The Woodlands TX Kathi Frank

Faiths Together celebrated a wonderful 10th anniversary last night!

I was so honored to be a part of the event - in the choir comprised of a people from diverse cultures and faiths.

It was awesome!!!

This event is yet one more example of why The Woodlands is such a wonderful place to live...an enriching experience for children and adults alike. From the prelude song "We Gather Together" and the sounding of the Shofar to the concluding song of "Let There Be Peace On Earth", this community set an example for the world.

In its 10th year, part of the celebration including looking back on the years past. Each person reflected on one of the amazing events of years past. They included Christian - Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic, Episcopal, Morman, Jewish, Aslamic, Unitarian, Bahai, Humanist, Hindu, Unity and all sorts of faith communities. The theme was "Our Common Humanity and Community; Our Different Faith Traditions; Our Unity and Diversity."

Imagine how the world would be different if we could live in this kind of loving mindset every day? I am so proud to be selling real estate in such a lovely community as The Woodlands.

Well - my friends - I am going to end this series of posts with this lesson I learned from IKE.

All we need ever do to get people to wait in line for our services is to provide exceptional value.

(This photo was taken on 9/15, 2 full days after the storm had passed. This line was at least an hour before they would reach the pumps at Sam's and to the right of the cars in the foreground. The bad news is the line started in front of Ryans, in front of Wal-Mart, behind the Sam's store and this pic shows the far corner of the parking lot and the line headed to the pumps.)

When almost the entire Houston metroplex, covering more than 5 counties in the area, including Montgomery County which is more than one hour's drive from the coast, were without power - there was enormous value in having gasoline and a way to pump it out of the ground.

On Tuesday, September 16, more than 3 days after the storm had passed, this is how a large portion of the population spent the day. If I did not have so many things I needed to do to care for my personal home, I would have walked the long lines and collected stories.

Rest assured, virtually each car would have told stories of hardship and gratitude...you see, most of the people in line had a generator. Those that did not have a generator probably sat at home in the heat and humidity - or waiting in a different (but just as long) line to get food rations, ice and water.

I did ask people in both lines I photographed how long they had been waiting. The answers ranged from 3 1/2 to 4 hours and my pics were taken at least an hour away from getting the fuel. All in all, each of these weary people felt proud to be able to keep their family cool with at least fans and maybe a refrigerator. I heard few complaints.

(This photo shows a hand written sign attached to a shopping cart to indicate the traffic control needed to get people in and out of the grocery store running on generator without becoming mixed with the traffic attempting to get gas.)

I'll share one story about a family (I spoke to the brother-in-law) that was scheduled for induced labor on Thursday before the storm. The appointment was cancelled because of the impending disaster. Still, labor began on Sunday after the wind subsided. Of course, the entire family wanted to be in the waiting room. But because the hospital was on generator, they would not allow the family to stay and made the comment "This is not a shelter. You cannot take advantage of our air conditioning." Needless to say, this family was not happy about being booted out of the waiting room. The baby was born healthy and they were able to see her briefly.

(Where people were entering the parking lot for gasoline, two police cruisers monitored the operation. After 5 hours of waiting, I'm sure that some people may not have been in their best behavior...but because of the police presence, I heard of no incidences of anger.)

As I conclude this series of stories about the storms, know that I learned many, many more things during this episode of my life than I can ever share with you. One of my single mother friends said that it was a bigger blessing than she could have imagined because of the relationship she developed with her neighbors.

These things I know. I know that there is nothing in this world more important than the relationships we develop with others. I know that it is my responsibilty to provide value to my clients and if I do, I will never be without a source of income. I know that this area of the country has some of the most entreprenueristic, hard working, creative and enthusiastic people I have ever met. I am grateful for having the knowledge I have gained from this storm.

Uncle Ike - I am suffering - Yeah right!

(This was written on September 15th, a few days after the storm on an old notebook computer powered by a noisy generator.)

Ordinarily, I would be suffering right now. I have no internet access...in fact, I do not have electricity other than what is provided by the generator loaned by my brother who drove it down for me from Ft Worth on Sunday afternoon.

(This is my neighborhood in central Conroe to the right. I looks pretty awful to see 100 year old trees waiting in pieces to be picked up as trash.)

My day - right now - is filled with energy management. I am trying to keep my cell phone charged...my refrigerator running...the freezer running for now eventhough it is beginning to be too much...my semi-retired notebook computer available for writing these posts...and looking for more useful things to do with my time.

My daughter works at Kroger. She and her colleagues are providing basic necessities to the public with a generator that only provides enough energy to provide a little light and cash registers. No fresh food is available in the store. Ice and water are sold immediately by sending someone out to the road with a hand made sign announcing the availability. These remarkable people, most making less than $8 per hour are working in the heat, with the generators keeping a few lights and cash registers running...but no refrigeration. Most have not had any hot food for days. Some lost their entire home in the flooding.

