houston VXers

[tom4bren]

I've been worried about Y'all too. Prayers & best wishes.

[geshaw30]

Thanks y'all-
That one was kinda hairy. Somebody out here (petro plants perhaps?) pissed off Mother Nature big time. I just finished a mandated emergency 18 hr work gig, got some sleep in a hot powerless house, and am writing to you from the front seat of my patrol car during my current 12 hr run. Seems I'm faced with several more of these 12 hour deals until "Little Johnnie the Turd" quits stealing stuff from powerless businesses. But enough of that.

The storm was impressive (this was my second 'cane) to say the least. Galveston & Kemah (yes, that Kemah to those who have hung with me down here) got hammered. Downtown Houston is a shattered glass collection facility. The brunt of the damage locally was centered to downtown and the north end. As a lot of you know I live on the west side and we were not hit with the "dirty side". That not withstanding, 70 mph winds get your attention. I would have hated to have faced the 105 mph found on the other sides.

I had a kinda surreal experience. I had just finished my 18 hr deal and was dead tired. The "powers that be" realized that & offered continued overtime if I'd stay, catch some sleep at the station, then start up all over again. The thought of facing 42 hours of non stop work did not appeal to me. Additionally I was forced to leave Cary behind at the house during the storm and getting home to her outweighed the cash offer. So I left at 6am Saturday morning in the teeth of the storm as it was directly over the city. Driving in 80+ mph winds is an eye opener; espically in a front wheel drive Lexus 300. Not the vehicle of choice trust me. On my 20 mile trek home the sideways wall of water on the windshield made driving interesting. But the weird part was traveling along totally black roads with not one other car. Downed (and hanging) traffic lights make for quick obsticle course driving as did the "flying stuff" as it passes you by. Once I got on I-10 I could actually feel the wind lifting up the back end of the car. Strange sensation. You find your senses sorta increase dramatically during such a drive. Got home to a powerless house (but we now have it back), caught some sleep, came back to work and am now about to finish out this shift. I don't wish a storm like that on anyone.

[Moncha]

George, I hear ya and bleed for you. I'm glad things there are somewhat better than expected.

Hope you and everyone stays safe!

[geshaw30]

Yea Scott, I figured you'd know the drill. I'm sure you've made the "when do I get to go home?" runs numerous times in your career. It's never pleasant being away from family when they need you the most.

[TexVeX]

Glad to hear you managed to tough it out though.

[nocturnalVX]

Glad to hear you & yours are OK George. I hope all our Texan VXers (as well as all others affected by the storm) get through all of this with as little grief as possible.

Yikes...

[geshaw30]

I'm beginning to believe that the storm itself was no where near as bad as the aftermath. Not even in the same league. Between power restoration, inept FEMA attempts at assistance, gas lines, and general clean up this is gonna take a long time to return to normal.

The pictures are just now coming in from Bolivar Peninsula. Crystal Beach is pretty much all gone out. That area held wall to wall houses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-Z5dMLOQ9k
The Houston damage is vast but not on that scale.

There will be a bunch to clean up in Galveston & Kemah
http://www.wfaa.com/perl/common/slid...20&nextimage=0
For those of you who have made the Kemah run with us in years past this might put things in perspective. We have hung out on the pier that is missing in picture #29. Shot #25 is the stairway leading up to the usual Marble Slab ice cream pit stop. #24 is the Boardwalk Hotel and patio area (bandstand & kids fountains). Shot #21 is (to the right) the entry area from Landrys to our usual eating spot on the boardwalk. And finally picture #17 sort of sums this popular VX'er meet spot all up. Sad