This week marks the one year anniversary of Hurricane Ike. Of course, the media is playing this up and making a big deal out of it (and yes, I admit, probably making a bigger deal out of it then need be), and I can't help but reminisce a little myself. After all, it was one of the most horrific - if not the most horrific - thing that has happened to me in my life.
I thought it might help me to try to recall the events of that week, and those after, as Sept. 13 approaches. As I was lying in bed last night trying to piece together the events of the week, I couldn't (and of course that made me mad). There are parts of the week that are still blurry. The day before we got our mandatory evacuation orders was crazy, I do remember that much. We were packing things up and moving stuff to the townhouse (that's where we thought we were going to evacuate to before we heard about the 15-22 feet tidal surges). I remember walking through the house before we left on Sept. 11 crying and praying. And as I'm typing this I'm crying again. It probably seems silly to those of you who don't live on the Gulf Coast or who have never experienced something like this, but it was the unknown factor that killed me the most. I am, for the most part, a planner. I like to know when things are happening what the possible outcome is going to be so that I can plan for that. And this was something I just had no control over and I couldn't plan for any of it. There we just too many unknowns. After all, we had gone through Rita, and at the last minute she hooked right and spared us. But a direct hit by Ike looked inevitable, and I had no idea what to expect.
I think it hurts still today because, while most of the area has recovered, there are still people who are living this hell. Everyday another house is demolished on the island. Every night when we drive around in the golf cart we see the houses that have gone untouched, or that the homeowners have gutted and haven't done anything else to it. Most likely that's because they didn't have insurance and don't have the money to fix it, or because they are still fighting with their insurance. We've heard numerous insurance horror stories, and feel very fortunate to have ended up in the situation we did.
So look for more posts this week as I remember Ike. I don't mean to be "Debbie Downer." Don't get me wrong, I know we're very fortunate to be alive and to have ended up with a house that is way better than anything we could have imagined, but it's still a little too fresh on my mind to move on completely. Especially when it's on every news cast and in every newspaper I read. I don't know that I will ever move on completely, but maybe this reminiscing will help.
Have a great week!
I thought it might help me to try to recall the events of that week, and those after, as Sept. 13 approaches. As I was lying in bed last night trying to piece together the events of the week, I couldn't (and of course that made me mad). There are parts of the week that are still blurry. The day before we got our mandatory evacuation orders was crazy, I do remember that much. We were packing things up and moving stuff to the townhouse (that's where we thought we were going to evacuate to before we heard about the 15-22 feet tidal surges). I remember walking through the house before we left on Sept. 11 crying and praying. And as I'm typing this I'm crying again. It probably seems silly to those of you who don't live on the Gulf Coast or who have never experienced something like this, but it was the unknown factor that killed me the most. I am, for the most part, a planner. I like to know when things are happening what the possible outcome is going to be so that I can plan for that. And this was something I just had no control over and I couldn't plan for any of it. There we just too many unknowns. After all, we had gone through Rita, and at the last minute she hooked right and spared us. But a direct hit by Ike looked inevitable, and I had no idea what to expect.
I think it hurts still today because, while most of the area has recovered, there are still people who are living this hell. Everyday another house is demolished on the island. Every night when we drive around in the golf cart we see the houses that have gone untouched, or that the homeowners have gutted and haven't done anything else to it. Most likely that's because they didn't have insurance and don't have the money to fix it, or because they are still fighting with their insurance. We've heard numerous insurance horror stories, and feel very fortunate to have ended up in the situation we did.
So look for more posts this week as I remember Ike. I don't mean to be "Debbie Downer." Don't get me wrong, I know we're very fortunate to be alive and to have ended up with a house that is way better than anything we could have imagined, but it's still a little too fresh on my mind to move on completely. Especially when it's on every news cast and in every newspaper I read. I don't know that I will ever move on completely, but maybe this reminiscing will help.
Have a great week!
2 comments:
I was in the "500 year flood of 97" up in North Dakota, and while we didn't lose our house, the not knowing ate at me everyday!
Thanks for your comment, Amanda. I saw some pictures of your house after the storm on FB, and I'm so happy to see how far it has come!
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