a big tall glass of iced tea and invite 'em over......with their equipment.
FGS
I know you can't live any further in the sticks than I do. Heck, we don't even have a caution light in our fair "city".
I didn't realize there was so much 'busy-work' when you don't have electricity.
Ain't it the truth! I was fortunate in that I had made preparations beforhand to cover most contingencies. Even if we had been completely blocked in, we could have managed for at least a week, probably longer, with supplies on hand. It would have been uncomfortable, but doable.
Even so, life without lights takes a little getting used to, and the little things we take for granted have to become part of a daily, and busy, routine.
How are things with you?
Not bad, considering. The gas lines on the fringes of our blacked out area have all but vanished. One doesn't have to stand in line to buy a generator or window unit any more. An aside; my brother(an eletrician) and I(his helper ;^)) have stayed pretty busy hooking up generators and a/c's for folks around here. I may be a journeyman electrician before this is over.
In any case, as long as I can afford gas for the genset(at $25 - $30 a day), I'll be like a pig in slop. So many others have nothing, so I'm all the more grateful for what I do have. Counting my blessings.
FGS
It's a little surprising the cover stayed on the riding mower. It's a snug fit but just the least bit of wind getting under it would have sent it cross country. Go figger.
If you treat any crew with what I consider normal Southern Hospitality- see that they have shade, plenty to drink, and maybe a sandwich- they'll regard you as a Prince among men- another valuable thing I learned from my parents.
LOL! No, not exactly.
My neighbors left town for a few days so we told them we would watch their house. Well, my daughter and I were here outside (and alone) when our dogs start running into the neighbor's back yard, barking their heads off. This wasn't a "Look, it's a grasshopper" bark; it was more like their "Intruder! Intruder!" bark. There's a difference, you know.
Well, a promise is a promise, so I grabbed the 12-gauge and went over there to chase off the looters. (You have to understand: Everyone has been in lockdown, curfew mentality down here for over a week now.) I knew the neighbors had already left town and were in the next state by now, and I knew my dogs were barking much louder than usual, so I couldn't just sit there and not check it out.
Bottom line: My dogs need some Xanax and I need to stop watching old reruns of Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith Show. It was the neighbors returning for something. Well, they got a good laugh out of me standing there in my Daisy Duke shorts (it's HOT down here), standing there inside their barbed wire fence with shotgun in hand. Thank God I didn't draw down on them -- I do have a little sense!
To make it worse, I looked down at my leg because it was hurting and there was blood dripping. It turns out that when I went under the barbed wire fence, I must have put my knee down on a stick or something.
I didn't think much else about it until the next day when the puncture wound was all red and my leg was hurting and I was running fever. I dug around in it awhile but couldn't find anything, then realized I hadn't had a tetanus shot in way over 10 years. So... I ended up in the ER to get penicillin and tetanus shots. And making up lame excuses about how it happened.
The only good part about the entire ordeal was that at least the FEMA doc who dug around in my leg was nice-looking. :-)
I'm glad your adventure in repelling boarders didn't involve anyone getting shot- and a note to self, boosters for immunizations would be a good idea.
Our power was restored night before last and I wish I could afford to feed all the power crews who are staged at the Mill a big steak dinner. My folks had electricity days ago so we stayed with them. But as much as I love my Momma and Daddy, there's no place like home. lol
If anyone needs anything, just holler.
I do like the vision of you running around in Daisy Duke shorts with a shotgun.
Now, I'm gonna ask a question that might ruin that vision. Have you been able to take a bath in the last week?
"Hope I'm not hijacking the thread by posting links to a couple of stories. They are about folks in Wiergate, Burkeville, Kirbyville, etc.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3377431
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/12798935.htm
Our power was restored night before last and I wish I could afford to feed all the power crews who are staged at the Mill a big steak dinner. My folks had electricity days ago so we stayed with them. But as much as I love my Momma and Daddy, there's no place like home. lol
If anyone needs anything, just holler."
