Scout skills come through again!
Uncle Cletus in Baton Rouge
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From: owner-philmont@troop47.com [mailto:owner-philmont@troop47.com] On
Behalf Of John LeBlanc
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 1:23 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list philmont
Subject: [Philmont]: Hurricane Rita and Scouting Skills
<<but every once in great while, the wilderness comes to us. And when it
does, You'd Best Be Prepared."
- Dr. Bob>>
Dr Bob is absolutely correct as is illustrated below. When I first got to
our home, I literally couldn't see the forest for the tree---limbs!
What can I say, but we survived.
Bridge City took a direct hit from Hurricane Rita on
Sept 23. I watched in awe from my cousins home in
Longview, Texas.
Luckily the western edge of the eye wall hit us
causing the wind to be from the north. This prevented
the high storm surge that Louisiana experienced. I
live 12 feet above sea level, 25 miles inland. We
experienced no storm surge flooding.
Winds were 115 mph and it opened up the businesses
along the main street like a sardine can.
After staying up all night and watching the eye of the storm go over our
little town, I lulled myself to sleep at 4:30 AM thinking of floor plans
that would fit on our slab because I was sure that is all that survived.
The next day a deputy sheriff neighbor called me and left a message on my
cell phone. I saved the message and listen to it as he excitedly told me my
house adn his were still standing. What great news.
Our house survived. Well most of it. a 15 X 24 patio
cover from two doors down flew over two houses and hit
the side of our den demolishing one wall of it. The
wind blew in the front door glass filling the living
room with water and leaves. A ventilator blew off the
roof and drenched the garage ceiling. The den, 4
inches lower than the rest of the house flooded and
the roof sustained missing shingles in 24 places with
tree limbs through (luckily) three places on the eaves
and not over the house.
Other than that, the house is fine.
We lost 7 large oak trees. How they missed the house is
beyond me. One crushed our metal storage building
where I keep lawn mowers and gasoline and paint.
Another destroyed our travel trailer. A third broke out the windshield of
my hunting truck.
400 feet of wooden and chain link fence are gone.
The place is pretty well trashed, but cleanup is going
fine. The yard looked like a forest on the floor.
I've burned about 6 gal gas in my chainsaw, and won't need
any firewood for the rest of my life.
Four canoes and kayaks sat through the storm in the
yard unscratched. Amazing but nice. Three suspended
under the porch with former seat belts sustained no damage.
I spent an entire week sleeping in my own home without
electricity in 98 deg weather, but I was home. Oh yes it was hot and no I
did not need a generator or the government to give me anything. We were
prepared. Have been for 53 years, ever since I joined Scouting.
Upon return in 100 deg heat, I wore two sets of hiking shorts and Philmont
polypro shirt and washed them in the sink each evening while the others
dried. Just switched them each day.
Cooked hot meals on my MSR stove on a picnic table under the leafless shade
tree in the front yard.
Only three of 20 homes on our street were occupied the first week after the
storm. It was erie, but doable.
You know it's dark when it doesn't matteer whether your eyes are open or
shut.
I simply camped out in my own house while I emptied freezers adn patched
roofs for the rains that are coming this winte, Repairs and materials are
months away.
I had planned on sleeping in the back yard in a screen shelter with a cot
(the coolest way) but there was not room for all the downed trees.
Got running water back in five days and power back after two weeks. How
nice.
I have no phone or internet access and am living with
cell power and trying my best to not overide my
minutes.
I have good insurance including flood and should come
out OK, but just a lot of hard work for right now.
Just wanted to send a note out that we are OK.
However, to the east of us it's not so good. The
Louisiana coast for 200 miles west of the Texas state
line was wiped clean by Rita to where it meets the devistation of Katrina.
I have cousins in Pecan Island and Creole who's houses
floated over 30 miles with the storm surge. They lost
the same thing in 1957 with Audrey. Rita was worse. If you want to see a
good website, look up the one for Pecan Island made by the school children.
The good thing is the minimum loss of life.
Evacuations are tough on people but they save lives.
Tonight is my first at work in two weeks. Our plant sustained major damage.
We are working to get it on line as soon as possible. Some semblence of
normality is nice.
At a post event family conference, we all sat down to discuss what went
right and what went wrong. One question I asked each family member was what
prepared you the most for this event.
Both daughters said my dragging them through the brambles in the woods at an
early age helped.
Allison, the one I went to Philmont with in 2002 had this to say.
"Dad, Philmont prepared me the most. There we carried everything on our
back. Food, water, clothing and shelter and we did it all the while putting
up with what we did from a certain advisor. I learned that despite
overwhelming odds, I could overcome the worst of conditions if I just set my
mind to it."
I may add that Allison's map reading and navigation skills helped too.
Rather than spend 15 hours on the road most traveled, she guiided her mother
through the backroads of Texas and Louisiana from Bridge City, Texas to
Shreveport, Louisiana and back over to Longview, Texas in record time using
a county roadmap book we keep in each vehicle.
That was a great help to her 93 year old grandmother, my mother, riding with
them.
I had to help close the plant down and folled a few hours later.
In her kit, Allison carried all the things she needed to start her life over
again if we lost it all. We didn't, but Philmont prepared her for that
event both physically and mentally.
An old boss of mine once said "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".
So true.
John LeBlanc
Bridge City, Texas
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Received on Wed Oct 12 11:07:51 2005
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