Blackwater
10-09-2016, 03:24 PM
First off, please accept my sincere thanks to all of you who so diligently prayed that we'd be spared the worst that Matthew promised to offer. Many got hit pretty hard - hard enough to be devastating for many, many folks who are still in need of your prayers.
Here, about 50 mi. inland from Savannah, we only really got fringed, but even at that, power lines are down and at my home, we just got power restored at about 10:00 am. this morning. We have only one tree down, though many lost branches. No pines, maples or cherrys got downed in the back of our yard, and I'm very glad of that. No windows blown out here either. I've got to get a kit in my old chain saw so I can cut up the tree for firewood. It's a Bradford pear, and was a very pretty tree, but now, it'll make us some firewood. We'll burn the limbs and leaves.
I bugged out early Thurs. a.m. and spent the night in a motel above Macon and west of Forsythe. All the motels along I-75 were filled up, and upon getting that far above Macon, being an old quail hunter, I figured if the "birds" weren't where I was hunting, I probably needed to go somewhere else and try, so I headed west at Forsythe to Barnesville, a small town with one seedy motel and one decent one. Got a room for $66 which was about 1/2 price from what they were getting along the interstate. Very nice small town and many others were there running from Matthew.
My wife was bound and determined she was NOT going to leave, and nothing I could say or do would make her come with me, and the last thing she tried to dissuade me was to say "You're not actually going to leave me here by myself are you?" I told her, no, I wasn't, I was offering her to come with me, and if she stayed, it'd be HER who was determining she'd be staying alone. She chose to do that and I bugged out. A man with my health problems simply doesn't need to stick around and possibly require saving if it got bad, and when I left, the storm looked to be hitting inland further than I felt comfortable in dealing with, and prognostications were it'd pick up speed and strength from the Gulf stream on its way north. Yesterday, she said if we ever faced that situation again, and I was bugging out, she'd be going with me. I guess she learned a lesson in contrariness.
Thankfully, we only got fringed by it here, but most power lines were still downed, and few places had power to pump gas. I topped off my tank the first chance I got on heading home. 3 convenience stores were open on the outskirts of town. One lady in line to pay had a bag of ice, and I thanked her for reminding me that I needed to take some home. She smiled and said she was sorry to tell me, but hers was the last bag in the place. She and a man had been heading to the back to the ice bin, and he was going to take both bags, but relented and gave her one.
And folks, this is by FAR the biggest lesson I learned in all this. It was amazing how cordial, polite and accomodating and helpful folks were almost uniformly in the whole affair, from beginning to end. It was a revelation to see folks and how they conducted themselves through it in 99.9% of it all. It didn't matter if folks were black, white, Mexican, or whatever - everyone was smiling and cordial and very much thankful for whatever they were finding. I was humbled and very pleasantly surprised by it all. A spirit of "we're all in this together" seemed to prevail, and it was really something to see. It was as if folks had finally put any differences among themselves aside, and FINALLY just dealt with folks as just plain folks. Helpfulness, cheerfulness, and positive attitudes prevailed. It's amazing how very serious threats bring folks together, isn't it?
I just wish we saw more of this attitude when not so direly challenged. It was truly an inspiration and an unexpected (probably wrongly on my part) thing to see. I was definitely moved by it all.
One pecan orchard nearby lost 30 or more trees, some totally uprooted and some just cracked and blown down, but all a total loss for production. Most, though, were still standing, though most of the pecans, green or otherwise, were blown off. I didn't notice a lot of obvious crop damage, but watching traffic and listening to the radio intently, probably missed it. Crop damage isn't always obvious, because most plants are limber enough to lay down in winds and then straighten up when the high winds pass.
Trees were down starting a little below Macon, even across I-16, but someone had cut them so that they no longer obstructed traffic. Only anomaly I noticed on I-16 was a short section that narrowed to one lane instead of two going west (actually NW) and there was no obvious reason for that. Could have been a work area and they simply didn't take down the cones, but folks just slowed down and obeyed the cones, whatever the reason may have been. Folks just found the wherewithall to be very practical and pragmatic, and suffered whatever was before them with good spirits. Again, another source of satisfaction and reassurance that the human race CAN rise to whatever situation faces them. This has implications well beyond dealing with a simple hurricane, if we'd but put it to use.
Unfortunately, I've heard now of 2 deaths in our community/county. One, the son of a good friend and one of the real pillars of our church, lost his life when he struck out in his car after the storm had passed, wanting to see what damage has been done and assess what he might do to help, and a large tree fell on his car, and killed him. He'd just been married to a sweet and very pretty blonde only 2 weeks before! Yet one more reminder that tomorrow is NOT promised to ANY of us, no matter what our stage in life. The other was reported to be a wheelchair bound man not far from here. A tree fell on his home and killed him inside.
