Blow Wind Blow
Cathi called at the crack of dawn this morning, and I
mean the REAL crack of dawn that happens at 6 something a.m., and announced that
she and the boys were going to have to leave Corpus in the next hour if they
wanted to beat the storm. It was too early for me to care about a hurricane, or
anything else for that matter, but since I couldn't go back to sleep anyway I
decided to go ahead and do some the stuff I claimed I had already done
yesterday. Once the driveway was clear, I started cleaning out the garage to
make room for the car. I figured at least one vehicle would be safe from the
storm. Upon their return, Cathi and the boys helped fill the garage with even
more junk that I didn't think we needed to worry about. In the end, I was just
able to wedge the car into the garage. With boxes and shelves piled high on each
side, I wondered if it might be safer outside in the
storm.
Grandma seemed glad to see us when we stopped by her trailer house on the way to lunch. We agreed to bring her back a burger and she agreed to accompany us back to the our house to weather out the storm.
As the winds grew stronger and stronger, we passed the time watching "Ice Age." The boys have seen it a dozen times but Grandma at least enjoyed the movie. It really helped keep our minds off the chaos unfolding outside. After the movie ended, we settled in to watch the storm. It was somehow morbidly entertaining to sit watching the fallen limbs pile up in the yard. "There goes another of Mr. Huser's Pecan tree limbs!" Zach summed it up with "This is so cool!"
Several things surprised us about the storm. There was almost no lightning whatsoever. I don't think I heard more than two or three thunderclaps during the whole storm. We were also surprised at the ferocity of the winds. I commented several times that "If this is a Category 1 Hurricane, I don't want to sit through a Category 2, 3, 4, or 5!" Finally, our Direct TV System, which usually loses it's satellite signal when a cloud passes over, was rock solid right up until the power went out.
At one point, we switched over to the local news and saw a Satellite photo of the storm. "That's the eye of the storm right where Skidmore is!" I said. As it turned out, the Southern portion of the eye passed over Beeville so we were experiencing the southern edge of the eye wall. Sure enough, he winds shifted from the Northwest, to West, to Southwest consistent with the rotation of the storm.
When things finally seemed to have settled down a bit, I drove Grandma back to her house. Our first route was blocked by fallen limbs. Our second route was blocked by a fallen tree. The third route was "just right" and I was able to get Grandma safely home. As we rounded the corner, I said "Look! There's a trailer house right where the railroad tracks used to be!" It was a mean joke but I had Grandma fooled for a second there. We were relieved to find that although several trees had fallen in and around her yard, all had missed the houses. Unfortunately, Grandma's little Pear tree, that Uncle Ronnie planted a few years back, was broken in half by a massive limb (actually the upper portion of a large tree) that had fallen in the back yard.
After surveying the damage at Grandma's, I took a short driving tour Skidmore. Trees and power lines seemed to be down all over the place. I was surprised by the pace of the cleanup. One of the first things I did was stop to help a woman dismantle her toppled carport. Another couple stopped to help and we had the job done in 10 minutes. The same was happening all over town as county workers with backhoe's cleared fallen trees from the street and residents pulled out chainsaws to clear broken limbs.
While watching Mr. Ross pull someone out of the mud with his tractor, I decided to give Cathi a call on the cell phone. She and the boys were bored so I stopped by the house and took them on another tour of the damaged areas. We ended up in Beeville at the HEB where we picked up ice and snacks for dinner. Taquiera Vallarta's sign was somehow lit despite a city-wide blackout in Beeville but, alas, the restaurant itself was closed.
Back in Skidville, we settled in for a humid, electricity-free evening lit by candles. I pulled out my guitar, strummed a few chords, and we waited... and waited... and waited... in vain... for lights and wonderful, beautiful, magical... central air conditioning.
I was sitting by the window when I heard the crack from this limb falling.
Grandma's China Berry tree was uprooted, narrowly missing the two houses.
I stopped to help this lady dismantle her carport.
The Catholic Church lost it's metal roof.
The County yard always seems to suffer damage. Parts of the roof landed two blocks away.
Grandma seemed glad to see us when we stopped by her trailer house on the way to lunch. We agreed to bring her back a burger and she agreed to accompany us back to the our house to weather out the storm.
As the winds grew stronger and stronger, we passed the time watching "Ice Age." The boys have seen it a dozen times but Grandma at least enjoyed the movie. It really helped keep our minds off the chaos unfolding outside. After the movie ended, we settled in to watch the storm. It was somehow morbidly entertaining to sit watching the fallen limbs pile up in the yard. "There goes another of Mr. Huser's Pecan tree limbs!" Zach summed it up with "This is so cool!"
Several things surprised us about the storm. There was almost no lightning whatsoever. I don't think I heard more than two or three thunderclaps during the whole storm. We were also surprised at the ferocity of the winds. I commented several times that "If this is a Category 1 Hurricane, I don't want to sit through a Category 2, 3, 4, or 5!" Finally, our Direct TV System, which usually loses it's satellite signal when a cloud passes over, was rock solid right up until the power went out.
At one point, we switched over to the local news and saw a Satellite photo of the storm. "That's the eye of the storm right where Skidmore is!" I said. As it turned out, the Southern portion of the eye passed over Beeville so we were experiencing the southern edge of the eye wall. Sure enough, he winds shifted from the Northwest, to West, to Southwest consistent with the rotation of the storm.
When things finally seemed to have settled down a bit, I drove Grandma back to her house. Our first route was blocked by fallen limbs. Our second route was blocked by a fallen tree. The third route was "just right" and I was able to get Grandma safely home. As we rounded the corner, I said "Look! There's a trailer house right where the railroad tracks used to be!" It was a mean joke but I had Grandma fooled for a second there. We were relieved to find that although several trees had fallen in and around her yard, all had missed the houses. Unfortunately, Grandma's little Pear tree, that Uncle Ronnie planted a few years back, was broken in half by a massive limb (actually the upper portion of a large tree) that had fallen in the back yard.
After surveying the damage at Grandma's, I took a short driving tour Skidmore. Trees and power lines seemed to be down all over the place. I was surprised by the pace of the cleanup. One of the first things I did was stop to help a woman dismantle her toppled carport. Another couple stopped to help and we had the job done in 10 minutes. The same was happening all over town as county workers with backhoe's cleared fallen trees from the street and residents pulled out chainsaws to clear broken limbs.
While watching Mr. Ross pull someone out of the mud with his tractor, I decided to give Cathi a call on the cell phone. She and the boys were bored so I stopped by the house and took them on another tour of the damaged areas. We ended up in Beeville at the HEB where we picked up ice and snacks for dinner. Taquiera Vallarta's sign was somehow lit despite a city-wide blackout in Beeville but, alas, the restaurant itself was closed.
Back in Skidville, we settled in for a humid, electricity-free evening lit by candles. I pulled out my guitar, strummed a few chords, and we waited... and waited... and waited... in vain... for lights and wonderful, beautiful, magical... central air conditioning.
I was sitting by the window when I heard the crack from this limb falling.
Grandma's China Berry tree was uprooted, narrowly missing the two houses.
I stopped to help this lady dismantle her carport.
The Catholic Church lost it's metal roof.
The County yard always seems to suffer damage. Parts of the roof landed two blocks away.
Posted: Tue - July 15, 2003 at 10:54 PM
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Published On: Sep 13, 2003 08:13 PM
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Published On: Sep 13, 2003 08:13 PM