Standing 8 Count

Like a weary boxer knocked off of his feet, this region has gotten on all fours and is pulling on the ropes to stand and fight again. Mother nature is smiling again and the blue sky is in stark contrast to Katrina's fury only a few days ago.

The people of Covington and surrounding towns are working together. Legions of linemen, tree men, utility companies, relief workers, and others are making huge strides in only a few days. The roads are cleared and debris is being stacked. The superlatives do not come close to describing the scale and scope of the destruction. The human impact is also impressive. Like our forefathers, we spend more of our time trying to figure out how to get the daily necessities satisfied. Things like washing clothes, bathing, brushing your teeth, drinking a coke, eating a sandwich, sleeping, and getting gas for your car, become something you have to think about.

I think running has prepared me for this stress. A lot of it is physical. The running relieves tension and gives me time to think. This whole event interests me. I am at the same time a participant and an observer. Being an observer is a way to distance one's self from what may be too difficult to bear. I know this is an event of historic proportion and I want to give it the effort such an event deserves.

I have been answering emails and trying to connect families.

There is laughter here too. I was talking to a man in the River Forest subdivision in Covington. He showed me how several large trees fell sparing his mailbox. It was a miracle. Then the day after the hurricane, someone backed over it and snapped the pole.

Marty and I were standing by a downed electrical pole looking at the transformer. As we stood there a police car pulled up. I looked at the officer and said in a dry manner, "Here's the reason we don't have any lights, this pole fell down." He laughed. There are of course thousands of broken poles.

Well, back to the emails.

There will certainly be more to come. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Until the next time
John Strain

Not Knowing

Communication continues to be sporadic. Thursday morning I made a long distance call and connected to the Internet via dial-up. I was thinking I had it made, but by midmorning, phone call attempts only yielded busy signals.

My Cingular phone is still useless in this area, while Verizon is working. I was amazed to see the responses on my last few posts and felt a great sense of responsibility to get information to people desperate to know about their family members and/or property.

I answered e-mails for two hours and had many more needing responses. When I got kicked off-line I had no way of continuing and it was frustrating. Not knowing is the order of the day.

A theme in the e-mails was, “The news only talks about New Orleans, do you know anything about Mandeville, Covington, Madisonville, or Slidell?”

If you have a loved one on the Northshore and have not been able to contact them, I want to ease your concern. Although our wind damage was extensive, most people rode out the storm just fine.

Katrina hit us with north wind, because we were west of the eye. My understanding is the winds in Covington were somewhere around 105 mph. Trees obviously fell mostly north to south. At first, I thought dodging Katrina meant we were OK, but the last few days has shown me the scope of her destruction.

The magnitude is beyond comprehension even if you drive around and see it for yourself. So many trees are down and the ones standing are heavily damaged. It will take a long time to clean up. When the trees fell, they took down power lines and snapped electric poles like toothpicks. Uprooted trees sometimes pulled up water and sewer pipes. The infrastructure suffered immense damage.

The worst flooding on the Northshore was around Lake Pontchartrain. The water came up to Monroe Street in Mandeville, which is four blocks from the Lakefront. I have heard some homes were completely destroyed there, but I have not been there and do not know the specifics. The damage runs from Baton Rouge to Panama City, Florida and inland from those points. Yesterday, we drove to Brookhaven, MS to get some generators and trees were snapped along I-55 that far north.

If you live in St. Tammany Parish, you most likely have trees down in your yard. The chances are 50/50 one of them is on your house. It is that way for other communities. Abita Springs, Sun, Bogalusa, Bush, Franklinton, and Folsom all experienced a similar fate. Some fared better than others, but we are talking property damage and downed trees, not loss of life.

I have been living like a nomad. I carry everything with me. A large plastic Target bag holds my nonperishable food, my rolling ice chest holds drinks and some remnants from our refrigerator. When I left the house, I grabbed some smoked sausage, cheese, orange juice, a container of blue berries, and a bag of carrots. I have a half a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter and all of this makes for some fine meals.

I first learned to shave without a mirror, now I am doing it in the dark. I can’t see that well anyway so the shave by feel method was an easy adaptation.

