Saturday, September 8, 2012

IN MEMORY OF HURRICANE IKE: MY WORST GARDEN EXPERIENCE

This week, four years ago, Houstonians throughout the city were nailing up windows with any odd scraps of wood they could scavenge. IKE was a huge hurricane aimed directly at Galveston and Houston. 

The school districts gave all parents and teachers a day off to prepare. 
After a whole day of boarding up my own windows, I made a quick drive to see what others had done. It was the only enjoyable part of Ike since the next day would bring nothing but furious winds and destruction.

We really hoped our signs would work.

Some people used tape. This one was a bit of a riddle. Perhaps they started out on the right side sober but finished the left a bit tipsy. Any other ideas? Perhaps a rush to finish? 

This one made me stop in my tracks. These are my neighbors, remember. LOL

And then there was this one. Mysteries stacked upon mysteries.

But my all time favorite was this one. What does this have to do with a hurricane?

And forget about mailing letters during a hurricane. Even the postal service battened down the hatches.
Yes, the postal service was taking this matter seriously. Here's what the doors to our local post office looked like the day before. And why?
Because Hurricane Ike was coming at us like a freight train!
More memories later this week.
David/:0)

7 comments:

  1. Well the one-piece irregular-shaped board across those windows really takes the cake!!! Poor things. Maybe that was the only board they had. Of course we do similar things here when it's cyclone season and one of those horrors are bearing down on us.

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  2. Ike was awful, I remember my family in Houston chose to stay because the Rita evacuation had been a bigger disaster than the hurricane.

    When we asked if we could come over and help clean up they said things were so tough without water and power that it would be better if we waited. When we finally saw the city it was still a mess.

    Will be interesting to see and hear your thoughts on going through it.

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  3. Some of the signs are pretty funny, though I know the storm was decidedly not! The cake sign might have been a joke in reference to the video game Portal (in which an evil computer keeps offering you cake, and then you realize that you are the main ingredient in said cake).

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  4. Ike was a monster for so many. I remember it well. Although we got nothing to compare to the devastation it made in the southern sates it did come through even Ohio with the most devastating winds we had seen here.I hope there is never another one like that one.

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  5. Love the walk down memory lane:) Crazy things hurricanes do. Right now we have a weather even hanging over us with the craziest weather. Up until Tuesday we are expected to have severe thunderstorms and flooding. It has not been a good several days for many people. Our atmosphere is saturated! and so is our ground. But I like not having to have had water the garden a lot this year.....but don't even get me started on all the pruning I have to do!

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  6. Interesting signs David. Glad to see some people still had some humour despite the threat of the hurricane and having to board windows.

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  7. The tape: maybe different ideas about the best pattern for protecting the windows . . . husband on one side, wife on the other.

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I always appreciate your comments & questions! Happy Gardening from David/ Tropical Texana