Hi, it is late but wanted to let you know we chose not to enter the
fray. We had a nice day, cooking stuff from freezer. And cleaning out
box next door and drawing water. We are almost finished filling a huge
assortment of bottles, pails ect. things look a bit better tonight,
though Billie has been weak all night. There are sirens now. Fires I
imagine. Will call Cindy in the morning.
September 23--
Dear Everyone,
This is my plan. We will stay the course of the storm in Houston.
When it passes and it seem feasible we will hit the road.
These are my alternative plans.
Short term,
If we feel it is safer we will go to our neighbors house. \
When we drive out of this I plan to head West
Short term:
Tucson: or Los Alamos
Long term, catch a plane to someone's house, either Cathy or Phil's I
think. Probably Cathy's since we will be in that direction anyway.
I do not want to live without services for too many days and Billie is a
concern.
If I can make it as far as Arizona or New Mexico I think we can get gas.
Hopefully the state and feds will get some into Texas after the storm
and will not be adverse to people leaving the scene.
We are all nervous, but grateful that we didn't get on the road
yesterday. Should have on Wednesday. Yes but that is hindsight.
And it is so damn hard to switch courses in your life particularly twice
in such a short time. I like being home. I got up at 4 am and gathered
up all our food and storm rations and supplies. I have all of us packed
and ready to go at some point or at least live downstairs for a while.
The big problem is we have a lot of old pecan trees and one huge oak on
our property or others. My friend Pat is coming over in a bit to advise
how to make the windows safer. We have gathered our tape and cardboard
and will start putting that up this morning. Also those windows that
have shades I will duck tape them to the window frames. A new paint
job later but might save if winds heavy. I guess I worry most about
flying glass. We will get into the closet under the stair if necessary.
Billie came down this morning and kept looking for Laura. She does keep
her close. Keep the faith if you don't hear for a while. But we will
move. I don't want you to catch us at a shelter on CNN.
If any of you have other suggestions make them now, but understand it is
a very difficult situation. I want you all to ask why there wasn't fuel
set up on Wednesday. This is horrible, Poor Louisiana is going to get
it again and East Texas is going to be a mess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Jere's folks.
I taked to Jere and Ted about an hour ago. They and Billie
are relocating at this moment to their friend Pat Meisters'
B&B, into a guest suite there. The B&B's windows are boarded
up, so it is much safer. Ted told me they have some (a few?)
cases of bottled water (enough for a few days drinking water
only), but also bathtubs etc. filled with water. It sounds
like, with Pat's help, they are now well prepared to weather
the weather.
Jere now has the address of and driving directions to my house,
and my home and cell phone numbers. I live about 1000 miles
from Houston.
I asked Ted if they have household bleach (he says they do)
told him in a pinch questionable water can be made safe to
drink by adding some bleach to it. What I didn't tell him
is the recipe, so I have added one below.
Stay safe,
********
Disinfecting small quantities of water
Boiling:
Boiling is the best way to kill bacteria, viruses and parasites.
A full boil for at least one minute is recommended. At elevations
over 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) you should boil water for at least
two minutes to disinfect it.
NOTE: This is not appropriate for water that is obviously heavily
polluted, or subject to chemical contamination.
To remove the flat taste of boiled water, leave the boiled water
in a clean covered container for a few hours or pour the cooled
boiled water back and forth from one clean container to another.
Disinfection using chemical methods:
Unscented household bleach (5% chlorine) can sometimes be a good
disinfectant - e.g. when the water is not heavily polluted, or
when beaver fever or cryptosporidiosis are not a concern.
Disinfection using bleach works best with warm water. Add 1 drop
(0.05 mL) of bleach to 1 Litre (quart) of water, shake and allow
to stand for at least 30 minutes before drinking.
Double the amount of bleach for cloudy water, or for cooler water.
A slight chlorine odour should still be noticeable at the end of
the 30 minute waiting period if you have added enough bleach.
The disinfection action of bleach depends as much on the waiting
time after mixing as to the amount used. The longer the water is
left to stand after adding bleach, the more effective the
disinfection process will be.
NOTE: Bleach does not work well in killing off beaver fever
(Giardia) or Cryptosporidium parasites. The amount of bleach
needed to kill these parasites makes the water almost impossible
to drink. If beaver fever or Cryptosporidium are in your water,
boiling is the best way to ensure safe drinking water.
(From http://www.bchealthguide.org/healthfiles/hfile49b.stm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Una, thanks very much for the update. I have trying to reach Jere by phone
since yesterday but have been getting all-circuits-busy or
unable-to-complete your call messages.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September 24
Thanks for sending out the word on where we would be. I think you are
the last person we talked to before leaving the house for Pat's. We
passed a safe night and checked on the house this morning. Everything
at the house and my neighborhood is good. Electricity, water, and
minimal tree damage. Our area was developed in the early 1900's. the
original houses and businesses schools have survived a lot of weather.
