Well, Katrina should be here...

Gordon · August 29, 2005, 03:27:06 PM

Around 1-ish....Think she would care for an ABT?

She has already torn the roof( not off, just torn it) of the Super Dome in New Orleans. and flooded the coastal highways....

She is predicted to be a category 1 or 2 when she reaches us...The wind is already gusting, and the rain band have started.

Got both bathtubs full of water.

I am just a couple of miles south of Jackson Ms.

I'll let you know if I make it..

Gordo

What a piece of work is man!

GrillinFool · August 30, 2005, 12:20:59 AM

Hang tough Gordon! Best of luck!

SMOKEHOUSE ROB · August 30, 2005, 12:36:05 AM

good luck and be safe, make sure your bradley is tied down,

nsxbill · August 30, 2005, 12:46:13 AM

The way it looks on the news...better tie you and the family down!

Be safe!

Bill

There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.

Canadian_Smoke · August 30, 2005, 02:02:01 PM

Gordon - I spent the better part of last night watching the terrible destruction that Katrina left in her wake on TV. I sure hope that you and your family and friends made out OK.

Scott

Carpe Diem does NOT mean catch of the day

Oldman · August 30, 2005, 11:31:20 PM

I saw a newscast this morning that just tore the heart out of me. The newswoman asked this man walking with two children if he was alright. He looked totally out of it. Dazed. He said the water took my house. I was up on the roof with my wife. This big wave comes and my wife said you cannot hold on to all of us. Take care of our kids and grandkids. He said I tried to but couldn't. I'm now looking for my wife's body.

Olds

Gordon · August 31, 2005, 07:34:51 AM

power came back on tonight around 10. I lost some shingles on the front of the house, and part of the fence. Nothing compared to the gulf coast. We saw 80 mph gusts here, 150 miles north of the coast. I suppose it was about 6 inches of rain from noon until 10.

Power went off about 2:45pm on Monday. We were sent home from federal jobs at 11:30am. Entergy serves about 400+ thousand customers in this area, and 300+ thousand of them are without power. Sitting in the dark listening to 80mph winds howl through your roof can be unnerving, but so much less so than a 35+ storm surge, that I hesitate to mention it.

Our neighborhood is rather new, so our cables are underground. I work with a woman who's husband is over the Byram substation, so I knew he would be working hard to get the power back on. They requested we go back to work the next day, but there were few roads passable. I got to work at 1145, and I was the 4th person there. They closed the office again, and we will go back tomorrow(today) at 10. Most of the state is without power right now. The trees missed the main lines going to my area, and that coupled with the underground lines got us up rather quickly. There are very, very, few places to get groceries, or gas, or batteries, or ice, or just about anything.

The rural power company, who's name escapes me, has been completely destroyed. No energy producing facility, no transmitting capabilities, no wires, transformers, poles, etc. They will have to rebuild the whole system from nothing. This means that at best, those rural people will be without power for 3 weeks, at worst, and more probable, as much as 3 months. It will be 94 to 96 degrees tomorrow, and more of the same during that time period. It does not really cool down here at night, and there was absolutely no breeze this afternoon. It was an oven, and will continue that way until mid november. I have seen 85 on Thanksgiving. There is little or no relief in sight for those on the coast.

There is absolutely nothing for many to go back for. If you have not seen the footage, there is nothing but the slab foundations left of almost every house within a mile or so of the coast for many miles in either direction. From New Orleans, to Pascagoula. Nothing is left. So when they return, there is not even a hollow structure for them to shelter in, or the means to build one. Retail was not spared in this absolute destruction.

There will be no utilities there for months. Water, electricity, phone, cell phone, are all gone for months. Those poor folks will have to turn around and try and make a life somewhere else with nothing to start from. No job, no house to sell there in order to buy one here, no well-known community to rely on, their church family scattered on 135+ mph winds. There will be no electricity within 60 to 90 miles, so they cannot simply wait nearby. The largest near-by city, New Orleans, will be uninhabitable for months as well. People there are walking through raw sewage, in search of something to eat or drink.

Where do I go, Lord?

Gordo

What a piece of work is man!

manxman · August 31, 2005, 09:40:26 AM

Oldman:

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I saw a newscast this morning that just tore the heart out of me. The newswoman asked this man walking with two children if he was alright. He looked totally out of it. Dazed. He said the water took my house. I was up on the roof with my wife. This big wave comes and my wife said you cannot hold on to all of us. Take care of our kids and grandkids. He said I tried to but couldn't. I'm now looking for my wife's body.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

That footage was shown on this side of the pond as well..... dreadful!

Manxman.

Chez Bubba · September 01, 2005, 01:59:33 AM

Gordon,

Please assure your compatriots that the rest of America is feeling their pain & trying to help however they can. We ALL will get through this TOGETHER. My printing plant is currently gathering employeee donations for the Red Cross in an effort to help. Millions of others are doing the same.

I know smoking is probably very low on your to-do-list right now, but rest assured, it will be #1 priority in the future. Since you're in the midst of this, can you think of any creative ways we, as a forum, can especially help the cause? I would be happy to spearhead that plan.

God Bless,

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

Gordon · September 02, 2005, 12:52:21 AM

Well Chez, I have to still work (gotta love federal work), but I left 5 chickens smoking this morning. People have to eat, but most don't have a way to cook a whole chicken. I gave three to a church member who has 15 people in her 4 person house. She was appreciative. I gave one of my coolers full of iced water, sodas and juice to another church member family who did not have anything cold to drink on our 95+ days. I am not storing up any treasures here doing all of this, but it does help...

Thanks for all of your prayers and donations, it will be put to good work.

Gordon

What a piece of work is man!