Hurricane Rita: A learning experience

It 'been a bit' since I last posted. Work and personal commitments have kept me busy.

For the first time in my life, I have to face a hurricane. This was a new experience for me, but like everything in life, you can learn from it.

Darla (my wife), Kristine (my daughter), Miss Ruby (86 years my mother in law), Olivia (Kristine 2 1 / 2 months ago Shishu) and I left Deer Park, Texas at 6:00 am on Thursday morning. It took six hours to get to the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy. We traveled side streets Beltway 8, the streets of the city, and finally to Katy, where we stopped for a bathroom break.

Traffic was bumper to bumper, trying to hold together three vehicles took the strategy and planning that we have learned to be teachers, coaches and journalists for years.

After that we headed toward Interstate 10 and found it to be packed (as we knew it would). We took to the roadways and, as my father would say, went to clubs. Brookshire and finally got to the eastbound 10, when it was changed to the west.

It is only for traveling on the opposite side of the road. All you could see was the back of signs.

We arrived in Colombo around 5:00 and headed north on U.S. 71. The traffic was good to Smithville, and we returned to bumper to bumper traffic almost Austin.

Finally got to Austin at 9:00 pm, checked into our hotel and collapsed on the bed.

After two days of cutting timber, boarding house, to pack as we could, and drive for 15 hours, we have never been so tired in our lives.

It 's amazing how adversity brings everyone together. Some of our neighbors were also boarding and tapping out. It 'was very gratifying to see we all help each other.

If someone needed something, we were there for them, and they were there for us.

Darla, Kristine, and Ruby were real soldiers. Carla and Darla and Miss Ruby has gone through the '60s and Miss Ruby Alicia crossed in the '80s. They knew what to do, but it was all new to me and Kristine.

Darla was the best. Was first. We got together to develop a plan and got it. I knew that the women of Texas were tough, and Darla showed what he could do in an emergency. I've always been happy to have married a girl from Texas. My father told me that her marriage was the best thing I ever did.

As parents, we tried our best to raise her daughter and she has shown how well we did. She was out there, cutting wood, tree branches to pull out and do whatever was necessary.

I said that this would be a story for her grandchildren. She smiled and continued to work. I think all the things we tried to teach her fruit. On the road, drove up to Austin without air conditioning to save gas. He did what he had to do to take care of his car, his dog, and everything was towed.

This was an experience. Learn for it, take care of what we need, and hopefully, even if they are in one piece.