Monday, September 22nd, 2008
Ike took a hike in my yard
By now we all know what Hurricane Ike did to the Texas Gulf Coast. Since I was right down the path of it, living in Crosby TX, I can say it was a very sobering, and yet, enlightening experience. I met and made friends with people I never expected I would and came to the realization that there are those whom are bitter, selfish and snobbish, and these are the people I am supposed to know.
In other words Ike brought out the worst and best of people.
Worst: My son's mother and her mother. These two have shown nothing but their greed and manipulative natures. I bought three flashlights keeping one for myself. My son's mother blew the bulb in one and misplaced two others that were working. Keep in mind that there were already 3 working flashlights in the house. My son and I both had Orange colored flashlights. His we found. Sons mother had already taken the one I had been using before they returned from evacuating while I staid behind to baton down the hatches and ride it out. The power has been out since before the storm actually hit so afterwards the neighbors and i had a bar-b-que and cooked up any meat we had before it spoiled and had to be tossed and more or less. We ate on that for three solid days before FEMA arrived with emergency rations. I had to throw what ever else in the fridge away. Well I was informed I had given the food away to the neighbors (uhm actually they fed me.) Anyway I was informed that I was to give my flashlight up by Grandma and when i said no, that was not going to happen she threw me out of the house.
These same two have done nothing but complain about the noise from the neighbors emergency generators running, and how the generators should be in the garages of the neighbors running them so there was NO NOISE (which is so wrong at so many levels, good way to die actually.) I am so sorry they were so inconvenienced by people trying to get even a little electricity. (Actually I can't believe the pure selfishness of such statements.)
To further explain my disdain they took ALMOST ALL the MRE's I got from FEMA and put them in the back of Grandma's SUV. Deciding what and when I could have at their Discretion more or less. Actually they left the ones they didn't want in the kitchen for me. I had collected 5 cases of MRE's to their 3.
Now logically if the refigerator is empty there is no need to plug it in. Waste of power, right? oh no these two, after the neighbors offered ME access to the extra plugs on their generator (I'm thinking fans and lights, silly me) plugged in the refigerator and one fan and yelled at me for plugging in my fan while they had left for the day.
Oh I also planted a fir tree in the front yard after the storm. They dug it up.
Good: Neighbors gathering together to clean up the street after the storm. nearly everybody who weathered it out pitched in. We even helped those who were coming home a couple days after. I myself went and dug the debris out of the storm drain and cleand the gullies along the side of the road so the water standing on the street would drain.
JJ's Home Cooking, a restaurant here in Crosby, allowed me to install, setup and configure a Wi-Fi Hotspot. (I supplied all the necessary equipment, cables and work to get it up) This allowed local residents to access the Internet since most everyone all over Houston have lost their connections, along with their power. Matter of fact we are looking at a longer period before cable and internet services are fully repaired after power gets up. Here in Crosby only DSL services are running. Cable is down for the count. (So much for the ring in ring therory.)
Now going back to my son's mother and grandmother, the fact that I setup said hotpoint has pissed them off as they think I had no business using the equipment I (not them) have purchased and was not using at that time. I felt it was better to help people get their communications going and allow them to contact friends and family. Granted I had my own pressing needs but the fact I had them also meant others did too. I know how it affects me when i can't get on the Internet. So helping others by helping my self was a wonderful solution and I must Thank Jerome and Shirley immensly for allowing me to do it in the first place.