I also carry my bag of clothes, camera bag, and laptop backpack. This has been necessary because I have not known where I would sleep, eat, or bathe. I spent Sunday and Monday nights at the hospital. Tuesday - Thursday, I stayed with my friend Marty.

I have thought of this as an adventure instead of a series of inconveniences. I have been working every day at the hospital. Once the patients were discharged, there was a lot of paperwork to complete. Yesterday, the owners told us they want to reopen the facility next week. They are having large generators brought in and large fuel tanks to feed them. We will be able to operate normally and have AC. With the destruction of the New Orleans hospitals, there is a need for hospital beds.

I guess the Tupelo Marathon is out. Gas is in short supply. Those who evacuated are stressing the towns to the north. It will take a while to get steady supply lines again. The things we take for granted, like gas, ice, and food are easily interrupted. I had no idea how fragile this was. Maybe I will run the marathon here in Covington. When I ran the Boston Marathon this year, servicemen in Iraq ran at the same time to be a part of it.

Barbara is coming back from Baton Rouge today. I have a surprise for her - a 5000 watt generator. Marty’s brother Tim works with someone who went to North Carolina to pickup a load of generators to sell. It is normally $600, but we each got one for the low price of $1,000. Home Depot sells them for that price too, I am not sure how that isn’t price gouging, but it will make the next month without power more tolerable. I can hook up my little window unit AC, lights, refrigerator, and TV (after I fix the satellite dish). It will also run the washer and dryer with a little plugging and unplugging.

I had planned to live in Baton Rouge with John if there would be a delay in my work, but since I will only be out a day or two the generator seemed the wise move. It would be brutal dealing with this heat for that length of time.

My next order of business is to get a chani saw to begin cleaning up my yard and help my neighbors if they need it. The daily challenge is getting ice and gasoline. The gas lines reminded me of the 70’s, but like the 70’s, most people accept it.

Last night in Hammond a jovial man directed traffic to the gas pumps. He would yell to another worker near the pumps, “I’ve got one here that fills on the left.” The other guy would yell back where the driver was to go. As we waited our turn, Marty said to the orange vested gas man, “You must be the most popular man in town.” Through a sly smile, the man said, “Unless you try to cut in line. There are at least two people in town who don’t think highly of me.” Most people get it and wait their turn, but a few think their needs out weigh the need to be a good citizen.

The reports I am hearing about lawlessness in New Orleans sicken me and embarrass me. Frankly, I am not surprised by the behavior, but I won’t get into that now. I need more time to mull this situation before I formulate my views. I am not there. Here on the Northshore my experience has been people helping each other. Marty’s wife Cindy was going to the Red Cross distribution site to get staples for some elderly folks. They are passing out MRE’s, 6 packs of water, and ice. Many streets were cleared by residents with chain saws, tractors, and elbow grease. The mood is friendly almost like the Christmas season. Even the air smells like Christmas trees.

Helicopters frequently fly overhead, convoys of bucket trucks and workers arrive daily. Shopping center parking lots are filled with work trucks. Tent cities are going to be built for the homeless.

I remember the movie Wizard of Oz. When the tornado swept house finally touched down in munchkin land, Dorothy and Toto emerged into a place that at first seemed uninhabited. Then the good witch appeared. Then slowly and steadily, the munchkins came out. Before you knew it they were singing, dancing, and treating Dorothy and Toto like celebrities. Katrina was like that. When the winds died down and we ventured out, my area was a sight out of a disaster movie. Each day brings more help. It feels very good to know so many are coming to help and so many are praying and so many have us in their thoughts. I know what it is like to observe a disaster from a distance. I did not think my little donation or comment on a blog was much in the way of help. I can tell you for a fact, that on this side of a disaster, those thoughts and prayers mean a great deal.

If you have questions about specific locations or people, I will do my best to get specifics for you. E-mail me and I will answer you when I can.

I hope to post some photos later today.

We are hanging in here. Spirits are good.

Until the next time
John Strain

Phones are working now in a limited fashion. Now that I have Internet access, I will be able to bring you up to date with the happenings here from my vantage point. The following is a diary through Tuesday. I need to write about yesterday still.

