Hello Everybody from Hurricane stricken Lumberton, Tx
 

Well, we stayed @ home thru the disaster and weathered the western eye wall of the hurricane. Scarriest thing I've experienced yet. CNN, Geraldo and all the crew were here televising supposedly "during the storm". All I can say is only to believe half of what you see on national TV. There is no Cameron, Louisiana left. Our town of Lumberton is devestated, however, unlike NO, we did not suffer the flood damage. There is no electricity (temp today 97, heat index 110), no water, no sewage, no means of communication out except for a local clear channel radio station (www.klvi.com) which has been able to communicate with people that have cell phone service and by radio for those who were prepared enough to have batteries. Physicially we all made it thru fine. Every pecan tree in our 5 acres have been laid to rest...the only trees left standing were the 2 100 yr old+ oaks...but they have very few limbs left. We had some roof damage, water leakage, lots of wind damage....lost one dog due to heat exhaustion. We prepared with everything we could prior to the storm. But nothing can prepare you, even if you think you are, for something of this magnitude. They told us before we left, that if we sheltered in, we would be stuck and on our own. Although it's only been a little over 48 hours since the hurricane passed thru, military troops, every DPS officer, every police officer, FEMA, Red Cross.....everyone you can imagine was on their way to help. But it was the neighborhoods, the hometown people that have pulled together, helping each other, getting thru these first couple of days that have been amazing. I'm sunburned, blistered, dehydrated, tired, hot, irritated....but blessed. We've cleared trees from roads to get people out of their houses in rural areas...brought supplies to those needing it, because you cannot leave if you are sheltered in.....so we have to take care of our own. My husband and I have come to my son's house in Baton Rouge for tonight for one day of normalcy before going back to our hometown. There is no gas....no electricity to pump it, even if you had it. No water, unless you were fortunate enough to have a well....we have a septic tank, so if you went to the bathroom....you had to make sure you filled to reservoir tank to flush. No air-conditioner (funny how used to the creature comforts you take for granted). If you were lucky enough to have a generator, you could run a fan to make it tolerable. There is so much I want to tell ya'll....

I'm so glad you're OK - I was really worried when I saw CNN broadcasting from Lumberton. I thought, "OH CRAP!!!" They wouldn't even bother going unless it was pretty bad.

Best wishes! I, for one, am here to listen if you need to talk! :xoxo:

"Water is life, but ice is civilization." :nod:

Glad to hear you're okay. :xoxo:

Glad you're safe!

Sorry to hear that everything around you is a disaster. Keep your head up and let us know if you need anything.

Glad you are okay!! :)

So glad to hear you are OK. I'm sorry about the devistation, but I will keep you and yours in my thoughts. Please keep us updated, and if you want to tell us so much... then do so. I'm sure a lot of us will listen! :xoxo:

Well, Beaumont is under lockdown....you can't get in unless you're part of the disaster relief or response team...the military is there, locked and loaded...there has been only 5 incidents of 'attempted' looting. They've told everyone in Jefferson, Orange, Hardin counties, Calcasieu and Cameron parishes that if you return home, you're on your own. There are so many people trying to get back in to see the condition of their property (you can't blame them), but are only coming home to conditions that are next to impossible to exist in. There are no hospitals open...no 911 service, most all land line phones are down....it's like we're isolated from the world except for this one radio station with 5 guys who have been transmitting nonstop since Thursday to provide info to locals. But the national channels are only scratching the surface and sensationalizing the minor events. Yeah, when CNN was showing Lumberton, that was 1 block from my house. They estimated that it would probably be at least 3 weeks to a month before we have power, then after that they could restore cable and communications. So, I'm reporting (venting) now while I have the chance. I don't know when I'll get to come back. Heading back home in the am because as soon as the hospital gets the fuel to kick in the back up generators, water and sewer, we'll reopen....and we'll all be there. The funniest thing about this situation....I collected all my kids pictures....then spacebagged all my FM/Stevie collection and locked them in Rubbermaid containers, grabbed my jewelry and dogs and slept on a mattress in the hallway on the interior of my house. Funny....what your priorities are....

Thank God!
 

