Foo - What a hard day it has been...

and the storm has not even hit us yet!

In the next 24 hours, we are supposed to get hit hard with high winds, up to 25" of rain, and possible tornados because of Hurricane Rita. The electricity in our rural community always goes off in bad weather, so I think we are in for a bad time here. This day has been spent putting things away, boarding things up, and tieing things down. There are 12 people staying at the house the next few days. What fun! :rolleyes:

There is not much gas to be found in town and no batteries, no candles, no bread, no water. People are lined up at the few gas stations that actually still have gas. All of our centers for evacuees are full. The streets and stores and establishments in our little town are filled with strange faces. The crime rate has jumped, and people are nervous about things.

My school was closed today, partly because of the storm that approaches, but also because of the funeral this morning of a young man who was a 2005 graduate of our little rural school. He committed suicide Tuesday evening, and the school has been filled with children walking around in a daze all week long. One of my ninth grade little girls found his body...that was a horrible thing. What a hard week this has been.

Wish us luck! I am hoping that we do not get blown away!

**MERTON, stay safe, dude. I hope you are in a safe dorm.

I'll say a little prayer for you. Take care.

Now 10 evacuees at the house, some with their pets. Sheesh! My dog and I are back in my computer room away from the madness. And so far, so good, on the electricity staying on!

Hey, think of the power you'll have over your 'guests' when the wind starts blowing.
Total control, no cooking or cleaning for you...and any backtalk -just open the front door.
Well, I hope it goes light on you, I live very far from any hurricanes.
I'm supposed to get an earthquake and tsunami though.

Someday...Like living on Atlantis it is.

the only thing i'm worried about is the thing where they didn't bother to board up our windows... i don't want my crap damaged..... they say they'll be having water delivered here...



isn't usually still light out right now?
it's almost dark out there now.

nope... it's supposed to get dark right now... O_o

Hang in there, stay safe, and good luck.:)

My uncle is down there by Galveston. He was supposed to leave the other day, but as of this morning, he was still there. I hope you all do well down there. This is all making me very nervous.

Hang in there Vicki, a lot of us will be thinking of you in the next few days.

Good luck, guys(well, guy and gal, I guess). Regardless of gender, take care of yourselves. I'll be thinking about you...with fingers crossed.

I am sorry to hear about that young man who used to be your student, my condolences...
As for the "Big-Bad" Category 5 hurricane..-hey man, get out there and ride!! -and send us some video!!! -whats a 150mph head wind? -that ain't nothin, if you got some aerobars. (but don't forget to wear your helmet and tracking devise!)...good luck, and be safe..seriously

tail wind should be a rip snorter of a ride!!!!

on a more serious note, all the best guys.

Hope you all are still safe down on the coast. It's 8am here and last word Rita is now a Cat2 storm. Haven't seen many images from the over night or this morning yet. Sounds like Galveston was spared, but points further north I'm sure weren't so lucky.

it knocked over some trees. noting else happened to me.

I have to land in Dallas Fort Worth tomorrow(Sun). You think it will be cleared out by then?

Hope you all are doing well...

the weatherman here says we just have a 20% chance for rain tommorow...

rita didn't do all that much to this place... (judging from my short walk earlier.. i haven't watched the news that much)...

we had 4" of rain, a lot of tree bits everywhere, two tree were knocked over near my dorm,

i did hear sirens throughout the day. like maybe 4.

How did the ranch weather? Glad everybody appears to be safe

I talked to MsVicki last night. She had major damage on the ranch. Trees were uprooted, fences torn up, all the food in her freezers and refrigerators ruined. At least her home was not damaged!! When I called her a few minutes ago, she still had no power or phones, except for her cell phone, but the electric people are working hard to restore power!

I talked to MsVicki last night. She had major damage on the ranch. Trees were uprooted, fences torn up, all the food in her freezers and refrigerators ruined. At least her home was not damaged!! When I called her a few minutes ago, she still had no power or phones, except for her cell phone, but the electric people are working hard to restore power!

Thanks for letting us know. Storms are strange things. Many towns near the coast had minor damage, but the towns further north had large amounts of damage. The smaller the town, the longer the wait for help.

BBC television visited Bridge City, Texas, population 8,000. The town is currently not safe for people to return, due to downed power lines in the roads and contaminated drinking water. No gas. No food. Two days AFTER the storm, THIS much help had arrived: two State police cruisers. FEMA has never bothered to even check to find out whether or not the town still exits.

