Monday, September 8, 2008

Tuesday After The Storm.....

IF your going to live along the boarders of a coastal State....
you have GOT TO HAVE one of these.
"Our Trusty Generator"

It will become your "life line" after a hurricane.
Six days with no power for my family and this little powerful thing kept us with a few lights and our refrigerator and freezer going. We didn't loose any food.....many of my friends and neighbors did.

More hurricane "Must Haves"......"Window Air Conditioner and Coolers"
AND it's fabulous if you can get your family one of these things. We didn't have one after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and had made a decision to GET a window Air Conditioner and put it in the front room window.
We didn't cool the back of the house or power it. So it was HOT and DARK back there.
We ALL slept in the front room for all those days!

We didn't power up our generator right away after the storm passed. We decided to SAVE THE GAS which is very important after a hurricane......because it becomes scarce due to the fact there is no power to power gas pumps. So we just kept our house shut up tight and got through the night with a power cord from Ms. Karol and Mr. Joe's house.

They had power. Only because they have a gas "WHOLE HOUSE" generator that they had installed this Spring. VERY SMART.
Once the power goes off for any given reason....their generator kicks on in like 3 seconds and powers their entire house as if they never lost power. If we continue to stay in Louisiana.....we are getting one of those. HA!

The very next morning, Tuesday. We keep forgetting what day it is here because we've lost track.
We got up early to survey the damage outside and start the debris clean up.......and not just for us...but for everyone.

And this is what I LOVE about the people here.....we help each other. I mean I know it happens other places as well.....but this
IS the "Spirit of America"...people helping people.

Times of disaster, times of crisis, and times of heartache....they make for great opportunities to show the love of God to others.

About 25 people from all over our street came to Ms. Karol and Mr. Joe's to help get the tree off their house!!

My husband Don up on their roof....ugh! He was having a HUGE adrenaline flow at the time. HA!
My crazy son Luke and my husband Don on the roof being cowboys....

Miss Priss

Trying to pull the last part down.....
Finally they decide that they have to hook Caleb's big truck up to it and pull it that way....
Luke riding on the back of Caleb's truck as Mom starts to get nervous....ugh!
Hooking up to the tree......
Miss Priss and Myself....while serving lunch to the crew!
"Lumberjack Luke"
Ms. Karol, with Justin and Nick our neighbors on the other side of us.

Then most of the crew started on the neighbors behind us....until my husband got a call that his Warehouses and Offices were being LOOTED!!!! Then he and my boys and some friends left quickly to head to that part of town.....heavily ARMED.......to see what was happening and try to secure the buildings. UGH!!!

Me and Miss Priss had been serving sandwiches to the crew when the call came and we just continued to do so. But that call nearly robbed my joy at that point. I had been so very proud of everyone in our area here that were working so hard to help everyone around them......and then to get a call like that.

I was soooo angry that people would do such a thing. But some people use their lives to help others and some people use their lives for evil. That's just how it works.......sadly.

Long story short.....the warehouse doors had been "knocked in" etc. etc. and things in one area were secure and they weren't so sure about another area that wasn't looking too good. So they secured and boarded everything up the best they could for then. It was so frustrating to have to deal with that type of thing.Then it took them nearly 2 hours to get back home because the streets were so tree strewn and flooded. They ended up pulling one man out of a flooded ditch.
Once they got home.......we started back on working on people's yards.

Oh....did I mention it was raining pretty much all of this day?? No one minded the rain it kept us cool.....because it was hot and steamy here.

I will have more to talk to you about next time......

6 comments:

Valentine Hearts said...

Hi Joyce, I just don't understand why people, in times of great need would try to rob and cause more heartache for people. As you say though this is is the way of the world. Very sad!

Your pictures are amazing, your determination, community spirit and friendship is inspiring.

Much love Jackie x

The Urban Chic said...

Joyce, I can only imagine what you are going through. How sad when people take advantage of others while they are helping their neighbors. That's why we are boarding up if we leave and even that won't stop them if they really want to get in---you know they only need a cordless drill. Sad, just simply sad. Big hugs to you for helping, which is the pride of most of our state. Love ya, Pat

MelanieJoy said...

Oh Girl, it's so good to finally hear from you! I knew you lived "down South" but wasn't sure of you location. So I didn't know how you had been affected by the hurricane. I'm so glad you are all well and that the damage wasn't too bad. That must have been a scary ride. I hope Ike doesn't deside to join in too.
I will continue to remember ya'll in my prayers.

Ms.Daisy said...

Joyce,
I am so glad to see that you and your family came through the hurricane so well - except for the looting going on - how awful for you.
Will keep you in my prayers.

Hugs,
Jean

Unknown said...

Love your posts... I have been sharing about li'l ol' you. Have your ears been burning?

P.S. Come on over and vote for your favorite Diamond Poem.

roseroomnz.com said...

Honestly it is just mind boggling! So sad that bad people take advantage of such terrible situations. Rachaelxo