We were dismissed from work around 12:00 p.m. on Friday August 25, 2017 in anticipation of Hurricane Harvey.
I left from work, met my wife for lunch, and then went shopping for last minute items.
Once I got home I was mostly there until Thursday August 31, 2017 when I went back to work. We went outside very few times, and only when there was a break in the rain.
I’m sure countless stories will be told during this time. Here are some of the random things I thought of during this “down time”, in no particular order.
- The incarcerated and elderly. Cabin fever can set in pretty quickly when you have nowhere to go, or more accurately, when it’s strongly suggested that you “shelter in place” to protect your own life. We were fortunate to live on the 2nd floor of an apartment and had 1,000 square feet of space, 2 bathrooms, and plenty of windows to let in outside light (which varied at times depending on how much rain was falling). Although I got bored quickly, I still had room to move. At times it plain ol’ sucked. But then it hit me. This has to really suck for the incarcerated and elderly. What do they do all day? How awful it must be to be confined to a bed 24/7 and be at the mercy of an aide who stops in every now and again. How awful it must be to be stuck in a small cell, maybe with nothing to do and no windows. I think it would get pretty depressing pretty quickly. How long could that go on until you just wanted to end it? Horrible. I hope I never find myself in either situation. Far too much time to think. Even if you get to read, at some point that has to be very boring.
- Electricity. When Hurricane Ike rolled through Houston back in 2008, I was at a friend’s house. We lost power the first night. The next day wasn’t too bad since winds kept things cool. But for the next days, it was horrible. No air conditioning. No TV. Humidity rising.
During Harvey, our power went off/on, then 10 seconds later it went off/on, and then 30 seconds later it went off. I froze. I hoped it would come back, especially since it was only Monday and the storm was forecast to be in Houston until Wednesday or Thursday. Then it came back and never went out again. PTL – Praise the Lord! It was miserable during Ike and I told myself I’d never put myself through that again. Had the electricity gone out and stayed out I would have strongly considered leaving when it was safe. My destination would have been the Dallas area, but since my friend no longer lives there (you know who you are: sell out!) it wouldn’t have been as fun. According to reports, it seemed like many people had power. Later, talking with people at work it seemed that no one lost it. The TV showed 96% of people had power at one point. I have no further context than that. I’m sure those who don’t have electricity have fared much worse than most.
- Devastation and Survivor’s guilt. Watching the news was unreal. I recognized many areas they showed and was shocked at the devastation. I would then look outside and be surprised that our parking lot was in no danger of flooding. In fact, if one didn’t know there was a hurricane in the area, one might think “hmm, it’s been quite rainy for a few days”. So much devastation in some areas: homes flooded to the roofs, cars floating in the water, people carrying their valuables in garbage bags, furniture floating in homes, coastal homes smashed to pieces. Yet, here I was with no real long-lasting damage. How could people just a few miles, maybe even blocks away be living out their worst nightmare and I’m sitting pretty? Luck. Fate. Blessed.
- Reaching out. It was nice to hear from family and friends in other states concerned for our welfare, whether it was a call, text, or Facebook post. It’s comforting to know you are worried about, and prayed for. But, it was also a little odd to realize that it took a natural disaster to both reach out and be reached out to. I found myself checking up on other Houstonians that I hadn’t talked to in a while. Why does it take something so potentially life altering to reach out and connect? It reminds me how after 9/11 a lot of people started going back to church and to find purpose. But, then months later, it was noted the numbers returned to “normal”. Are we so busy with the “things” of life that we can’t take time for the “people in our lives”?
- Perception of time. I rarely kept track of the day/time. If I got hungry I ate. If I got tired, I napped. Well, actually I didn’t nap, which was odd. Usually when I get home after a full day of work I’m tired and feel like a nap would do me good, but decide not to so that it doesn’t jack up my sleep schedule. I did not nap! To those who know me, this might sound like a surprise. I did get up later than a normal working day, but I was always up by 10-ish.