I am overwhelmed by the comments. I have not read them all, but I know some of you asked questions about people and places. I will do what I can to obtain that information for you and post it here.

John Strain

Cut Off

Monday, August 29, 2005 7:00 PM

Katrina finally cut off all ties with the outside world. Although I have generator power, the phones no longer do long distance. No cell phones at all. I can make local calls and that is it.

I am sure folks are worried about me and it is frustrating not to be able to get word to them I am fine.

I don’t know when I will get to post this, but here is what happened the for the rest of Katrina’s visit.

I continued to watch the storm. It was fascinating and addicting. The building had an inset doorway where we could open the door, but be out of the wind. We watched pine trees snap and the air smelled like a Christmas tree farm pungent with pine. An adjacent building slowly yielded all of its siding to Katrina as homage. The intensity continued to increase. Occasional gusts gave short bursts of very powerful wind to overwhelm trees, road signs, and rooftops.

At one point, we feared the wind would cave in the front lobby. It is made of metal frames with large windows. The wind gusts were causing a visible movement and sounds of metal creaking was a bad omen. The maintenance crew fashioned a brace with some two by fours which took care of the problem.

Good news trickled in. The hurricane weakened slightly to a category four storm. Then she turned ever so slightly to the east and the feared direct hit became a near miss. The passed to our east and that meant we were on the weak side of the storm. We felt lucky and we felt concern for the poor devils taking Katrina’s full impact.

At noon or so, things were tapering off to the point, I rode with my friend Marty to do a recon mission to check out our houses. The damage was wide spread and severe. Roads were covered with green leaves and entire trees. Rows of trees were bent in one direction as though a giant hand reached down and reformed them.

Signs were down, traffic lights were broken and lying in intersections, trees sprawled across houses. Things looked blown up. A gas station over hang fell over, a live oak tree was uprooted. The damage was extensive and wide spread.

We had to turn around several times and try alternate routes because of tree covered roads. Eventually, we were a block from my house so we parked and walked. I have a large tree in the back that fell, but it fell in such a way, only the top corner of my shed was damaged. This is a huge water oak tree and it looks even bigger lying on the ground. The house was fine, no damage, broken windows, or anything else (from a quick assessment).

Trees were down all over the neighborhood. Trees that did not fall were stripped of their foliage. I looked across the street into what seemed to be too much light. Then I realized that the trees left standing had no leaves. Things are different indeed.

I took some perishables from the refrigerator and packed another change of clothes. After getting back to the truck, we set out to see how Marty fared. Unfortunately, we could not get to his house. He has large pines around his home and the fear of course is one or more hit the house. A policeman stopped us and made us go back.

It is going to take a long time to get things back to “normal.” Another coworker made it to her house and reported even more devastation. More trees and many of them are on houses. A large oak tree next to her house was uprooted and is leaning against it. The roof damage it caused opened it up to the elements and she has water running down her walls and into her downstairs kitchen.

Reality is beginning to sink in. I made a stellar financial move this year. I wanted to save on my homeowners insurance so I increased my deductible to $1,000. Very shrewd. Now that I need to make a claim, I am responsible for a grand instead of just $500. That’s life.

You all probably know a lot more about the damage than I do. Without phones and electricity, information is spotty. We do have a TV around here and the local station has been on. I need to go check out the aftermath.

Katrina is another chapter in my book now, but she churns on north, no doubt making the lives of millions of people interesting.

I am thankful to be safe and to have my family safe. This has been an adventure, now I have to pay for the thrill. Does anyone have a chain saw I can borrow?

Thanks once again to everyone for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. In my book, they changed the course of my destruction and made a lady named Katrina take one step to the right.

Until the next time
John Strain

Tuesday, August 30, 2005 11:00 AM
Man that floor is hard. I woke up in the middle of the night several times with a bad pain in my shoulder and neck. As uncomfortable as it was, I thought of the folks sleeping on rooftops and my pain did not seem so bad.

Before I went to be, the Mayor of New Orleans came on television and recited a litany of damages to the city. It appears the I-10 twin spans from Slidell to New Orleans east was destroyed – it is completely gone. The Causeway has shifted and traffic is limited to essential emergency vehicles. It may be closed. Water in the city is still rising and they do not know why for sure. The levees are breached in several spots making it impossible to pump water out of the city.