When my daughter told me about the situation, I went to my pantry and freezer to figure out what I could do. With 5 pounds of dry beans, 2 ham slices and 3 pounds of rice - I will be able to give these people something decent for lunch.

There are stories everywhere. Some of them I will share on this blog. 2 of the employees in this one grocery store have lost their homes...but they are working. Now, above all other times, they need the money to survive.

(The photo to the left was taken in Timberidge, just outside of The Woodlands. We lost trees. They lost all their furniture and personal belongings. Most of these people are renters...many without insurance to cover their losses.)

David knocked on my door about 10 minutes ago (This was Tuesday, September 16th) and asked if he could work cleaning all the small bits and pieces of tree scattered throughout my yard. It is certainly going to be a minimum of 3 hours of hard, hot work. He said he would do it for $22.50 - the balance of money needed to get back to his home about 2 hours northeast of here.

(The photo below shos some of the yard debris. Little peices of tree were scattered throughout the yard and needed to be raked and piled near the street for pick up by the city.)

He says that he will give me his phone number and address in Crockett with a hand-written receipt for his work. That way the insurance company will probably reimburse this small fee for the work.

You see, he was working in The Woodlands area and staying with friends when the storm hit. He has not been paid, but he is ready to leave here and go home to Crockett, a wonderful quaint town deep in the piney-woods of east Texas.

I woke up this morning with genuine gratitude. In spite of the difficulties of living without the internet, or any other source of power other than the generator.

It was a cool morning. And I knew that I would do something useful today by preparing a meal for my daughter's co-workers at Kroger. It seems that more and more services are being provided each day with gas, ice and water being stocked in various places. (Kroger got a shipment of gasoline, but not a generator for pumping the gas out of the ground.)

After all, what is more important than being useful to others in a time like this.

Thank you God!

The Morning After

This copy was written on Tuesday 9/16, when I was too physically tired to continue the cleanup. It is the first of a series of "IKE Lessons."

We all know that within every tragic experience we can find lessons that can literally change the course of our lives. I'm not sure that Hurricane Ike is that tragic for me. And, correspondingly, I'm not sure that the lessons I am learning are profound enough to make a huge difference in my life experience. One thing I do know is that each day, as I go through the motions of restoring my life to some state of "normalcy", a voice in my head creates a modern story line of lessons I need to remember when I get back to such things as electricity and the internet. For now, I am taking time to record some of those lessons.

First, I will give you a brief timeline of what life has been like since it became clear that Hurricane Ike was headed our way. By Thursday, it was clear that there was no longer a question about whether this wind storm was going to impact our area. The only question that remained was how much it would affect us. So, it was time for preparation.

We called all our sellers and told them to take the signs inside. As someone in our company joked, "We don't want any RE/MAX missiles out there." Once we took care of that bit of business and wished all our clients to "BE SAFE", it was time to tend to our own needs.

I ran into one of my inactive, referral clients in Home Depot and we discussed how hard it was to think about what we would need in the event of no electricity for days or even weeks. Being the brilliant visionary that I am, I spent the day on Friday carefully planning what I would do if we had to do without power.

On Friday night we watched the news without ceasing...praying that the storm would not have a direct hit on Galveston...for many reasons. First, the island is heavily populated with BOIs. Those "born on the island" do not feel that any hurricane can hurt them. Thousands stayed despite repeated mandatory evacuation orders. Secondly, if it hits Galveston, it hits Houston as well. As the fourth largest city in our nation with huge towering glass structures and complicated bayous winding throughout the communities in an effort to prevent residential flooding, this area is particularly vulnerable to a direct hit.

Third, my home is an hour and half drive from Galveston. Yet this storm was headed up Interstate 45 and its trip was going to take close to 24 hours. We finally (my 25 year old daughter and I) collapsed into sleep somewhere around midnight. Between the tides, the wave action and the path of the storm, it was already clear that the island was heavily damaged. The fires had begun. The emergency personnel were getting desperate calls from residents that could not be helped. And it was clear that we needed to get some rest.

The power went out at 4am Saturday morning. The wind and rain roared hour after hour...the only break being the sound of trees crashing and transformers blowing out. It was dark and the hours seemed endless. As the storm died down to tropical force, I had to go onto my back porch where there was enough light to read. My daughter stayed inside listening to the endless bad news coming from the battery operated radio.

Suddenly, I loud crash that I thought was nearby thunder! My daughter screams "MOM, come here." I casually enter the house expecting yet another overreaction to the circumstances to find water pouring from the ceiling of my living room. A look outside revealed that a large portion of the tree (at least 50 years old) in my front yard was now on top of my house.

I could describe the rest of the tree crash ordeal, but it would be too long. Just know that it punctured the roof in 3 places, each hole about a one foot diameter. On Sunday, I was able to get a roof company to patch the holes and dry in the home. The remediation company promises to call about drying out the moisture and I now have a claim number for my insurance company. All is well.