People in this area have been "protected" after a fashion by our locale inside a "pocket" that seems to guide hurricanes from hitting us, at least usually. And we only really got "fringed" by it this time, but the devastation is still significant, though it could have been probably hundreds of times worse than it has worked out to be this time. We haven't had a hurricane hit here in about 120 years, so nobody has any real clue about what a real hurricane hit really is, and folks seem to be talking about how "hard" we were hit here. They ain't seen nothin' yet!!!!
At breakfast in a Waffle House about 10:30 a.m. Friday in Forsythe, the place was packed, and they seemed to have a double shift cooking to deal with the volume of folks needing to eat. They had a real scramble behind the bar as they scurried about trying to keep the food flowing. And they took i tall with a great sense of humor and spirit, and were working themselves VERY hard to keep folks fed. This was inspiring and heartening, as was the spirit of the folks waiting to be served. and this was @ 130 miles away from the hurricane! I took an open seat at the bar and ordered ham, eggs and coffee, and allowed myself a nice serving of grits - something usually off my menu, but I figured I might need the energy that day, so ... BOY! Were they EVER GREAT! I miss my grits SO much!
The first guy I sat next to was named Joe, and we struck up a conversation. He was an old Viet Nam vet like myself, and I later found out he was 77 years old. He surely didn't look it, though his face was very weathered. He ran a place on St. Simon's island adjacent to Brunswick down south of my home, and taught sailing, flying and survival. He showed me a pic of his place, complete with dock and a number of slips for his boats, and the pride he had in it and what he did came through very strongly. It was taken from the air, and was beautiful. He said he'd received info that the whole place just wasn't there any more, swept away by Matthew's forces. His attitude toward it was ... I don't have the words. He was very fatalistic about it. No wrath towards God or "nature." Just thankful he was still here, and able, even at 77, to at least partially rebuild. It was obvious he had a great passion for flying and sailing (which explianed his weathered facial features) and was obviously someone I'd trust (especially with his background) in a survival school. His attitude was one of cheerfulness, mixed with the obvious sorrow for his loss of course, but one of .... I guess you'd have to call it indomitability. He finished before I did, and gave me his website address and I plan to contact him when I figure he's not consumed by rebuilding and all he'll obviously be facing.
The next guy was a 50ish strongly built black man with a graying scruffy beard, very neat and "squared away." We talked as well, and he was local, and had a great attitude toward all the folks cluttering up "his world" there. I found out he was ex-Army, and his wife was currently deployed in the Nat'l Guard in dealing with the hurricane. He was a very calm and low key kind of guy with a great attitude and spirit. He was a Christian too, and my mention of the Lord's grace in letting it not come inland more met with an "Amen." We didn't get to talk very long, but enough to realize we were kindred spirits, and we left both being glad, I think, that we'd met. I had to give my seat to others who were waiting.
So all in all, there's damage here, even with only what amounts to a fringe hit, and some friends still don't have power yet in their locations. I passed 14 electric trucks, most Ga. Power, but some "Orion" and I couldn't read where they were coming from. All the power companies from several states are moving in in the aftermath to help restore power. It's amazing to see how well this country and this people CAN, when we simply will, "adapt and overcome." And it's been a truly inspirational experience for me. There's a lot more inspirational stories I could tell, but no need to take up any more web space here. Just know that folks are a LOT better and more capable and rational than we sometimes give them credit for, especially when they're facing or aiding in dealing with a serious threat. This has always been our greatest strength, when we can simply bring it to bear on whatever is before us. Give folks a chance and a reason to unite, and they STILL will, and we can do it in a truly inspiring and humbling way.
So generally, yeah, there's been some damage, but nothing folks can't deal with. And as usual, you won't be able to tell what's REALLY going on from what you see on TV. The folks that TV covers are almost always those who are whining and moaning the loudest. Just know that behind all those weak and ineffective folks are a LOT of great folks just doing whatever needs to be done, and making a better place, even for those who complain so loudly and long. THOSE are the ones who ALWAYS matter the most, and they'll likely be neglected because they simply don't have the time to stop their work to talk to TV people. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.
That's the report from my little area. I know there's a lot more here who have been affected. I'd like to hear what's really going on behind the TV cameras, too. Most got hit far harder that we did here in my little nook of the world. Chime in when you get back on line, and have a moment to let us know what you're dealing with, and some stories about the inspirations you've observed in your section would be very appreciated, I know.