Many bodies are floating in the water and they are being ignored for now as rescue workers are turning their attention to rescuing people who are still alive. They suspect houses, now under water contain the bodies of those who were trapped in their attics. When the water rises, people go into their attic. If they do not have an ax to break out and the water continues to rise, they drown.

An oil tanker was beached and is leaking. The flood water is tainted with sewage and chemicals. The roads are impassable even if the flood waters were to recede. New Orleans will never be the same and it will be months before anyone can return. The entire electric grid will need to be rebuilt. The water and sewers are destroyed. New Orleans is a city without infrastructure.

In Covington, thousands of trees are down. Roads are being cleared. Power is out and water is off. Many homes are damaged or destroyed. To our east where the eye traveled, Slidell is even more decimated.

Jim the security guard went to check on his house in Slidell. He came back this morning and said he could only get to within half a mile to it in his truck. He waded chest deep water and crawled through trees to get the rest of the way. His house was smashed under the weight of four huge pine trees. It will be a total loss. Jim was on his way to Houston to stay with family. He looked dazed.

Jan’s new home met a similar fate and sustained tree damage. Susan’s house has a tree on it.

I thought Katrina side stepped us at the last minute. That may be, but she slapped the hell out of us with her left hand as she passed by.

I awoke at 5:00 am to go on my 4 mile run. This is taper week for the Tupelo Marathon. It is important to keep your life as normal as you can. Not running would be far worse to me. Sometimes people go into panic mode and let their routine completely slide. Running is one thing to confirm to my mind and body that life is still sort of normal. I thought about that as I watched a beautiful sunrise. The brilliant blue sky, the morning colors, and the cool air were in sharp contrast to yesterday’s weather with Katrina.

I ran on a bed of pine needles and branches. The streets had been semi-cleared. During the night, crews drug trees or cut them up to open one lane of traffic. The smell of pine was strong. Trees were broken off everywhere and usual sights looked starkly different.

I sensed a difference in moods. Patience was being strained as folks were being pulled between their responsibilities at the hospital and wanting to see about their homes and families. We are still without communication and now, local calls don’t even work.

I was fortunate, very fortunate, but I really did not worry about my house or things. My relationships and memories are what I most cherish. A hurricane may kill me, but it could never destroy those important things. Material goods can be replaced or lived without altogether.

I walked through a neighborhood across from the hospital with my camera. I spoke to some of the residents and we compared notes about the storm. We are all amazed at the shear power of it all. We all have the same concerns and that makes a bond. It is too bad we only seem to cooperate and help each other in tragedy and not at other times.

We all have a lot of work ahead of us; there are homes to repair, trees to haul away, and other unseen obstacles to endure. I do not like to think of being a survivor, that sounds to passive. I will be an over comer. This is just another day. I will take it as it comes and do the best I can. When I get tired I will rest, when I get hungry I will eat, and when I get thirsty I will drink. Isn’t that what we do every other day?

Until the next time
John Strain

News from Covington

Daybreak

The winds of Katrina are picking up little by little. There is a definite roar and with the morning light we can watch the rain shoot across the parking lot like a water canon. It is interesting how the wind shifts. It seems to be coming from all directions. There is a constant wind then gusts of varying intensity rise and fall.

A leak has sprung in my office, but this happens anytime it rains hard. I removed a ceiling tile and put a tub where my printer previously sat. A steady drip, drip, drip is off to my right.

The wind is really picking up now and I hear the roof above me wobble. The sound is like a waterfall or rushing river. It is a fine noise. It is a powerful noise. It is a noise that reminds me how small I am and how big God is.

I want to thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and comments. I feel honored to be able to get my thoughts out and to have people want to read them. It does appear we will not get the worst of it. The eye should just miss us. In addition, the wind speed is down just enough I do not fear as much for my house getting major structural damage. Trees are still a concern, but whatever happens here in Covington will be nothing compared to what New Orleans and the southern parishes will receive.

That's the update

Until the next time
John Strain