Showing posts with label Hurricane Ike musings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hurricane Ike musings. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
More on Houston after Ike, and Electrical Power
Here are some thoughts on what I've seen here in Houston.
It's very surreal and a little unnerving to see the changes in traffic here. Most of the traffic lights are not working, so you must stop at every light and do the "blinking red light" drill. As an non-resident, it means I have to concentrate very hard when there's not traffic around me, so that I don't run through a light that's not on! Some of the lights are twisted and not facing the wrong direction, so that is also weird.
Even more eerie is the power situation. Huge chunks of the Southwest part of the city are black at night. Driving along the street, everything is normal, and then you reach a stretch where the power is off. The houses are completely dark, and no street lights. It looks abandoned. I wonder: "where are all the people?" There are whole shopping centers with no stores open. Meyerland has a small group of shops with power generators, so the stores are open, including the only restaurant for a few miles. Just across the parking lot, Target is completely dark. Strange, and very unsettling. Life as we know it, and the familiar, is totally different, and out-of-sync. I can't help but think about what it all means when what you take for granted is turned upside-down and sideways.
The question of the day, every day, in Houston is: "Do you have power yet?" As of Tuesday night, there were 580,000 people in metropolitan Houston without electricity! And that's not all, because that is only the people served by the largest power utility company.
It's a cause for great joy when you get the news that your power is back on! Tracie's (my daughter) neighbor called the church Wednesday afternoon and left a message that hers was on. He lives across the street, but he was still without. It was Thursday evening before his power was restored. Tracie and I were very happy to go home and clean up the house that has been vacant for over a week! (Note: She stayed with friends and with Gary Long's family; he's Tracie's boss at Willow Meadows Baptist Church. I stayed at the Longs on Tuesday night.) That meant getting the trash ready for pick-up and cleaning the refrigerator to make ready to re-stock it, cleaning the bath tub, sinks, toilets, ... And, the air conditioning was back on! Yippee!
I'll post some pictures in another blog entry later today. That's another difference in what you see around town.
It's very surreal and a little unnerving to see the changes in traffic here. Most of the traffic lights are not working, so you must stop at every light and do the "blinking red light" drill. As an non-resident, it means I have to concentrate very hard when there's not traffic around me, so that I don't run through a light that's not on! Some of the lights are twisted and not facing the wrong direction, so that is also weird.
Even more eerie is the power situation. Huge chunks of the Southwest part of the city are black at night. Driving along the street, everything is normal, and then you reach a stretch where the power is off. The houses are completely dark, and no street lights. It looks abandoned. I wonder: "where are all the people?" There are whole shopping centers with no stores open. Meyerland has a small group of shops with power generators, so the stores are open, including the only restaurant for a few miles. Just across the parking lot, Target is completely dark. Strange, and very unsettling. Life as we know it, and the familiar, is totally different, and out-of-sync. I can't help but think about what it all means when what you take for granted is turned upside-down and sideways.
The question of the day, every day, in Houston is: "Do you have power yet?" As of Tuesday night, there were 580,000 people in metropolitan Houston without electricity! And that's not all, because that is only the people served by the largest power utility company.
It's a cause for great joy when you get the news that your power is back on! Tracie's (my daughter) neighbor called the church Wednesday afternoon and left a message that hers was on. He lives across the street, but he was still without. It was Thursday evening before his power was restored. Tracie and I were very happy to go home and clean up the house that has been vacant for over a week! (Note: She stayed with friends and with Gary Long's family; he's Tracie's boss at Willow Meadows Baptist Church. I stayed at the Longs on Tuesday night.) That meant getting the trash ready for pick-up and cleaning the refrigerator to make ready to re-stock it, cleaning the bath tub, sinks, toilets, ... And, the air conditioning was back on! Yippee!
I'll post some pictures in another blog entry later today. That's another difference in what you see around town.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Ministering to Others
Seeing the people affected by Hurricane Ike in Houston firsthand has made me think about my/our material possessions and what we can really do to help people in need.
How much "stuff" do we have? Do we try to protect our "stuff" when it might be lost? Most of the poor people in an apartment complex that I visited were very protective of their belongings. What is our pride and vanity for our possessions? Do we have too much, and does it affect our interactions with others? Are they getting in the way of our ministry and witness to others?
What about those who lost possessions in the hurricane: shelter, power, food, belongings, ... How do we help them?
I asked a bunch of people today: "Do you need anything?" Most all of them said, "No." But a few then admitted they needed gasoline for their generator or ice for their food.
Would you be too proud to take help if it was offered? Do we think that we can get by without help from other people? Who would help you if you were a hurricane victim without power? Do you have neighbors or church friends to help? Would you accept help from strangers or some church nearby?
Who would you help if you could?
I met a homeless man yesterday on the north side of Houston. He's lived in his pickup for a year with his 2 dogs after he lost his job. He doesn't have an ice cooler and lives on a - for now - dead-end road in an undeveloped area just off the Hardy Toll road. We talked for a few minutes, and I really didn't know what to say to him. And I didn't know how to help him either, but I gave him some food from my car and offered him a Bible. He said "No, I have one in the truck." I said "God bless you," and drove off, but he haunts me now. What more should I have done? Anything?
How much "stuff" do we have? Do we try to protect our "stuff" when it might be lost? Most of the poor people in an apartment complex that I visited were very protective of their belongings. What is our pride and vanity for our possessions? Do we have too much, and does it affect our interactions with others? Are they getting in the way of our ministry and witness to others?
What about those who lost possessions in the hurricane: shelter, power, food, belongings, ... How do we help them?
I asked a bunch of people today: "Do you need anything?" Most all of them said, "No." But a few then admitted they needed gasoline for their generator or ice for their food.
Would you be too proud to take help if it was offered? Do we think that we can get by without help from other people? Who would help you if you were a hurricane victim without power? Do you have neighbors or church friends to help? Would you accept help from strangers or some church nearby?
Who would you help if you could?
I met a homeless man yesterday on the north side of Houston. He's lived in his pickup for a year with his 2 dogs after he lost his job. He doesn't have an ice cooler and lives on a - for now - dead-end road in an undeveloped area just off the Hardy Toll road. We talked for a few minutes, and I really didn't know what to say to him. And I didn't know how to help him either, but I gave him some food from my car and offered him a Bible. He said "No, I have one in the truck." I said "God bless you," and drove off, but he haunts me now. What more should I have done? Anything?
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