Once again, thanks to all who prayed for grace in this event that has affected so very, very many folks along the east coast. And it ain't over yet, by a long shot, so keep those prayers coming, folks! They matter.
Here, about 50 mi. inland from Savannah, we only really got fringed, but even at that, power lines are down and at my home, we just got power restored at about 10:00 am. this morning. We have only one tree down, though many lost branches. No pines, maples or cherrys got downed in the back of our yard, and I'm very glad of that. No windows blown out here either. I've got to get a kit in my old chain saw so I can cut up the tree for firewood. It's a Bradford pear, and was a very pretty tree, but now, it'll make us some firewood. We'll burn the limbs and leaves.
I bugged out early Thurs. a.m. and spent the night in a motel above Macon and west of Forsythe. All the motels along I-75 were filled up, and upon getting that far above Macon, being an old quail hunter, I figured if the "birds" weren't where I was hunting, I probably needed to go somewhere else and try, so I headed west at Forsythe to Barnesville, a small town with one seedy motel and one decent one. Got a room for $66 which was about 1/2 price from what they were getting along the interstate. Very nice small town and many others were there running from Matthew.
My wife was bound and determined she was NOT going to leave, and nothing I could say or do would make her come with me, and the last thing she tried to dissuade me was to say "You're not actually going to leave me here by myself are you?" I told her, no, I wasn't, I was offering her to come with me, and if she stayed, it'd be HER who was determining she'd be staying alone. She chose to do that and I bugged out. A man with my health problems simply doesn't need to stick around and possibly require saving if it got bad, and when I left, the storm looked to be hitting inland further than I felt comfortable in dealing with, and prognostications were it'd pick up speed and strength from the Gulf stream on its way north. Yesterday, she said if we ever faced that situation again, and I was bugging out, she'd be going with me. I guess she learned a lesson in contrariness.
Thankfully, we only got fringed by it here, but most power lines were still downed, and few places had power to pump gas. I topped off my tank the first chance I got on heading home. 3 convenience stores were open on the outskirts of town. One lady in line to pay had a bag of ice, and I thanked her for reminding me that I needed to take some home. She smiled and said she was sorry to tell me, but hers was the last bag in the place. She and a man had been heading to the back to the ice bin, and he was going to take both bags, but relented and gave her one.
And folks, this is by FAR the biggest lesson I learned in all this. It was amazing how cordial, polite and accomodating and helpful folks were almost uniformly in the whole affair, from beginning to end. It was a revelation to see folks and how they conducted themselves through it in 99.9% of it all. It didn't matter if folks were black, white, Mexican, or whatever - everyone was smiling and cordial and very much thankful for whatever they were finding. I was humbled and very pleasantly surprised by it all. A spirit of "we're all in this together" seemed to prevail, and it was really something to see. It was as if folks had finally put any differences among themselves aside, and FINALLY just dealt with folks as just plain folks. Helpfulness, cheerfulness, and positive attitudes prevailed. It's amazing how very serious threats bring folks together, isn't it?
I just wish we saw more of this attitude when not so direly challenged. It was truly an inspiration and an unexpected (probably wrongly on my part) thing to see. I was definitely moved by it all.
One pecan orchard nearby lost 30 or more trees, some totally uprooted and some just cracked and blown down, but all a total loss for production. Most, though, were still standing, though most of the pecans, green or otherwise, were blown off. I didn't notice a lot of obvious crop damage, but watching traffic and listening to the radio intently, probably missed it. Crop damage isn't always obvious, because most plants are limber enough to lay down in winds and then straighten up when the high winds pass.
Trees were down starting a little below Macon, even across I-16, but someone had cut them so that they no longer obstructed traffic. Only anomaly I noticed on I-16 was a short section that narrowed to one lane instead of two going west (actually NW) and there was no obvious reason for that. Could have been a work area and they simply didn't take down the cones, but folks just slowed down and obeyed the cones, whatever the reason may have been. Folks just found the wherewithall to be very practical and pragmatic, and suffered whatever was before them with good spirits. Again, another source of satisfaction and reassurance that the human race CAN rise to whatever situation faces them. This has implications well beyond dealing with a simple hurricane, if we'd but put it to use.
Unfortunately, I've heard now of 2 deaths in our community/county. One, the son of a good friend and one of the real pillars of our church, lost his life when he struck out in his car after the storm had passed, wanting to see what damage has been done and assess what he might do to help, and a large tree fell on his car, and killed him. He'd just been married to a sweet and very pretty blonde only 2 weeks before! Yet one more reminder that tomorrow is NOT promised to ANY of us, no matter what our stage in life. The other was reported to be a wheelchair bound man not far from here. A tree fell on his home and killed him inside.