- News is frustrating and inspiring. It struck me how the field reporters (moreso) and on air (less so) reporters have to be able to operate on the fly. At times they’d repeat the same information over and over, but they really had to keep it going by guessing, postulating, and figuring out what was going on in a very fluid situation. I’m sure a lot of their “normal” stories are scripted or rehearsed and maybe done in multiple takes. A lot of this was done “LIVE!”. Impressive, especially since I think I do a good job making home/vacation videos but afterwards I’m always shocked at how many “umm, ahhh, errs” I have. They were able to get great shots and interviews and relay information quickly. But, sometimes it seemed too forced or too long. I understand they have a story to tell and that the people that are being rescued have stories, but sometimes this seemed to get in the way of others doing their job. For example, when a truck or boat would come out of a neighborhood and unload people, the reporters wouldn’t just let them go back in. Instead, they’d stop the driver and ask “so, why are you doing this? Were you asked to help or did you just volunteer?” The person would answer. At times it would put them on the spot and I’m sure they were thinking “stop talking to me and let me go save more people”. Even some of the victims of the flood seemed to be caught off-guard.
I can definitely appreciate her response: Rescued woman goes off on reporter
- High road vs. low road. Disasters affect people differently. Some will take the high road and help out where possible, like famous locals JJ Watt and Mattress Mac as well as many people within Houston and even those from out of state who brought boats here.
Others will stoop low and loot. It was said looters will face harsh prosecution, and they should (if it was for non-essential items like TVs, cell phones, and so on):
- So much Stuff. Many people who got out with just the clothes on their back were obviously affected. Others were just glad to be alive and realize that their stuff was just that: stuff. That’s not to diminish their loss or feelings. For a while now, I’ve been trying to simplify my life. I look around me and realize that I probably use 10% of my things 90% of the time. So, why do I have the other 90%? Most of it is probably for sentimental reasons. Some because I will use it. Some just because I can keep it, so I do. I have visited some countries and met people who have so little “stuff” but seem to have so much more in many other ways. I’d like to get there.
- Humanity not Politics – the silver lining. It was so nice to get away from all the toxic political mud-slinging that has been going on. For a few days, I heard next to nothing about politics. So refreshing. It was stories about ‘people helping people’. It’s a silver lining that in the middle of so much chaos and destruction that people can set all their differences aside and just see people who need help. I’m sure most news stations do this, but it seems like a lot of them focused on “this is how Houstonians/Texans are”. Even during in-person interviews, people would mention “this is how Texans are”. That’s good, but also frustrating. I’d like to think that ALL people are that way (or should be) and that it’s not just limited to Texans. I’ve been helped by people in different situations in different states or countries where I’ve been. I know the intent isn’t to say that ONLY Houstonians/Texans are this way, but we all should. That should be the default. The rule. Not the exception.
- Aftermath. During one of our ventures outside, we noticed a car parked in the middle of the road. We drove by and it appeared to be empty. So we circled back to get another view. The windows were heavily tinted, but still appeared empty. My wife turned around again and parked behind. I got out and slowly approached the passenger side. It was hard to see inside. I knocked on the window. Nothing. It sounded like there was music coming from inside so I put my ear to the window. There was. I checked the door. Locked. I slowly peered in, hoping I wouldn’t see a dead body. Empty. I walked around to the driver’s side and opened the door. No one inside. The driver’s side was dry so I sat down. No key in the ignition, but the NAV system was popped up and on. The keyless ignition was lit. The passenger side had a pair of shoes and an umbrella. There were a few receipts in the car and on the floor in the back was the windshield cover. The glove compartment was empty of any important documents. I felt the floor of the passenger side. It was soaked, though I couldn’t see any visible water. I’m not sure what happened, but my guess is somewhere they hit high water and by the time they got to our street the car stopped running, so they got out and ditched it and carried what they could (which was everything except what I mentioned and two packs of water in the trunk). I hope the person is alright and that they return and are able to get their car working again.
But…I also feel for the rescue workers and law enforcement officers that will come across many once-submerged vehicles in the coming days. Who knows what they’ll find. Already one story has been told of a family where 6 members drowned in a van.
Harvey tragedy: van swept away family
Extremely, heart-breakingly sad!
- Return to “Normal”. It’s Thursday 8/31 and my life feels like it’s pretty back to “normal”. For many people, “normal” will take months. They say Houston will still feel the effects of this in 10 years. Should we look for “normal”? If “normal” means we go back to forgetting our neighbors or friends unless they are in danger, then I don’t want “normal”. If “normal” means we start seeing ‘us vs. them’ and ‘black and white’ and our differences, then “normal” should stay far away.
I hope we can all learn something, whether we were directly impacted by rising waters in our home, by knowing someone in the city, or by having seen it on the news.
We must become better. We must rise above our problems. If we do, then maybe in some weird way Hurricane Harvey was “worth it”. If not, then maybe we’ve lost more in the hurricane than we can possibly know.