Hurricane Rita

I was at Walmart today working up a price comparison sheet when I noticed that every cart that passed me by contained some assortment of water bottles. I had seen the news last night after church and knew there was a hurricane near Florida, but hadn't given it much thought. I called Gene to find out what was going on, and he told me they were predicting that Rita would hit Galveston and that they were already doing a voluntary evacuation of the island. We discussed our plans and I picked up a few things then, such as D batteries and propane. I didn't have my grocery list with me, as my plan had been to go shopping tomorrow. I noticed that things were a bit busier at Walmart than normal, but the magnitude of what was already happening here was to hit me later.

I had decided to get gas at Walmart before heading home so that I would have a full tank. I was quited surprised to find a line at every pump; I've never seen this happen at these pumps. This was still just a taste of things to come.

After returning home, I checked out the news and saw this path projection, which wasn't very encouraging. Lindsay and I ate quickly and then headed to Sam's. We arrived there about 8, thinking that Sam's would be pretty empty, as it usually is at that time of night. We couldn't have been more wrong! When we walked in, they had moved flats of water bottles near the entrance and the flats were dwindling fast. Everyone had cases of water, snack food, toilet paper, paper towels, plates and cups. We were amazed at how much their supply was reduced from the usual amount. After getting our water, etc., we headed to the checkout lines. That was even more amazing! They had about 8-10 lines open, and each one had about 10 people in it. Usually you consider it busy if you have 2 or 3 people in front of you. The woman who checked us out said that they were already out of D batteries, and that Conroe(a small town a good deal north of us) was already running out of bottled water. She also told me that all of their managers were running registers because they hadn't expected the rush of people.

We went to Walmart next to get groceries, a different one than I had been at earlier in the day. The first thing we did was head to the water aisle. I wanted to get gallon jugs of water to put into my freezer. If you allow them to freeze solid, it helps preserve your food for a longer amount of time. Then as it thaws, you can use it for drinking and cooking. When we got to the bottled water, there was hardly anything there. As we shopped, we saw many things were very depleted, and the canned goods aisle looked like it had been looted. What was amazing to me was the amount of junk food people were buying, chips and crackers and other snacks. They didn't seem to know how to think about providing for their families without power. Our plan is to cook up most of the food we have and put it in the freezer, moving it to an ice chest later if we have to. We can then easily warm it up on the Coleman stove at meal times. I would probably be tempted to do that more, except with Hannah and Rachel's food allergies, we can't. Hannah can't eat hardly any prepared foods, as they contain soy.

I am happy that people are taking the threat of the hurricane seriously. Too many times, people want to wait until they are sure where it's going before they get out of its way, then it's too late. Look at all the people of New Orleans to see the results of this thinking. I met people who left New Orleans on the Sunday morning before it hit, and it still took them 20 hours to get here. It's normally only a 5-6 hour drive. After going through Andrew in Baton Rouge, I take these things seriously. We were a good bit inland from where Andrew came ashore, but its devastation was felt by those in Baton Rouge and many towns north of there.

After getting home and relaxing a little while, I began to think of what the next week could be like and all I had to do to prepare. During Andrew, we spent the worst of the storm with some friends, as we had a mobile home back then too. I began remembering the drive home and what it felt like wondering if my home would still be standing. As I thought of that, I looked around, wondering if my home will be here next week, or will I be like all of those from New Orleans who are homeless. What would that feel like? Even if it doesn't happen and the hurricane goes somewhere else, there will still be those who lose their homes. Thinking of how I would feel can at least serve the purpose of making me more empathetic. We don't usually think about our homes being taken from us suddenly. We expect when we drive down the street, our homes will be just as we left them. Next time you drive down your street, try to imagine how you would feel and all that you would have to do if you came home to your house being destroyed. I think that we all too often don't want to think about such things because it makes us feel insecure. We see our mortality and the lack of control we have over things. We often pay lip service to the thought that all of our things belong to God. But do we really hold onto them that loosely? What things are really most valuable to you? What would you take in your van or car if you had escape an impending disaster? Our van has very limited space once you add our children and some clothes. I will have little room to pack much other than ourselves.

As you watch the track of the hurricane, think of all the people in its path and the very real decisions they are making. We will have to leave our pets here. I know to others they are just animals, but to little girls they are very special and are greatly loved. I know how hard it will be for them as we drive off and leave the animals here. They will all realize what could happen. I think of all the people in New Orleans who had to do the same thing. There are so many emotions and experiences that you go through when dealing with something such as this. The other day I met a woman who had been to the Convention Center in New Orleans(that is where things got really bad), and she was telling us how when it had started raining last week and she heard a helicopter at the same time, it sent her into a panic attack. The effects of Hurricane Katrina will take a very long time to pass.

Please keep us in your prayers as you go through this week.