Animals
At the time I didn't post anything. By the time I finally had Internet access and the time to sit down and write there were dozens of blogs on Katrina and I didn't really feel I could contribute anything.
We were LUCKY, unfortunately many others were not.
We evacuated to Meridian which is in Central Mississippi for those of you unfamiliar with the state. My biggest complaint is that Mississippi Power choose to cut power before the Hurricane even hit, without informing their customers. If they had bothered to inform their customers that power all over Meridian was going OFF at a specific time we could have had our meals cooked, water gathered and our generators hooked up. As it was their customers naively believed that the power would be back on in a few minutes as nothing had happened as yet to cause a power outage.
My parents were able to hook their generator up the next day. They assumed the power would be on soon, so they were just using it to keep the food in the refrigerator & freezer from spoiling. We had no lights, no air conditioner, no computer, no TV, no stove, no phone and no HOT water and by this time the local radio stations had gone down so we had no news of the outside world, except when we got in my car and listened to XM Radio. Anything we ate had to be cooked on the grill outside or eaten uncooked. And thanks to an inconsiderate neighbor we were stuck inside the house with the windows closed, so it was like an oven. I have asthma which is triggered by smoke, my Mother is allergic to poison ivy and if anyone burns poison ivy and she smells the smoke her throat will close and she has to be rushed to the hospital for a shot. This neighbor insisted on burning debris that contained poison ivy and caused a lot of smoke keeping us cooped up inside. My parents didn't want to say anything to him because he is a friend of theirs.
As you can imagine we were anxious to know how our home fared so Hubby came down to see. He of course had no way to contact me or anyone else. Luckily our home fared well and he came back that night to tell me. By this time parts of Meridian had power. I will be forever grateful to my Aunt for inviting me to come over and take a bath (My parents didn't get power restored until much later). We left the next day for home.
Hubby hooked up the generator so we could run the refrigerator and ceiling fans. With the windows open it was comfortable. Jackson County sensibly enacted a burn ban, it's a pity Lauderdale County (where my parents live) didn't. We have well water so if we needed water Bo had to unhook the refrigerator and ceiling fans and hook up the well. Hot water had to be heated on the propane stove we had for camping. Restocking food was a problem as the grocery stores were out of nearly everything and very few deliveries were being made. Gas to run the generators was also scarce at first.
I was impressed with our local State Farm agent. They were open even though many of the agents had damage to their own homes. They attempted to make their customers comfortable while they waited to file claims, cool bottled water was being provided (this probably doesn't sound like much to most of you but at the time cool bottled water was a LUXURY). The agents were working hard to process claims in a timely manner, our claim was taken and we were told an adjuster would be out soon. We asked to be made a low priority as our home was livable (minor roof damage Hubby was able to patch until we could get it fixed) and we knew that many other customers did not have homes anymore. Eventually an adjuster came out. He had been flown in from San Diego and was living in a "State Farm" park in Mobile, Alabama as there was no where in Mississippi for them to stay. As all our damage was caused by WIND we had no problems with our claim.
For us life went back to normal fairly quickly once the power was restored. I will be forever impressed by the people that reached out to help and how the people of our community came together to help one another. Many other residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast are still feeling the effects of Katrina, please keep them in your thoughts.
- Is Obama Another "w"?
I am dismayed by Obama's endorsement of FISA. Sen. Russ Feingold condemned the bill on the ground that it "fails to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans at home" because "the government can still sweep up and keep the international communications...
- Thursday Thirteen ~ The August Edition
Thirteen Things about August After Julius's grandnephew Augustus defeated Marc Antony and Cleopatra, and became emperor of Rome, the Roman Senate decided that he too should have a month named after him. The month Sextillus (sex = six) was chosen...
- Powerless
It always brings a smile to my facewhen I see my equines sleeping in their dry lot. Horses and donkeys take many cat-naps during the day while standing up.It's only when they feel completely safe and secure that they allow themselvesthe pleasure...
- Mother's Day Mayhem
I hope that all of you, wherever you may be, had a wonderful Mother's Day.I would love to say that mine was uneventful...a day of much deserved rest.But....as luck would have it, that was not the case. Yesterday's weather was quite severe.We had...
- A Typical Day!
Well, after yesterday's harrowing experiences, I decided that today was a day to go to town and run some errands (ie: get a few hours away from the farm). So, I jumped out of bed at 5:30, showered and dressed, and headed to the barn as the sun was...
