Ike – interim

It is amazing to watch nature. Ike’s winds shredded leaves on most of our rose bushes but the buds continue to bloom as if nothing had happened. They are certainly more restful than images of splintered trees or piles of downed branches and the media have enough photographs of distraught people and destroyed homes. If you are interested then check out this series at the Boston Globe.

Ike blew in early on Saturday morning (Sept 13). He destroyed much of Galveston and wreaked havoc on Houston. By mid morning the worst winds had passed and folks were able to survey the damage. Our electricity ceased about 2:00 AM during the storm so the neighborhood was quiet without the background hum of air conditioners. Our home in Missouri City fared well with only one large pear tree succumbing to the winds. Two-thirds of that tree was lying on the grass and the remaining sticks and the stump will need to be removed and replaced.

Several years ago we invested in a gasoline-powered generator and I installed a transfer switch which allowed the generator to feed kitchen circuits for lights, refrigerator, microwave, and coffeemaker and those for the lights, TV and overhead fan in the family room. By chance, those same circuits also provided lights in the toilet and bathroom. So, by mid-day on Saturday we were able to have hot coffee and watch the full scale of destruction unfold on TV.

Mains electricity was restored to our part of Missouri City by Sunday afternoon so the generator was dispatched with a friend living in a part of the city still without. Now we are experiencing increasing “survivor guilt” as we sit in air-conditioned comfort watching the plight of those who still don’t have power. N & T are part of that group so along with their greyhound they moved in. TV announcements suggest their part of Houston (the NE) won’t have power restored until sometime next week – about 10-12 days after Ike struck.

As for our home on Galveston there is no official news. However, Google Earth has a new feature. It allows "before" and "after" pictures of Ike. We can see our home and it looks like the roof is intact! The planned “Look and Leave” program to allow residents to visit property, assess damage and depart is suspended indefinitely. Hopefully it will be resurrected again soon – maybe with staggered days based on name or house number to even out the first mad rush of visitors. In the meantime we watch every helicopter news video and wait for the time when we will be able to resume weekends in Galveston.