Okay, I've read all your Battery-Charging 101 directions and information. (You're so nice to type all that!) I've been charging the marine battery for 2 hours. We're about to turn off the generator though, so I don't think it's been hooked up long enough yet to hold a charge.
I'm also about to get off the computer again, meaning my inverter will be free to use in order to see if the old marine battery has any charge in it. Won't that work? When we started charging it, it wouldn't even make the red "Low Battery" light come on when hooked up to the inverter. If the red light comes on now, we're getting somewhere!
This is like Y2k, only 5 years late. Ask me if I'm having fun yet!
Thanks again for your help. You're a Godsend.
This was especially useful, too. I won't tell you how long I tried to figure out the voltage.
And if anyone pings razorback-bert and his blonde jokes, I'm coming to see you with my shotgun. ;-)
"You're a Godsend..."
I'll run that by the wife-unit, and she'll die laughing!
The marine battery you have been charging 2 hours is the new one, right? It should have some charge from the factory- most ship that way now. Next time, use the higher ( I believe it was 10 amps ) charge setting to bring it up faster.
Yes, if you previously got a dead red light, and now it is glowing, even a little, it shows the battery has some life left in it- keep charging it.
How's the fuel situation for your generator?
I am dropping offline now to bed down the family, but usually arise early- I will check back first thing.
Well, yeah, we DO have caution lights. lol!
I'll never take electricity for granted again! Like you, we were prepared. Okay, maybe semi-prepared. We had everything; we just didn't know exactly where everything was and hadn't made sure it was all in working order. Oh, and we forgot how to use the stuff, obviously!
That's cool about you hooking up the gensets for people. Neighbors like you are great to have.
I finally got the photos up. http://www.angelfire.com/tx6/texan4life/rita/
Lol! Yes, I'm bathing! In fact, we lay out the "camp showers" in the sun every day so we can have WARM showers, I'll have you know. But I was in Wal-Mart today and the man behind me in line was gamey. And I DO mean gamey. He wasn't the only one, either. If you want to see people at their worst, go to a Wal-Mart in a place that hasn't had electricity in a week!
I do like the vision of you running around in Daisy Duke shorts with a shotgun.
No, you don't. I've been eating 4,000 kcalorie MREs for a week. I'm getting to be Ms. Thunder Thighs.
No, it's one of the old ones. That's why I can't wait to see if the light glows. Right now I'm using the new battery, so I guess it came with a charge already on it.
How's the fuel situation for your generator?
We have plenty of propane left; that's not gonna be a problem. I think they'll get the lights back up way before we run out.
Time to turn on all the lanterns. My daughter just informed me we'll be playing "Sorry!" tonight. Wish me luck -- she shows no mercy!
How can a Wal-Mart be open without power? I realize that they can use the old-fashioned credit card process, but I'm surprised they can even get the registers open without power.
This one operated on a generator a few days, but now it has power. It's very spotty in terms of who has electricity and who doesn't. From what I understand, the entire 22-county area is like that. Go listen to klvi.com. It's causing friction. For example, the west end of Beaumont (whites) have power, while others don't.
Gotta sign off now... I'm cooking supper. Will try to come back tomorrow morning. G'nite!
Note to self: Call ahead when in Nita's neighborhood!
BTW, didn't you, or it may have been someone else, ask about the wind speeds around this area from Rita? I ran across what appears to be the final hurricane advisory on Rita from the NWS which indicated a gust of 117 mph at the Lake Livingston dam, which engineers(?) suspect sustained some serious damage. Since Tyler county would have been between Lake Livingston and the center of Rita, it would imply we had some gusts at least as strong. All's I know is I've never seen wind gusts like I saw from Rita. I'm no expert but 100+ mph seems absolutely possible for around here.
As an odd aside, Tyler county was not mentioned in the statement. Maybe we don't have enough traffic lights???
FGS
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