Thank God you are okay!! Hope everything gets back to normal for you soon. :(

Glad you're okay! So sorry to hear about your dog, that's making me get all verklempt. :(

Hang in there! :xoxo:

Glad to hear you're okay. Keep us updated; we're here if you need us.

Hang in there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And you know one of the things that pissed me off the most????? I had my Cable box set to record Lindsay's soundstage on Sat night!!!! Damned hurricane.....and now Stevie on....and I can't watch?!??!! This is horse sh$!

There is only soooo much one can take :mad: :laugh: :mad:

Best of luck to you. I'm sorry to hear about your dog.

Glad you're okay, but so sorry to hear about your doggie.. Good luck on this other side of the storm.

At least she was with us...not left to fend for herself like so many other good-for-nothings did around there. When we were going to clear out my in-laws road, a beagle puppy crawled out from under an abandoned house along with two adult dogs....no food or water in site. So.....in addition to my five dogs, we kept my son's dog, my friend calls and says "i know you already have a house/kennel full of dogs, but could you....?.....and now we're feeding all the others. One man across the street was so infuriated that they left the puppy that he took it home...he has a generator and can run fans like we can...and I have a feeling that those people will play hell getting that dog back. I can't understand how people can take on (or not) the responsibility of a pet....a domesticated animal that depends on YOU for survival....and just leave them. It's just heartless....we had more than enough time to prepare for the shelter of these animals. Thanks for the consolation for Sadie.....she had the most unique personality...she will definitely be missed. I never had a dog that told people "goodbye" when they left out the door. And she could say "I don't know", plain as day. No joke

Glad you're ok. That puppy thing is uberlame. :mad:

O.K. I'm watching CNN right now...they're talking about the death toll for Rita. When you hear the story about the people dying in the apartment....they died because they put a generator INSIDE their apartment of carbon monoxide poisoning. The people that went in to their apartment to rescue them were also overcome by carbon monoxide. There are WARNINGS on these things to use in well ventilated areas....I hurt for them....but that was not a wise thing to do. I guess some people just lose their minds during desperate times, trying anything to get by.

:confused: :confused:

But they could've still got by without a generator, right? That's very weird, I wouldn't risk my life for some power. Sounds like they didn't read the directions or something. :confused: Very sad.

Yes...probably so. It was very hot yesterday, around 96-97 with a heat index of 106 during the day...but if you had windows that opened...there was a small breeze. I certainly couldn't have been as miserable as staying on a bridge without anyway to shelter yourself from the sun! They had to have had a generator already and should have known the precautions to take, because there were no stores open after the storm to buy one and the trucks with the generators (sold by rip-off artists for $1500, 'here, fill out these papers and FEMA will reimburse you for 75%) didn't get here until right before curfew last night. It's amazing to me how people will take advantage of a disaster for personal profit. But on the way here to Baton Rouge, I saw every kind of truck, transorter, etc imaginable, from Red Cross to Operation Blessing on the way to somewhere in our area to help. And it really seems to have brought out the best in most people in our town....there was one man who got on the www.KLVI.com webstream and gave his address before they could stop him, telling everyone he had briskets and beans and rice for everybody listening....just get there! One of our local country western singers was going door-to-door passing out water and provisions to those who needed it. If you get the chance, listen to that station. It's the only one that has the true story of what's going on down here...without the sensationalism, but true reality.

Hope you can eat good with no power. I know the food must spoil real fast in those temps :shocked:

I'm very relieved to hear that you and your family are all right. All of us here have been worried about you.

But I'm really sorry to hear about Sadie. That's absolutely heartbreaking. :(

{{{HUGS}}}

Glad you're OK.

We cleared two major thoroughfares in my town and two neighborhood roads on cheese crackers, gatorade, and water! Maybe I won't need weight watchers after all!!!