The mayor of Bridge City says that the "lesson" he has learned is that each town must be able to handle its own emergencies without depending on outside help. A very sad lesson indeed.

MsVicki's power is restored for the time being and her phone lines, but her i.s.p.'s power is off in town so she is not going to be able to get on-line tonight. Last night she said it was so hot that one of the people staying in her house almost "stroked out" (her words), so she is glad to have some a/c. Still no running water, which makes it hard with the bathroom situation. She is filling up the tanks with water from the pool to be able to flush, and everyone is doing a lot of swimming.

She has also picked up four more people whose power is still off.

MsVicki's power is restored for the time being and her phone lines, but her i.s.p.'s power is off
Glad to hear everybody is okay. Hope services will be quickly restored. :(



The mayor of Bridge City says that the "lesson" he has learned is that each town must be able to handle its own emergencies without depending on outside help. A very sad lesson indeed.

What is up with this fad of doing live reviews. yesterday a man from fox wearing shorts was standing by a building and he kicked up some dirt nonchalantaly and then proceeded to tell everybody that if any of that dirt got on your skin it would burnyou, send you to the hospital, make you puke, vomit and maybe die and then proceeded to say how evil it was for people to return. Why don't these people help instead of bs like that.

Amazing that some people decide to learn that lesson after the disaster instead of following the course of history in other natural disasters.


BBC television visited Bridge City, Texas, population 8,000. The town is currently not safe for people to return, due to downed power lines in the roads and

Bad things happening in MsVicki's and Merton's town right now.

Bad things happening in MsVicki's and Merton's town right now.

MsVicki--I can't say that I know what you are going through, but good lord, yer in my prayers. Sit tight, hang on and ride it out--all this stuff ends eventually. 'Though eventually sometimes feels like forever . . .!

Ms. Vicki, and merton and all in that area. Please know that we are all here for you. We are all praying that you guys are safe and still at least alive! So please guys/gals hang tight, just value what you ahve, not what you dont have.

I hope I didnt just say the wrong thing :o

and now for a little stupid joke encouragement! "Why is 6 afraid of 7?...Becasue 7,8,9!!!" Ha ha ha ha.

Ok I know that was bad.

Hang tight you guys!

Wow! It sound rough Vicky......hang in there girl! Will say a little prayer too.....hope you get your power back and get things back to normal so your guests can return to their homes too.

Anything "physically" we can do to help?

Best wishes, Ms Vicki. Lots of love and prayers going your way tonight!

Ms. Vicki, and merton and all in that area. Please know that we are all here for you. We are all praying that you guys are safe and still at least alive! So please guys/gals hang tight, just value what you ahve, not what you dont have.

I hope I didnt just say the wrong thing :o

and now for a little stupid joke encouragement! "Why is 6 afraid of 7?...Becasue 7,8,9!!!" Ha ha ha ha.

Ok I know that was bad.

Hang tight you guys!


i'm not having any problems at all right now... they even started classes today... i don't really know all what's going on in the town though... i just don't get out much at all.

Your keen mind will pull you through, MsVicki. The gang at BF awaits your return.
See you soon.

Louis

MsVicki, haven't seen you around on BF since you started this thread. Hope the damage wasn't too bad for you. My thoughts and prayers are with you. I miss your words of wit and wisdom.

MsVicki, my thoughts are with you I couldn't even start to imagine what the people on the coastlines have endured. Stay strong, keep good thoughts and you'll get thru!!!

Wow! It sound rough Vicky......hang in there girl! Will say a little prayer too.....hope you get your power back and get things back to normal so your guests can return to their homes too.

Anything "physically" we can do to help?


My thoughts exactly, KT. Heidi, please keep us updated and let us know if there's anything more we can do to help....

Well MsVicki, my wishes and prayers go out to y'all. Let me know if you need some help.

The best thing we can do now is to send emergency jokes to MsV and Merton. Dig deep my friends, she's made us all smile when times were tough, now's the time to go into the "best joke vault" and send them along. LET's GOOOOO!

I'm not a prayin' kinda gal, But for you MsVicki I'll make a point of talkin to the big guy.
Hang in there, things WILL get better.

MsVicki, please login and let us all know you're doing OK.

FXjohn

I'm with FXJohn, and hope to see you sign in soon. I sincerely hope you are doing alright. Our thoughts are with you. I wish we could be a more practical help, but know you are in our hearts

We all love you. Let us know how you are. And remember...you are ALWAYS welcome here...so flee to DFW. I'm here for ya girlfriend.

