CHAS’ HURRICANE RITA TRIP PIX & STORY

MY SINCERE THANX to ALL who brought PET SUPPLIES to me!!!
You EACH did a WONDERFUL thing!

UNFORTUNATELY … It wasn’t until while I was RETURNING from my Texas Trip
to take Pet Supplies to HURRICANE RITA Rescue Folkz, that I realized my trip had been
an ENTIRELY SELFISH effort on MY part!!!
Had I simply donated the amount of money that I SPENT just to GO TO TEXAS
($210 just in GAS), and had I simply encouraged OTHERS to donate MONEY,
the PET RESCUE FOLKZ I wanted to assist would have received far more SUPPORT
(“money”) than they DID via MY PLAN!

My only “excuse” is THIS: Following Hurricane Katrina,
I sent a few hundred dollars to the AMERICAN RED CROSS
… a few hundred dollars to PETA
… a few hundred dollars to the MISSISSIPPI ANIMAL RESCUE folkz.
But, I never FELT like I was “DOING” anything!
So, when Hurricane RITA happened, I selfishly wanted to physically
GO THERE and DO SOMETHING!!!

Unfortunately, myne baby Bro, STEVE, didn’t “NEED” me to help him with his Hurricane Rita support efforts.
So, to let me PARTICIPATE in what he has RECENTLY DUBBED, “The OUTBACK TIGER TEAM”
would have caused him lotz of extra WORK. Thus, I realized it was important for me to stay out of his way!

On Saturday, September 24th (BEFORE leaving for TEXAS), after realizing that
I wouldn’t be able to do anything WITH STEVE to help the RITA VICTIMS,
I devised the following PLAN in an attempt to “justify” my TRIP:

I’d take the PET SUPPLIES gathered here in Lincoln to NACOGDOCHES
(the Northern-most Texas city spanked by Rita), and give them to the Animal Rescue folkz there.
THEN, I’d buy MORE PET SUPPLIES in Nacogdoches, and take them South to
LUFKIN … give them to the Lufkin Animal Rescue folkz …
THEN, I’d buy MORE PET SUPPLIES IN LUFKIN … and take them South to
BEAUMONT (the Texas city TRULY SPANKED BY RITA),
and give them to the Beaumont Animal Rescue folkz.

So, I left Lincoln on Sunday morning, September 25th, and headed to Nacogdoches.
I accomplished ALL of my plan – EXCEPT for the BEAUMONT delivery.
Beaumont was ENTIRELY EVACUATED (including PETS) when I arrived in Texas
(on Sunday night, September 25). So, there was no one for me to GIVE STUFF TO in Beaumont.
Thus, LUFKIN was my last delivery.

Oh, GADZ!!! After spending hours packing stuff that I anticipated NEEDING,
I forgot to take MY DIGITAL CAMERA WITH ME!!!

So, I just bought a disposable camera while enroute to Texas, to snap a few pix.
Needless to say, those PIX MOSTLY SUCKED! LOL

But, HERE ARE THE ONES THAT CAME OUT … OK!:

In the DARK (on Sunday night when I arrived in Nacogdoches –
NOT when these pix were taken, which was on Monday MORNING!),
I had a helluva time finding the Nacogdoches Animal Rescue place,
because their SIGN had been blown-down by RITA!

Thankfully, their building had POWER, and was lit-up enough for me to
finally see the ADDRESS on it – even in the dark!

So, I DID manage to FIND the sucker on Sunday night!
But, the ONLY reason I got to DROP OFF my load o’ NE PET SUPPLIES that NIGHT
was because one of their employees, “Lupe,” was LIVING there (along with her whole fandamily)
since their home had no power! So, she was on site, and able to help me
off-load my supplies at 11:30 pm on Sunday!

It was too funny, and very REWARDING, to be somewhat “incognito!”
Each time she helped me bring ANOTHER load of supplies in from my car,
Lupe would pause to ask me, AGAIN, “WHO are you?!”
And, I kept answering, “I’m just Charly from Lincoln, Nebraska.
My friends and I just wanted you guyz to have these supplies.”

I now completely “GROK” why Steve likes to keep his OUTBACK TIGER TEAM a “quiet” effort
(why Steve doesn’t notify the PRESS about what his OUTBACK TIGER TEAM is doing).
It’s sort of like what the LONE RANGER must have enjoyed!
Doing good deeds without asking for “credit” is REALLY FUN!!!

