Here is my brother’s email account to our high school listserv:
Sunday night I got a call from Dad. As some of you already know, White Tire has the emergency maintenance contract for Entergy’s truck fleet. He was desperately in need of a generator for the shop, could I please bring Joe’s to him? I agreed, noting that the National Guard might turn me back. He said to tell them that I was part of essential relief efforts. I shrugged: it was worth the shot.
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Since St. John’s and Bethany were both closed on Sunday, I biked around to find a church with which to worship. Luckily, the first one I went to, Trinity Episcopal, was open, and I saw Andrea Shank (who sings in their choir) and Eileen O’Brien (who is back in town working for a group developing after-school programs for kids). Biked around a bit, then vegged before poker, which started early and had a bigger crowd than normal.
Monday got called in to do damage assessment for the Red Cross. They had more cars than volunteers, so I recruited Anne Curran and explained our job as we drove to our assigned area, NW Montgomery County (West of I-45, north of 105). A large area, but not hit hard; we drove around all day, and only saw three dwellings that had been affected, all minor, but no power in many places. Did see a tree over a road suspended by power lines:
During the day, David came by and got the generator and took it to Beaumont, where he snapped these pics with his phone:
Weiss Park, across the street from our store.
Our friend John’s house.
The Rasnick’s old house
The house across the street from ours.
Will be taking care of clients today, and doing the rescheduled dress rehearsals for Jekyll & Hyde tonight and tomorrow, with a shortened run this weekend. Then may be going east for more damage assessment.
Thanks to my dad for the pointer:
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Isaiah 43: 1-3a (NRSV)
My Mom & Dad stayed in Beaumont, and are fine. No power, lost the decorative shutters on the front of the house, some shingles, and an old pear tree that hadn’t produced in years. The big sign at the store got knocked down, but that was it. Overall, extremely lucky.
Had power flicker three times over the course of 12 hours. The last time this morning, though, it set off my tenant’s alarm, which brought 5 patrol cars and a fire truck!
Will post some pics later, though, really, not much to report.
For some well-written coverage (as opposed to the vast majority of the pabulum that passes for journalism these days), please see Chuck Squatriglia’s coverage for the San Francisco Chronicle, and Ron Francell’s blog (he is a managing editor for the Beaumont Enterprise).