8/23/08-9/9/08---It is difficult to believe how many days have passed since the blog was updated. The busy days have been filled with worry, travel and on-going repairs. Keith and Maryann are still with us in Youngsville, LA. Carol and I (Allen) have been grateful fo
r their help. As hurricane Gustav entered the Gulf we sta
rted preparing. One great concern is potential flooding, since our house has flooded in two previous storms. It is a real job to put all the furniture up on blocks and get everything up off the floor. It is amazing how much stuff a person accumulates in the bottom of closets! Everybody pitched in to fill sand bags. After covering the double door with plywood, final efforts were made to leave the house. Sand bags were placed in front of all the doors. We loaded up in two vehicles and drove to Sardis, Mississippi which is located south of Memphis about 50 miles. We stayed with friends of Keith & Maryann. I believe we all made friends there and the hospitality was greatly appreciated. On September 1st Gustav hit Louisiana as we were glued to the TV wondering how much damage was really being done. The next day we made a slow trip back to Louisiana. There was lots of traffic as approximately 2 million people had evacuated and many were starting the dreaded trip home. Many areas were out of power and gasoline was hard to find. There was lots of flooding in parts of Mississippi and Louisiana. The picture of vehicles in the water was taken when we drove thru a small town called Bude in MS. What a relief to arrive and find our house was on the drier side of the storm and the rainfall was not that great. No flooding at our house! Shingles are missing off the roof and the yard was covered with limbs from the trees in the area. The house Keith and Maryann recently purchased about a 1 ½ miles from us did not fare quite so well. A large tree broke apart and, as the tree fell against the house, a large limb speared down thru the roof into the closet off the master bedroom. A lot of time has been spent cleaning debris out of the yards. The hole in the roof has been patched and things are beginning to appear somewhat normal in the Lafayette area. Those living in areas from Houma
to Baton Rouge are not doing well. Many of the reside
nts (about 800,000) were still without power late last week. My oldest son (Craig) lives just east of Gonzales in St. Amant. I hauled a generator to him last Friday as he expects to be out of power for 2 to 4 weeks. His wife was very thankful that I came to the rescue. A fan and light are valuable when there is no electricity. With the generator they were able to put their water well in operation. Another project is moving Keith & Ma
ryann’s furniture from storage into their new house. Carol & I have a 4-plex rental that keeps us all busy cleaning and painting after tenants move out. Thanks to my son (Clint) and daughter (Crystal) for all the efforts in maintaining the units. I still need to find a contractor to replace shingles and siding that were blown away from hurricane Gustav. Now we are waiting anxiously to see where hurricane Ike is going to hit land. It appears to be headed farther west toward Texas. That will be a relief for us, but unfortunate to others. The 4-mcgees are sure looking forward to returning the “Dream Manor” sometime next week. Boating will be great as the leaves on the trees change to fall colors.
r their help. As hurricane Gustav entered the Gulf we sta
rted preparing. One great concern is potential flooding, since our house has flooded in two previous storms. It is a real job to put all the furniture up on blocks and get everything up off the floor. It is amazing how much stuff a person accumulates in the bottom of closets! Everybody pitched in to fill sand bags. After covering the double door with plywood, final efforts were made to leave the house. Sand bags were placed in front of all the doors. We loaded up in two vehicles and drove to Sardis, Mississippi which is located south of Memphis about 50 miles. We stayed with friends of Keith & Maryann. I believe we all made friends there and the hospitality was greatly appreciated. On September 1st Gustav hit Louisiana as we were glued to the TV wondering how much damage was really being done. The next day we made a slow trip back to Louisiana. There was lots of traffic as approximately 2 million people had evacuated and many were starting the dreaded trip home. Many areas were out of power and gasoline was hard to find. There was lots of flooding in parts of Mississippi and Louisiana. The picture of vehicles in the water was taken when we drove thru a small town called Bude in MS. What a relief to arrive and find our house was on the drier side of the storm and the rainfall was not that great. No flooding at our house! Shingles are missing off the roof and the yard was covered with limbs from the trees in the area. The house Keith and Maryann recently purchased about a 1 ½ miles from us did not fare quite so well. A large tree broke apart and, as the tree fell against the house, a large limb speared down thru the roof into the closet off the master bedroom. A lot of time has been spent cleaning debris out of the yards. The hole in the roof has been patched and things are beginning to appear somewhat normal in the Lafayette area. Those living in areas from Houma 
nts (about 800,000) were still without power late last week. My oldest son (Craig) lives just east of Gonzales in St. Amant. I hauled a generator to him last Friday as he expects to be out of power for 2 to 4 weeks. His wife was very thankful that I came to the rescue. A fan and light are valuable when there is no electricity. With the generator they were able to put their water well in operation. Another project is moving Keith & Ma
ryann’s furniture from storage into their new house. Carol & I have a 4-plex rental that keeps us all busy cleaning and painting after tenants move out. Thanks to my son (Clint) and daughter (Crystal) for all the efforts in maintaining the units. I still need to find a contractor to replace shingles and siding that were blown away from hurricane Gustav. Now we are waiting anxiously to see where hurricane Ike is going to hit land. It appears to be headed farther west toward Texas. That will be a relief for us, but unfortunate to others. The 4-mcgees are sure looking forward to returning the “Dream Manor” sometime next week. Boating will be great as the leaves on the trees change to fall colors.
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