Tag Archives: Hurricane Ike

Water

This morning I got back with the dog from running errands and went to water the plant, yes you heard it right, plant singular and there was no water. I called downstairs to see if it was a major issue and also called our water billing service and got no answer there either.

Finally I went downstairs and checked the guest restroom off the lobby. They had water so I used the facilities, waited 20 minutes in vain to talk with someone and came back upstairs to check again. Water!

Four years ago in Hurricane Ike our power came back on within 3-4 hours, probably because we were on City Hall’s grid and they needed to deal with the disaster. Others didn’t have power for at least a week or more.

But we had no water for a solid week AND had to fly out so sit at hospice as my mother was dying. There was no food, no refrigeration, no water. We had a hurricane kit, a stealth grill and refrigeration, but in order to flush the toilet my husband had to use a six-gallon container (53 lbs. each trip) down to the pool.

There was no bottled, potable water or food at any store. I think many ate tostitos and chips and maybe if they were lucky, bean dip all week.

Power is one thing, water is essential. And FEMA just made things worse, having staging areas in poor neighborhoods where people didn’t own a car, then telling them they couldn’t walk in for their snacks and two gallons of water. They actually made a natural disaster worse. See my posts on that!

It’s good to have water again. No the bill is not late. It’s due on the 1st and I’m paying online. Don’t use stamps anymore (oh, no Uncle Sam is going to tell me I’m single-handedly ruining the US Postal Service by emailing and paying our bills online!) Dee

p.s. With Hurricane Ike, my husband and dog went to sleep as the winds were picking up at 9:00 p.m. and they both slept soundly for ten hours. Once I thought we might be safe I ventured out to my computer by the windows and blogged it! Out of 150 lofts in our building only one was undamaged – ours. Someone was watching over me that night. d

Great Storm!

What happens when you wash your car? It rains. What happens when your 15th floor windows have just been cleaned on the outside on a 1X per year plan? Bingo.

We have 12 floor-to-ceiling windows and a view of Lake Michigan. Now I can’t see anything and it’s the 2nd or 3rd round of lightning and thunder. Dog and husband are asleep and safe, I just love watching storms.

Yes, they both went to sleep at nine and awoke at 7 a.m. while I braved Hurricane Ike alone. The Mayor told us to stay put and all the skyscrapers 1/4 mile away had their windows blown out. Ours was the only loft of 140 that was not damaged.

We were across from City Hall so must have had some special powers in the electrical department as our power was only off for several hours. We had no water for five days, and no food or water to drink.

I wanted to stay in the bedroom but as long as we had power, I wrote, I blogged, and watched the hurricane’s force. Know that as we took in the haggard refugees of Katrina (New Orleans), that city didn’t offer a finger, much less a hand in friendship over those dark days.

Many years ago I underwent a month-long culinary apprenticeship in Mendocino CA and one of the waiters wanted to sublet his cabin. No heat, a wood stove, broken windows, privy lock on the front door. He left a mattress, sheets and a blanket next to the wood stove.

I had windows all around and no coverings so when a big storm came up I sat up on the kitchen counter and watched it. Nothing like a good storm. Cheers, Dee