The best thing we can do now is to send emergency jokes to MsV and Merton. Dig deep my friends, she's made us all smile when times were tough, now's the time to go into the "best joke vault" and send them along. LET's GOOOOO!


i am not in the same bad situation as her.. my situation is as it was before the storm... just minus a few assignment and plus a few push backed tests :D

A Prayer for you MsVicki. Hang on.



One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was
walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the
sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he
noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one
belonging to him, and the other to the Lord. When
the last scene of his life flashed before him, he
looked back at the footprints in the sand. He
noticed that many times along the path of his life
there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed
that it happened at the very lowest and saddest
times in his life. This really bothered him and he
questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, You said that
once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all
the way. But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life, there is only one set
of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed
you most you would leave me." The Lord replied,
"My son, My precious child, I love you and I would
never leave you. During your times of trial and
suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it
was then that I Carried You."

Hey good Bikeforum people..

I was surprised to see all your posts on here when I logged on a few minutes ago. I am not going to whine and talk about how bad it has been, because for as bad as it HAS been, there are thousands over this state and in Louisiana that have it worse. Suffice to say, things are not real rosey for me right now, but I always try to have a positive outlook, so I am thinking that things can only get better!

I am down to only 4 house guests now, and hopefully their power will be restored soon and they can go home. Some people in rural areas around here are being told by the power company that it could be weeks before their power is restored. Hopefully not! School has been out this whole week because of the power being out. Hopefully it will resume Monday.

Heidi, what can I say? Thank you for caring enough about me to call and find out how I am doing. And thanks for keeping these good Bikeforum people up-to-date, too. You do not know how much I appreciate the phone calls. Thanks, girl!

Mirona, I hope that your uncle is ok. Let us know!

Cycleprincess, you are going to be surprised when I take you up on your invite one of these days!

MERTON, I am so glad that things did not get bad for you at the dorms. Hundreds and hundreds of people in the rural areas around here still have no power and water, and with 90 degree heat, it is miserable. I understand there are still parts of town without power, too. Anyway, glad you are ok. And no, they did not catch the guys.

All the rest of you guys, thanks for the words of encouragement, good thoughts, prayers, love, good vibes, etc. And thanks a LOT for the emails and jokes and messages! You guys and gals are the best! :love:

Glad you made it through the storm.
Hope things get settled soon and that you get your home back to normal.
Peace>jef.

Glad to see you back! If you've got 4 people still there you must treat them to well. Put em to work. It's really hard to find free labor these days;)

Hey good Bikeforum people..

I was going to drive down there if I didn't hear from you by the end of the day :o

Glad everything is as good as it can be. I haven't heard from my uncle yet, but that's probably just laziness. His area didn't get hit very hard, apparently.

Please take care of yourself.

I was going to drive down there if I didn't hear from you by the end of the day :o

Glad everything is as good as it can be. I haven't heard from my uncle yet, but that's probably just laziness. His area didn't get hit very hard, apparently.

Please take care of yourself.

Would have been a very long drive for you. :)

Would have been a very long drive for you. :)

Well, if I had new tires on my bike, it would have been a very long RIDE for me :)

Sorry to get on so late Ms. Vicki. I've been off BF this week, and probably next week.

Because I am a CERT member, I was asked to volunteer for two weeks of disaster relief, but my previous commitments just wouldn't allow it.

So you are on your own, but you are in my thoughts and prayers. Take care of the home front, we'll be waiting for you.

Until then, I'll be sitting here on the south coast of CA, waiting to fall into the Pacific.

I was considering heading up a posse, myself...whew, was I worried!:o Good to hear from you, MsVicki! Keep us posted.

Glad to see you're ok! And you're really amazing for letting everybody stay at your place -- I know that had to be stressful. Are you still on vacation from school?

Funny stories, hm? Uhh, my mom's a principal at a school in southern Mississippi. Monday was the students' first day back to school. So far everything went ok except for the poor girl who found the flood-killed rat in her locker...

That's disturbing Red Haired, and smelly. We asked for FUNNY!

We asked for FUNNY!

How about a little local Texas humor for our fellow Texan? For those that don't know Aggies are students of Texas A&M.

Did you hear there aren't any cold drinks at College Station any more? They lost their recipe for ice.

How many Aggies does it take to make chocolate chip cookies? 100 - one to stir and 99 to peel the M&M's.

Did you hear about the Texas themed quarter design submitted by an Aggie? The rejection letter stated "This design was turned down, because it will not work in a vending machine. But thank you for submitting your design of two dimes and a nickel wrapped in Duct tape."