We have many sycamore and pecan trees as well as oak. Most of the trees
are natives and most people only plant native gardens and new trees. So
we are built for staying power. New construction has entered in the
form of the three story jobs that are so popular these days. I have no
idea how they made out.
Billie and I didn't sleep well so have been making up for that since
arriving home. I think all the lifting and twisting and packing finally
caught up with me and my back hurts like a hell this morning. A sure
sign that it is time to lay down a while. Lots to do though and shall
begin.
Thank you all for the concern and willingness to take in the three of
us. We will stay put since we have what we need here and we don't have
the energy at this point for another move.
A word on the bus that exploded. That assisted living place was very
nice. I had talked to them when we were contemplating moving Aunt Anna
here from Kilgore. She was too frail for their services. I recently
called to inquire about a possible spot for Aunt Billie. I decided she
was too frail at this time and that she wanted to return to Covington if
possible. So was putting off any decision till we could revisit family
and friends there. I doubt that I would have let her travel by bus to
Dallas, but I would have considered it as a safer option for her. I just
would not have subjected her to another trip and shelter at this point.
At any rate, she could not make the stairs up to the bedrooms at Pat's
last night so they brought down two mattresses for us. At around 2:30
she needed to go to the bathroom and it was obvious that she was not
going to make it up from the floor too many more times, so I put her on
a sofa, but it was the room next to me, so I slept with an ear out for
her. At some point I just got on the sofa with her, it was roomy, but
we were life two peas in a pod. I would never have expected to end up on
sofa with Billie in the middle of a hurricane. But that is why we both
collapsed on arriving home. The thing about Billie at this point is she
is resigned to what ever fate brings her. She feels safe with Ted and I
and will do what ever we say. There is a deep sadness about her but
still she laughed and joked with a bunch of "queer boys" (her words for
three couples of men who have been partners for many years) who were
rather outrageous at dinner last night. They had all helped to secure
our safe haven. One of the guests was a woman from Marin County
California whose return flight was booked for Saturday at noon and
couldn't get out earlier. She and Billie and Ted and I played gin for
an hour before bedtime. As we were falling asleep last night, Billie
said, "I never thought I would be spending the evening with so many
'queer boys.' They are very nice men." She meant it. They all are nice
men. Two teachers, a realtor, a financial advisor, a house husband who
keeps the B&B running, and an ex-priest turned chaplain. We passed a fun
time, yea. And William Mary was the queen of the fete.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September 26, back to normal--thinking about other people
We Don't Exist
By Cindy Sheehan
t r u t h o u t | Perspective
Sunday 25 September 2005
Last weekend, Karl Rove said that I was a clown and the anti-war movement was "non-existent." I wonder if the hundreds of thousands of people who showed up today to protest this war and George's failed policies know that they don't exist. It is also so incredible to me that Karl thinks that he can wish us away by saying we aren't real. Well, Karl and Co., we are real, we do exist and we are not going away until this illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq is over and you are sent back to the depths of whatever slimy, dark, and loathsome place you came from. I may be a clown, Karl, but you are about to be indicted. You also preside over one of the biggest three-ring, malevolent circuses of all time: the Bush administration.
The rally today was overwhelming and powerful. The reports that I was arrested today were obviously false. The peace rally was mostly very peaceful. Washington, DC was filled with energetic and proud Americans who came from all over to raise their voices in unison against the criminals who run our government and their disastrous policies that are making our nation more vulnerable to all kinds of attacks (natural and "Bush"-made disasters).
I led the march for peace alongside such venerable activists as the Reverends Al Sharpton, Bob Edgars, and Jesse Jackson Jr., and Julian Bond. Two of our Congresswomen with cajones from California, Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey, also led the march.
Many people told me thank you for coming. I want to tell America "Thank you!!" At the Camp Casey reunion this evening, I was so overcome with emotion and gratitude that I wanted to hug every citizen of this country. We in the Camp Casey movement are so proud and thrilled that America showed up in such great numbers.
So much happened today! I am exhausted but very content. I am again filled with a renewed sense of hope that we will get our country back and get our troops home. I was also thrilled at the number of young people who came out today. That is another great sign that the side of good is winning.
With the Reverends, we stopped in front of the White House and said a prayer. After the prayer, I said that we are light and they are darkness. Darkness can NEVER overcome the light, ever. As long as there is one spark, the darkness has lost. We will prevail, we will be victorious. The darkness has lost because our beacons of peace and truth are shining for the entire world to see. And it is a very pretty sight. Take that Karl.