Hurricane Ike - Reflections and Lessons Learned

Posted on September 21, 2008
Filed Under Current Events |

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Finally, a week after Hurricane Ike came ashore in Galveston, I’m here in Montgomery County with my power back on. It’s been quite an eye opener for sure. This was my first major hurricane to experience and it won’t be one I’m likely to forget soon. I was here for Tropical Storm Allison some years ago and Hurricane Rita was a near miss. But Hurricane Ike is the first one that I’ve had to deal with.

Here are some reflections over the past week since Hurricane Ike made landfall.

First off, what was up with the forecasting of this storm? The local and national “experts” really got this one wrong. Still, not many are fessing up to the fact, most weather people are just making excuses.

Second, what the hell was the problem with you people who thought Hurricane Ike would turn away from the Galveston and Houston areas just because Rita did 3 years ago? I could not believe the people who were saying “Hurricane Rita missed us at the last minute, Ike will do the same thing.”

What a totally stupid assumption!

Next, you people who were caught without gas, water and food after the storm. How many days notice do you actually need before you prepare? Unless you are an invalid or otherwise incapable of getting out of your house, you were fully warned that there was a good chance that Hurricane Ike would hit the upper Texas Coast. Every media outlet I listened to or watched told you to get out and stock up on food, water, gas and other necessities.

Yet, you didn’t. Instead you called the local radio and TV stations complaining that FEMA wasn’t acting fast enough and you didn’t have food, water, gas or ice.

Here’s a news flash for many of you. The Federal, State or Local Governments owe you NOTHING! Get off your asses and do a little preparing. You live on the Texas Coast, where there has been a HISTORY of Hurricanes in the past. As the saying goes, if you wait for the Government to take care of your sorry ass, you’re going to be disappointed.

If you people really want someone to blame because you had no food at home, no gas in your car or for your generator, go look in the mirror for the person responsible for not having what you needed.

I took a brief look myself in the mirror Saturday night when it was freakin’ hot and I had no generator. I’d put it off for years and only have myself to blame for not having one. Otherwise, I had all the other things I needed and then some.

What is up with the whining about standing in line or waiting for a couple hours for food, water, ice or gas?

I mean, a lot of the same people whining about having to wait in line are the very same ones who brag about camping out in line for an iPhone or Hanna Montana tickets! Be prepared next time!

As I drove around the North side of Houston or in the Woodlands or Conroe, I was surprised at how long the lines were at the PODS or Gas Stations. I couldn’t believe there were so many people not prepared for this storm with the basic necessities.

If you waited in a line for food, water, gas or ice, you should have come to the realization of just how “free” you really are. I include myself in this group of people as I had to wait about 30 minutes for gas in Spring on Thursday as my stash was running low. I should have put more back and drove around less.  Lesson learned.

What if this had been a Terrorist attack that seriously affected the availability of fuel? There’d be a lot of vehicles on the road sitting empty!

A few things I saw and didn’t see in Hurricane Ike’s aftermath.

As I drove around rural Montgomery County checking on friends, I didn’t see a bunch of people sitting on their butts waiting for FEMA or the Red Cross to come and save them. They were out cleaning up as soon as Saturday afternoon.

I saw neighbors helping neighbors. Clearing yards, sharing power from a generator, sharing food and water with those who could not get out.

I saw people cooking everything in their defrosting freezers and inviting everyone over to eat.

I saw Utility Companies from all over coming to help Texans. I personally saw trucks and crews from Delaware, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Canada and New Mexico. God Bless those folks.

A big Texas Shout Out goes to crews from the Henckels & McCoy from Blue Bell, PA who worked long hours in our area to get our power back on. There was a lot of damage and these people stayed at it from sunup to sundown for several days. Thank you guys!

Another Shout Out to the crew of Mormons from College Station who stopped by and helped clean up the downed trees in my Yard and didn’t charge me a dime. It would have taken me and my Wife weeks to clean up this land! I hope God Blesses you and your families beyond your imagination!

I heard a woman call into a TV show and rake a Center Point PR person over the coals because her 85 year old mother was still without power and “she needed it desperately” according to the caller. When the Host asked her if she had power, she replied “Yes, but it’s my Mother who needs it.”

The Host replied “Well, why don’t you go get your Mother so she can stay with you until she gets power back on” DUH!

I saw a lot of common sense go out the window after Hurricane Ike.

I saw a women today in a local store complaining that she was without food, water and power for days and couldn’t afford a generator or extra food. This was while she was buying $30 worth of Lottery tickets.

I saw some people turn their noses up at the hot meals given out in The Woodlands and elsewhere. I heard about people complaining that some of the MRE’s didn’t “taste” that good and that FEMA and/or the Red Cross should have a better tasting alternative.

You ungrateful people deserve nothing! Go a few more days without food and those meals will be a freakin’ delicacy. The problem is, those complaining didn’t get hungry enough! They also need to stop and realize that we have Men and Women in Iraq and Afghanistan that eat MRE’s nearly every day, sometimes 2 and 3 times a day.

I was honestly shocked by the amount of ungratefulness and inconsiderate actions I saw during the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

I heard several Customers complaining to the manager or owner of the Shell station at Hwy 105 and the West Loop 336 in Conroe after he opened without any power just so people could get a few things they needed. People were complaining that he should have been on generator power, that he should have had a working credit card machine, that he was price gouging. I stop there frequently and his prices hadn’t changed one bit. But the Customers were so ungrateful, he decided to close early.

I saw the same thing time and time again, especially early in the week.  I heard people complaining that the BBQ Hut in Magnolia was only serving Hot Chopped Beef Sandwiches and Chips on Sunday. Hell, most of the people who were complaining probably hadn’t had a hot meal since Friday night! Hey, you didn’t have to stop there and he didn’t have to open up on generator power! You ungrateful morons! I’m not crazy about Chopped Beef BBQ, but I was more than happy to get something hot to eat, I bought two!

Just as with the Government, Store Owners don’t OWE you squat! The don’t have to open so that you can get water, food or gas.

Lessons Learned from Hurricane Ike

I learned that we as humans still have some compassion for our fellow man but that many more think the Government and others OWE them something. Why they believe this is beyond me.

I re-learned how a simple pleasure like a hot can of Chili cooked over an open fire can lift anyones spirits.

I re-learned how great it is just to enjoy the peace and quiet of the early morning (after everyones generators ran out of fuel…lol)

I learned that I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was. I found out quickly the weaknesses in my survival plan. Those weaknesses will be worked on the the upcoming months!

I learned that no matter how many times some people are told to prepare for an approaching storm, they won’t do it. Then they complain at the top of their lungs when they have no food or water afterwards.

I re-learned that Weathermen and women really can’t predict squat when it comes right down to it.

After clearing brush for a week, I learned that my 40 something body does not heal as quickly as it did at 20.

I learned that my Wife believes Peas and Corn is the only thing that comes in cans. Glad I did some of the survival preparation shopping!

At the very least, this should be a huge wake up call to the people that not only live here on the Coast, but everywhere. You can’t be prepared enough! I shudder to think what would happen if feul was not available for a week or more. Many folks couldn’t deal with this!

3 days of food and water isn’t enough. 2 weeks worth of food, water and fuel should be the minimum.

My heart goes out to everyone on the Bolivar Peninsula. I’m wondering what happened to the people who lived in the Crystal Beach subdivisions where we rented Beach Houses. I hope they left before the storm hit.  

Hurricane Ike wasn’t the first storm to hit the Galveston and Houston area and it won’t be the last. Consider this your wake up call!

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