People in this area have been "protected" after a fashion by our locale inside a "pocket" that seems to guide hurricanes from hitting us, at least usually. And we only really got "fringed" by it this time, but the devastation is still significant, though it could have been probably hundreds of times worse than it has worked out to be this time. We haven't had a hurricane hit here in about 120 years, so nobody has any real clue about what a real hurricane hit really is, and folks seem to be talking about how "hard" we were hit here. They ain't seen nothin' yet!!!!
At breakfast in a Waffle House about 10:30 a.m. Friday in Forsythe, the place was packed, and they seemed to have a double shift cooking to deal with the volume of folks needing to eat. They had a real scramble behind the bar as they scurried about trying to keep the food flowing. And they took i tall with a great sense of humor and spirit, and were working themselves VERY hard to keep folks fed. This was inspiring and heartening, as was the spirit of the folks waiting to be served. and this was @ 130 miles away from the hurricane! I took an open seat at the bar and ordered ham, eggs and coffee, and allowed myself a nice serving of grits - something usually off my menu, but I figured I might need the energy that day, so ... BOY! Were they EVER GREAT! I miss my grits SO much!
The first guy I sat next to was named Joe, and we struck up a conversation. He was an old Viet Nam vet like myself, and I later found out he was 77 years old. He surely didn't look it, though his face was very weathered. He ran a place on St. Simon's island adjacent to Brunswick down south of my home, and taught sailing, flying and survival. He showed me a pic of his place, complete with dock and a number of slips for his boats, and the pride he had in it and what he did came through very strongly. It was taken from the air, and was beautiful. He said he'd received info that the whole place just wasn't there any more, swept away by Matthew's forces. His attitude toward it was ... I don't have the words. He was very fatalistic about it. No wrath towards God or "nature." Just thankful he was still here, and able, even at 77, to at least partially rebuild. It was obvious he had a great passion for flying and sailing (which explianed his weathered facial features) and was obviously someone I'd trust (especially with his background) in a survival school. His attitude was one of cheerfulness, mixed with the obvious sorrow for his loss of course, but one of .... I guess you'd have to call it indomitability. He finished before I did, and gave me his website address and I plan to contact him when I figure he's not consumed by rebuilding and all he'll obviously be facing.
The next guy was a 50ish strongly built black man with a graying scruffy beard, very neat and "squared away." We talked as well, and he was local, and had a great attitude toward all the folks cluttering up "his world" there. I found out he was ex-Army, and his wife was currently deployed in the Nat'l Guard in dealing with the hurricane. He was a very calm and low key kind of guy with a great attitude and spirit. He was a Christian too, and my mention of the Lord's grace in letting it not come inland more met with an "Amen." We didn't get to talk very long, but enough to realize we were kindred spirits, and we left both being glad, I think, that we'd met. I had to give my seat to others who were waiting.
So all in all, there's damage here, even with only what amounts to a fringe hit, and some friends still don't have power yet in their locations. I passed 14 electric trucks, most Ga. Power, but some "Orion" and I couldn't read where they were coming from. All the power companies from several states are moving in in the aftermath to help restore power. It's amazing to see how well this country and this people CAN, when we simply will, "adapt and overcome." And it's been a truly inspirational experience for me. There's a lot more inspirational stories I could tell, but no need to take up any more web space here. Just know that folks are a LOT better and more capable and rational than we sometimes give them credit for, especially when they're facing or aiding in dealing with a serious threat. This has always been our greatest strength, when we can simply bring it to bear on whatever is before us. Give folks a chance and a reason to unite, and they STILL will, and we can do it in a truly inspiring and humbling way.
So generally, yeah, there's been some damage, but nothing folks can't deal with. And as usual, you won't be able to tell what's REALLY going on from what you see on TV. The folks that TV covers are almost always those who are whining and moaning the loudest. Just know that behind all those weak and ineffective folks are a LOT of great folks just doing whatever needs to be done, and making a better place, even for those who complain so loudly and long. THOSE are the ones who ALWAYS matter the most, and they'll likely be neglected because they simply don't have the time to stop their work to talk to TV people. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.
That's the report from my little area. I know there's a lot more here who have been affected. I'd like to hear what's really going on behind the TV cameras, too. Most got hit far harder that we did here in my little nook of the world. Chime in when you get back on line, and have a moment to let us know what you're dealing with, and some stories about the inspirations you've observed in your section would be very appreciated, I know.
Once again, thanks to all who prayed for grace in this event that has affected so very, very many folks along the east coast. And it ain't over yet, by a long shot, so keep those prayers coming, folks! They matter.