Thank you for your concern and for your consolation....when you called her by name, you put a personal touch in there and brought tears to my eyes. God bless you from the bottom of my heart. Things like that, (and D batteries for my CD/radio) keep you motivated to move on....just to know that someone cares...you should've seen me out there cutting limbs and hauling logs with Stevie blaring on the CD player!!!!! I've got to go back now....so I'm saying goodbye for now....it's been a pleasure to speak with all of you again...kinda like a 'second family'. I hope that power will be restored to our city in the near future so I can come back again......take care of each other....peace and love to all.....Laura

So sorry to hear about Sadie - I missed that in your first post. I was afraid we were pretty close to losing my Dad's dog while we were stranded in Liberty. It's almost a week later now, and she's just now getting back to her old self. And thanks for taking care of the neighborhood animals - we're having to do the same, as a few of our neighbors can't get back into town (after not being able to get *out*). Of course, they left them in the first place...

And I understand about your pre-storm priorities. I know I spent a good 2 hours trying to find a suitable waterproof container for my tourbook collection. And then another hour selecting the best location for it, doing imaginary engineering scenarios in my head. "Hmmm... If the roof gets torn off, where would the rain seep through the ceiling?" And my CDs - I only had room to take a 50-slot CD wallet, and paring everything down (not to mention leaving the booklets) was major Sophie's Choice.

But at least it's over now, and I wish you well during your restoration efforts. Major scandals are brewing down here near Houston now, as the only casualties around here were from the city- and county-run evacuation efforts before the storm. Our town took people out on the city's school buses, and we saw three of the buses stranded & empty on the roadside while we were trying to leave.

Again - best wishes - let us know if there's anything we can do from here.

Hi, again....from Florida! Had all I could take in Hell....so I decided a visit in paradise would regenerate my "positive attitude". Do you find that we are suffering from the abuse of the Katrina funds? It is taking so long to get anything done down here! HEB (naturally) has been our saving grace...and all the help I thought I saw heading this way must've went somewhere else. We still only have power on major thoroughfares, no land lines, no Tv, practically nothing. We had to go get a generator just to be confined to one room of our house....FEMA (so far) has been of no help, the Red Cross has said that all of their funds are allocated for Katrina victims...so I'm just wondering if we're just screwed????

I am so sorry to hear about Sadie. :shocked: :distress: I cried for you and her when I read what happened.

I am glad you and your family are ok.

Thanks so much! She was a very unique, and probably the best watch dog we have. We own 4 others...an English Mastiff (a poo), an Australian Cattle Dog (don't let a man come with a block of me if my husband's not around), a terrier mix (looks just like Benji), and an aging Pomeranian. Had a beagle too, but he had other priorities about 5 months ago, went hunting and got picked up in HEB's parking lot by two elderly ladies who bribed her with chicken wings and took her home. We found her and got her back, but the ladies were so distraught and had gotten so attached that we gave her to them. And Maggie was the ONLY dog at the house, was pampered wonderfully, and seems very happy...she still remembers us...it's kinda like a blended family. I'll be in Florida another two weeks....they don't expect the power to come back up for another 10-14 days around my house.

wow im sorry to read of everything that happened
im glad you and your family are safe now...im sorry for sadie...
visit www.petloss.com when you have a chance...
sadies waiting for you by the rainbowbridge :angel:
keep taking care and let us know how you are doing
and i pray everything from now on is as you wish

I'm glad you're safe and at least more comfortable in Florida. But it begs the question: Why are you trying to escape hurricanes in Florida? ;) :laugh:

I'm just kidding, of course. I know what it's like to be without power long-term -- it was out nearly 3 weeks here after Hurricane Alicia in 83. If we'd have had a place to go, even Florida, we surely would have.

Also, keep an eye on that disturbance currently in the Bahamas...

Not trying to escape hurricanes in Florida...just the only place where I knew I could go (my daughter's house) and have some peace, electricity, computer access (even dial-up!), and get lots of hugs from my granddaughter Rhiannon. The minute I'm with her, I'm in heaven. She touches me and my heart melts, just like her mother did when she was that age (2). I'll definitely keep a watchful eye out, on both the gulf and atlantic sides for those pesky little hell traps. I'm still having trouble with FEMA, Red Cross was a breeze her in Florida...and my insurance company is just sh*%. I should've jumped on the class action lawsuit bandwagon against Farmers years ago when I got screwed...but, ya know me....well, it's still not too late, so they'd better not give me crap. (Sorry if I offended anyone....there may be Farmer's people here)