Harvey-August 31, 2017

This will be another post of my personal feelings but I can't resist it. I am deeply affected by seeing the pictures of Hurricane Harvey. We went through a hurricane in 2004, Ivan. No one knew about Ivan because our governor, Bob Riley, would not allow the press in nor would he allow fly overs for picture taking. Therefore, to the press, it did not happen. But it happened and forever changed our lives. We lived under martial law and that cannot really be described adequately. Once you go through a hurricane your life is divided into "before the hurricane" and "after the hurricane". Texans will live the rest of their lives with before and after. It is not a matter just letting the water drain away. After you can finally get back in, you must throw away everything including sheet rock. Nothing can be saved. And then there is the smell left in your freezer from rotting food. Some freezers cannot be salvaged. Ours survived, the freezer, not the food. Rebuilding is a monumental task because a hoard of unscrupulous builders will move in and rip off many people. Even before you get to that point, you can spend up to 3 years fighting with your insurance company and FEMA. Furniture, clothes, appliances, dishes and linens all have to be replaced. You have to have a way to live until water, sewer and electricity are restored. None of this is a quick process. When I think about what these people face, some of them having never done it before, I am sad for them.

We only drove through Houston dozens of times but stayed in Bay City. We also stayed in Beaumont. When we stayed somewhere we explored. We never stopped one night and flew down the road the next day. We explored Port Arthur. We saw desert sand Humvees being loaded on ships. We explored downtown. And we stopped at a Vietnamese temple because they had beautiful gold and silver statues outside. Quite a sight. No, we did not go inside. We drove down the main street of town and now we are trying to realize what that looks like with that water covering it. We shopped in Beaumont. We explored neighborhoods and saw beautiful houses being built. And we ate at a Mexican restaurant, one of the best ever. I had my first filled deep fried avocado. It was out of this world and I have never forgotten it. We met some really nice people. When we saw the pictures of the RV park where we stayed we were really shocked. All of the fifth wheels were on their sides. There were no coaches there so they must have moved on. We certainly would have hit the road.

We have been in Beaumont, Port Arthur, Katy (largest interstate in the entire US), the Woodlands, Port Aransas, Conroe, and every city seen on TV. We are deeply affected by the pictures we are seeing.

I ask that you please take a moment to say a prayer for all of the people affected by Harvey. And somewhere down the road, say another prayer for them. Thank you for that.