Stir Crazy

So it is obvious by now that Rita chose to keep her appointment with us and unfortunately hit our hometowns head on. Despite the fact that it was only a category three when it actually hit us it still managed to do quite a bit of damage. It is hard to decide right now which was worse, waiting for the storm to hit or waiting to go home to see the damage for ourselves. Yesterday was filled with a constant networking of phone calls, everybody trying to find out what state Vidor and Bridge City/Orange are in. Most of our information is hearsay, from a friend of a friend who stayed or who works for the energy company. We are desperate for information. One of Dianne's cousins returned home yesterday because they were staying in Louisiana, where it is no safer than our own homes, and her assessment was that for the most part things looked mostly unscathed, though today we found out that Chris' cousin Derrick's house was hit by two falling trees. Derrick lives five houses down from Chris and me. We understand that flooding was not a factor, something that I am extremely thankful for because I know that our street is not that well equipped for flooding, a reality we faced the day of my rehearsal dinner when we had a flash flood that caused water to come up half way up my drive way at at least six or seven inches at the lowest point. My biggest fear is the trees. We have three huge pine trees in the backyard and one in the front yard. The last that we had heard our house was not damaged, but then that was also when Derricks house was in good shape too, so now we hardly know what to think. Dianne is still in the dark about her house in Bridge City, which is extremely close to Port Arthur.

Rumors have been swirling about the state of Vidor itself. The roof of Woods supermarkets is apparently gone, the Exxon station has been terribly battered, trees are scattered everywhere and of course, power lines are down all over. Chris' cousin Carrie only evacuated about 25-30 miles north of where we all live and she has come back to assess some of the damage. Her report includes the fact that Parkdale Mall in Beaumont has a very destroyed roof and many other buildings have been severely damaged. What is frustrating is the fact that these are all just rumors to us now. The news is hardly showing footage from our areas, all we have to go by are these rumors. Dianne just got off the phone with her cousin Debbie who told her that the new house Glenn and Dianne have been building has had two trees come through their front bay windows. They are extremely worried about the health care business that they run as well. Dianne said that she can't wait any longer and wants to go home and at least see what has to be dealt with. According to the state government we are not supposed to be attempting to go back home until at least Wednesday or Thursday, but then you try telling people that who have already been away from their homes for four or five days and want nothing more than to piece their lives back together.

We are very quickly going stir crazy here. It is very hard to concentrate on anything when you don't know where your home stands or your everyday life. Business are closed, school is cancelled and there is no power. The scariest part of the power situation is that they have been reporting that we may not have full power restored until November! It is crazy thinking that our lives might be suspended for so long. I suppose having this house in Austin to stay in has been a major blessing though it is not home and right now home is what we are all pining for.

Dianne has just told Glenn that she is going back to check on the house no matter what and they will probably be leaving in a few hours to check everything out and come back. Chris and I have to say because we can't all go since we took two cars to get here in the first place, and the uncertainty of regular gas supplies is a big issue here. Their plan is to go and then come back. I hope that what they find is not too devastating.

Of course, I hate the thought of sitting here while they go back. We have all been trying all forms of distraction. Last night Chris' cousins went out and bought Family Feud on DVD and we spent a few hours playing that game. We had a good time and we all needed the laughs. I think that I am going to drag Chris out into town today to get out of the house and away from CNN. It has become overwhelming. We all have head-aches and upset stomachs. It has been a depressing few days and we are just sick of waiting.

The news has been equally annoying at times, with footage of only large centers and rarely a shot or two of our towns. And with comments like, "those visiting in other parts of Texas are asked to wait before returning home" or "some say this area, which hasn't been hit with a strong hurricane since the 1950s, is due," it is just about enough to drive a person mad. Ya sure, I am here on a nice friendly visit to Austin having a grand ole' time! How ignorant! Or better yet, the "they're due" comment is just disgusting. That is like saying because New York hadn't had a terrorist attack in a while they were due! It is just disgusting, no one deserves to have their homes and their lives destroyed.

So, I don't want to wait anymore. I may even try to talk Dianne into letting me and Chris come with her to go back on this trip because I think that I will go crazy sitting here wondering and waiting. I have always been a doer and I don't think that I can just sit back and give in now. We will see what happens, but whatever happens I cannot be on the sidelines and helpless.