Katrina was tough, but Rita is tougher for me on a personal level.
Mainly because we’ve all been shown in the last few weeks how bad it can be.
But also because it’s hard to see the people of Houston, still my hometown in so many ways, who have come together to support and minister to Katrina evacuees now having to flee themselves.
…And because my brother and his spouse are stuck in Houston, after making a vain attempt to get out. They made it as far as the outskirts of town before the gas started running out, so they turned back. And her father died yesterday after a long illness. So I imagine there will be floods of emotion to match the deluge that will beat against their windows and rock their garage apartment.
…Because I have no idea if my stepmother is safely in San Antonio or not, but that’s where she was headed when I talked to her this morning. A few of her beloved mementos of Dad were the first to get packed into the car, but what if the things I love and treasure but haven’t had a chance to claim yet aren’t among them?
…Because my husband and I had our first kiss underneath the Sallyport at Rice University, and we had our wedding reception at the faculty club there, and we drove, biked and walked the boulevards bordering the campus thousands of times, and the live oaks there were so thick and full that they formed a green tunnel over the wide streets, and we just don’t know what is going to become of that landscape, because Tropical Storm Allison devastated parts of the city four years ago, and that was a Seattle spit-drizzle compared to this.
…And because last fall we went to Hermann Park, and we walked down a curved sidewalk beside a duck pond near the zoo, and we found the bench that we were looking for, and of course, it was the only one with people on it. And while I waited some distance away, R asked them if they wouldn’t mind moving so that I could sit on the bench that is my father’s only permanent memorial. We took panoramic pictures of a view that might well be radically changed this time next week. And I think now that I didn’t sit there nearly long enough.
All shall be well, and all shall be well,
and all manner of thing shall be well.
I know this.
But it does feel like watching a car accident in slow motion.
15 Responses to “on my mind tonight…”
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“Like watching a car accident in slow motion.”
I wish I could express myself as poetically as you do. Maybe I could do better if I weren’t feeling so anxious. Thanks for this lovely post about Houston–which is seldom the subject of nostalgia and sentiment.
The good news this morning is that Houston should be on the weak side of the storm. Like your brother and wife, we couldn’t get out–but didn’t try because traffic reports made us decide we couldn’t put my post-c section neice, her week old baby and my husband’s 90 year old father in that potentially treacherous situation. We’re well prepared and not in a flood zone.
My sentiments exactly. I feel some of the same feelings that I had watching my mother die. Helpless, knowing it going to happen but not really knowing that it will be like after it is over. I know that there will be a tremedous loss involved. It also reminds me of the poignancy of being removed from ground, landmarks, fragrances(like the live oaks in the fall humidity) and those intangibles that are part of our consciousness of the place where we grow up. I keep asking, why have I not made it a priority to get back there this past year. The last time I was there for just two days was on the way to a conference in New Orleans. Ironic.
Oh RM, I wish I could make it better for you.
G-mom, I told R last night after you called, you can take the girl out of Houston, but you can’t take Houston out of the girl.
I’m right there with you. Hermann Park, Sunset Blvd., the zoo. Rice University.
You and your family are in my prayers.
Fingers crossed.
prayers and love
thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. At my tiredest moments it is HARD not to let the anti women priest opinions get to me, so seeing your comment made me curl up in laughter
PastorG tells me that my “woo-woo” spiritual godmother/friend has been “talking to the hurricane, telling her to weaken.” Don’t know if that’s working, but she’s a cat-3 now and there was much rejoicing.
You know, I was tempted to post a “You never know,” but I figured it wasn’t supportive enough. (And since I don’t pray, I couldn’t think of what else to say except “That sucks,” which didn’t seem right either)
Hope it continues to weaken.
I find that “that sucks” fits any number of situations. In fact, chirpy words of encouragement can be downright annoying. (Not that I can see you ever chirping)
And hope is always a good sentiment.
It’s still like watching a car accident in slow-mo, but it’s not likely to be quite the multi-car pileup we feared. For Houston, anyway.
And that bus accident was just sad.
RM,
What a roller coaster is is to be so far from those we love and so powerless when “escape” doesn’t happen. My cousin in Lafayette and my cousins and last surviving great aunt in Jasper County are all right in the path now…and of course they didn’t evacuate….they are tough old East Texas Baptists after all. Aunt Addie lives in the home my mother’s mother was born in…though it has been massively renovated and improved over the years…It is surrounded by hundreds of pine trees. I really care about the people most of all, but the little boy part of me that used to chase chickens around the outside of that house and crawl underneath it to find the eggs the chickens would lay there to avoid them being taken desperately wants it to survive too.
And I heartily endorse the idea that, for the most part, September 2005 SUCKS!
Thanks for this post!
We have been very lucky so far. It does look like the storm weakened and it moved to the East. All we have had so far is strong winds, and a tiny bit of drizzle, although this storm isn’t officially here yet.
Alas, we feel VERY lucky. I do hope that things are alright for our neighbors to the East.
As of now though, I think that Houston may have dodged something potentially horrible. Although I certainly don’t want to speak too soon!! *knocks on the tree right by our apartment that hopefully will withstand the winds Rita may throw at her*
All is well. Traffic out of town *did* suck (went to a friend’s farm in the country - took 6 hours to go about 60 miles, not bad, considering.) Woke up yesterday morning, watched the news, and realized things weren’t bad in Houston at all. So we (7 adults, 7 children, 6 dogs, and a hamster) loaded up the cars and caravanned through the back roads of Texas, getting back on I10 near Katy. It took about 70 minutes. It’s good to be back home.
Damage in our area is not much more than a really bad thunderstorm - lots of leaves/branches on the roads, stoplights out, etc. The really weird thing is to see all of the stores, restaurants, gas stations, etc. that are closed. I went out to get some ice cream (to go on top of brownies we had made for the hurricane!) and drove around town a bit. Random restaurants were open - a sushi bar/Japanese steakhouse, a german restuarant, a fast-food Mexican place - and they were all packed. There was one gas station with gas, and police were stationed all around it. People lined up to get gas and had turned off their engines and were just standing by there cars. I wonder if they were rationing the gas or if the pumps weren’t going to run until later?
Things look pretty bad for Lake Charles, LA and a few areas in Texas along the LA border, but maybe our “woo-woo” friend’s little talk did the trick.
School doesn’t open again until Wednesday, which is smart since staff and students will be trickling in and there is a food and gas shortage in the city. All in all, Houston and Texas tried their best to learn the lessons from Katrina and prevent the loss of life and the inhumane condiditons that existed after that storm. My mom said everyone is trying to “be their smartest.” The only glitch in the plan was the running-out-of-gas-while-evacuating, and I haven’t heard any analysis of how to prevent that in the future. I guess 2.7 million people evacuating just causes more problems than half a million people leaving.
Well. Now I have a few days to regroup before going back to school. I was feeling very behind on paperwork and lesson planning and taking care of personal stuff, so I will take these unexpected days off and use them for good.