After off-loading those supplies, I drove to
the Nacogdoches WALMART (arriving around midnight).

Both entrances were BARRICADED by MULTIPLE pallets of sandbags that night!
But, the employees “guarding” the store told me the store would be open at 8 am.
So, I parked in that parking lot, and slept in my car!

Upon waking at 7 am, I drove closer to the entrance and was brushing my teeth while hanging out, waiting for opening time.
A 75+ year old guy drove up in his pickup truck, and parked next to me. I told him about the store opening time. But, “KEN” was more interested in my license plate.
“My older sister lives in Nebraska!”
As it turns out, Ken hadn’t been able to call his “people” to let them know he was healthy and safe since Rita hit. So, he asked if I’d call his 85+ year old sister, “Iona” for him on my cell phone.
I don’t OWN A CELL PHONE!!!
The cell phone I had with me on that trip was one that DREW HAD GENEROUSLY LEANT TO ME!
So, I told Ken I’d be happy to call his “people,” and that HE could talk to his sister on the phone I had.
“Oh, NO! She goes on and on!YOU talk to her,
and just tell her that I’ll call her when my power is back up!”
He was right! Iona DOES go on and on!!! It was tooooo funny! (She began telling me all about how her daughter, Aubrey, comes to take her shopping, and ON … and ON … and ON …!!!)
ANYWAY! After politely getting Iona to HANG UP, I also called “Bud & Jesse” for him.
They are Ken’s brother and sister-in-law in Montana. They were a HOOT, as well!

ONCE IT OPENED, I loaded up with another car-load of PET SUPPLIES purchased at the
Nacogdoches WALMART, and drove it to Lufkin.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take pix o’ the LUFKIN Animal Shelter!

After dropping off my LUFKIN LOAD, I made my way to Steve & Jodi’s home in
The Woodlands (a Northern suburb of Houston), via BACK ROADS.

The damage I witnessed in Nacogdoches and Lufkin was primarily TREE DAMAGE.

But, the trees had already been CLEARED from the highways by REGULAR PEOPLE!
There were TONZ o’ accounts of regular people simply taking it upon themselves
to attack downed trees with their own chain-saws, and
dragging them off the roads!

Here’s what Nacogdoches roads looked like before local folkz cleared them.

I did see a LOT of SIGN DAMAGE there, as in this pic of awnings collapsed.

Gas Station Signs were the most COMMON victims
in both Nacogdoches and in Lufkin (this is a Lufkin pic).

Tree damage in Lufkin.

Since I knew before I headed there that GAS would be difficult to find
(or would require heinously-long waits in line to get), I made sure to FILL UP every time
I hit a half-tank on the way down … and, every time I hit 3/4-tank once I was
actually IN the Rita-effected areas!

Although I had planned to use only BACK ROADS to get to Steve & Jodi’s home
so as to AVOID ever using Interstate 45,
I got LURED ONTO THE SUCKER!!!

When I crossed it (via back roads from Lufkin),
I-45 looked like it was MOVING JUST FYNE!!!

Silly me. Once ON it, I was STUCK THERE!
It took almost THREE HOURS to go 50 miles to my exit!!!

Here’s an example of how chitty the disposable camera was:
This is a pic taken from my car of a MILITARY GAS DISTRIBUTION AREA
stationed along I-45 just North of Houston, on Monday, September 26.

Here’s a “professional” pic of I-45 that day! LOL

I arrived at Steve & Jodi’s home just in time to say, “BYE!” to Steve as he headed back to Beaumont to
re-join his TIGER TEAM there. Then, I spent the rest of Monday socializing with Jodi and the kidz.
Around 9:30 Tuesday morning, I left The Woodlands and headed HOME to Nebraska.
I arrived back in Lincoln around 11:59 pm on Tuesday night.

WELL. Apart from THIS:

If you have suggestions for The Miller Fandamily Web Site,
OR contributions to the photo gallery!
please Email WebMistress Chas!
c-d-miller@neb.rr.com
That’s: c-d-miller@neb.rr.com –
those are hyphens/dashes (-) between the “c” and “d” and “miller”