Oh, Rita- Updated September 22, 2005
My parents made it out of town earlier today, and I’m glad to report that my grandparents went with them. They were able to take all of their cats, too, although a couple of them are making the trip in laundry hampers. They didn’t have enough cat carriers for them all at once, so they made do. It’s definitely better than leaving them behind, something my mother would never think of doing.
Our parish is now under a voluntary evacuation order. My husband thinks we should stay, though. If the current forecast holds true, we should be ok. However we all know that these hurricanes are crazy things. I’m scared. Very.
I’ll be checking the forecasts that come out every three hours without a doubt. If that means waking up at 1am, so be it. If there’s any indication that this sucker is moving any further to the east, we will be heading out of town to head north in the middle of the night. My brother and sister in law live in the northern part of the state, and we can stay with them.
We also have the option of going to the courthouse where my husband works and staying there. It’s a new building that’s strong as a rock, so it should fare well. It looks like our city should be ok, but I’m still nervous. It doesn’t look like my parent’s hometown is going to fare nearly as well.
Now, on a lighter note, I wanted to pass along something that shows how small our world really is. I’ve been sitting here watching the news all day long. Tonight I’ve had it on the station that airs from my parent’s city which is about an hour west of here.
They’ve been reading emails on air that have come in from across the country and even the world. Guess who’s email was read on air? Brenda’s! I was like, “I know her!” I knew of Brenda’s connections down here, but it still took me by total surprise when they read her name on air. Cool, huh?
********************
I finally got through to my mom last night around 11:00. The phone lines around here are insane. At that point they had made it to Shreveport which is in the northern part of the state. It took them about 9.5 hours to make it that far. I got an email from her this morning at 4:00 saying that they had made it to Ft. Worth. I’m so glad they made it. From what I could gather from our conversation last night, it was a really rough trip.
We’re still at home. I’ve been up the majority of the night keeping on eye on the forecast. It didn’t move any more to the east, so we’re staying put. I have no doubt that it’s still going to suck here, though. Things will start picking up a little later today, and I’m sure we’ll lose power at some point. We’re expecting 70+mph winds and 10-15 inches of rain. Oh, that’s going to be fun.
- Posted in : various other ramblings
- Author : amanda
Comments»
After listening to the recent forecasts, the first person I thought of was you!
If you are a good ways inland, you are probably best off staying at home (or, if your house isn’t extremely sturdy, going to the courthouse like you mentioned…although would you be able to bring your cats there with you?) . Unless you could get really far away, the way these hurricanes are, you could move somewhere else only to end up having it hit there. I remember there was one last year here (we had so many, I’m forgetting which!) where lots of people from Tampa evacuated towards Orlando only to have it take a last minute turn and hit our area instead of theirs. Do you have all the supplies you need on hand? I think I remember your having picked up stuff prior to Katrina?
Staci- Yep, we can bring our kitties with us if we go to the courthouse, and we still do have our supplies from Katrina. I got up to see the 4am forecast, and it still hasn’t moved any further east, so I guess we’re staying put. Thanks for your thoughts.
Stay safe Amanda,
I’m thinking of you and your family!
Holy smokes, how scary. I will be thinking of you and hope you and your loved ones make it through just fine.
Hoping you and your family get through this with as little stress as possible.
I hope it doesn’t get too bad for you…are you all hunkered in with water, etc? Update us as to how you are when/if you can.
Thanks, guys.
Lisa- Yep, we’re all set on supplies. We still have what we bought for Katrina.
hehe… funny thing was I sent it in and they read it like a minute later. So even I was surprised!
Talked to Mom and Dad who went to my Aunt’s in DeQuincy… and they have no power now.. but they’re doing ok.
Looks like this thing is gonna pass just west of cameron and over Sulphur. Lovely… just what I need to worry about right now… my parents being homeless and my childhood home being destroyed.
Stay safe, my friend.
Brenda