Animals
Alasandra's Observations on Katrina
At the time I didn't post anything. By the time I finally had Internet access and the time to sit down and write there were dozens of blogs on Katrina and I didn't really feel I could contribute anything.
We were LUCKY, unfortunately many others were not.
We evacuated to Meridian which is in Central Mississippi for those of you unfamiliar with the state. My biggest complaint is that Mississippi Power choose to cut power before the Hurricane even hit, without informing their customers. If they had bothered to inform their customers that power all over Meridian was going OFF at a specific time we could have had our meals cooked, water gathered and our generators hooked up. As it was their customers naively believed that the power would be back on in a few minutes as nothing had happened as yet to cause a power outage.
My parents were able to hook their generator up the next day. They assumed the power would be on soon, so they were just using it to keep the food in the refrigerator & freezer from spoiling. We had no lights, no air conditioner, no computer, no TV, no stove, no phone and no HOT water and by this time the local radio stations had gone down so we had no news of the outside world, except when we got in my car and listened to XM Radio. Anything we ate had to be cooked on the grill outside or eaten uncooked. And thanks to an inconsiderate neighbor we were stuck inside the house with the windows closed, so it was like an oven. I have asthma which is triggered by smoke, my Mother is allergic to poison ivy and if anyone burns poison ivy and she smells the smoke her throat will close and she has to be rushed to the hospital for a shot. This neighbor insisted on burning debris that contained poison ivy and caused a lot of smoke keeping us cooped up inside. My parents didn't want to say anything to him because he is a friend of theirs.
As you can imagine we were anxious to know how our home fared so Hubby came down to see. He of course had no way to contact me or anyone else. Luckily our home fared well and he came back that night to tell me. By this time parts of Meridian had power. I will be forever grateful to my Aunt for inviting me to come over and take a bath (My parents didn't get power restored until much later). We left the next day for home.
Hubby hooked up the generator so we could run the refrigerator and ceiling fans. With the windows open it was comfortable. Jackson County sensibly enacted a burn ban, it's a pity Lauderdale County (where my parents live) didn't. We have well water so if we needed water Bo had to unhook the refrigerator and ceiling fans and hook up the well. Hot water had to be heated on the propane stove we had for camping. Restocking food was a problem as the grocery stores were out of nearly everything and very few deliveries were being made. Gas to run the generators was also scarce at first.
I was impressed with our local State Farm agent. They were open even though many of the agents had damage to their own homes. They attempted to make their customers comfortable while they waited to file claims, cool bottled water was being provided (this probably doesn't sound like much to most of you but at the time cool bottled water was a LUXURY). The agents were working hard to process claims in a timely manner, our claim was taken and we were told an adjuster would be out soon. We asked to be made a low priority as our home was livable (minor roof damage Hubby was able to patch until we could get it fixed) and we knew that many other customers did not have homes anymore. Eventually an adjuster came out. He had been flown in from San Diego and was living in a "State Farm" park in Mobile, Alabama as there was no where in Mississippi for them to stay. As all our damage was caused by WIND we had no problems with our claim.
For us life went back to normal fairly quickly once the power was restored. I will be forever impressed by the people that reached out to help and how the people of our community came together to help one another. Many other residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast are still feeling the effects of Katrina, please keep them in your thoughts.
- Is Obama Another "w"?
I am dismayed by Obama's endorsement of FISA. Sen. Russ Feingold condemned the bill on the ground that it "fails to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans at home" because "the government can still sweep up and keep the international communications...
- Thursday Thirteen ~ The August Edition
Thirteen Things about August After Julius's grandnephew Augustus defeated Marc Antony and Cleopatra, and became emperor of Rome, the Roman Senate decided that he too should have a month named after him. The month Sextillus (sex = six) was chosen...
- Powerless
It always brings a smile to my facewhen I see my equines sleeping in their dry lot. Horses and donkeys take many cat-naps during the day while standing up.It's only when they feel completely safe and secure that they allow themselvesthe pleasure...
- Mother's Day Mayhem
I hope that all of you, wherever you may be, had a wonderful Mother's Day.I would love to say that mine was uneventful...a day of much deserved rest.But....as luck would have it, that was not the case. Yesterday's weather was quite severe.We had...
- A Typical Day!
Well, after yesterday's harrowing experiences, I decided that today was a day to go to town and run some errands (ie: get a few hours away from the farm). So, I jumped out of bed at 5:30, showered and dressed, and headed to the barn as the sun was...