Flying in the Wind » Hurricanes

Balloons, Kites, Wind Chimes, Garden Flags, Windsocks, Windspinners and more wind related

Hurricanes

Hurricanes are a constant threat here in the Houston area - so far, mostly, we have escaped their wrath for many years … the very first year I was here … 1989 I think … a Cat 1 hurricane blew into Galveston and I was living there at the time. I had no clue just how dangerous a hurricane could be - I just thought of it as a large thunder boomer type rain storm. Not only did I stay in the little shotgun house 2 blocks from the beach, before it arrived, I was out in the car driving around taking pictures … then we had a BBQ on the front porch - I have pictures from that too. Sounds pretty stupid to me now that I know better.

I was VERY lucky … it did not do much real damage right there where I was … but we could not get off the island for a day or two - it was closed to in-bound traffic - we could leave but we could not get back in … so we stayed put. No electric … trees down everywhere - great big giant palm trees down - that was when I knew I had been stupid - I saw all the mess … I knew that I had been incredibly lucky and that I would not be pushing my luck next time! I suddenly understood the real meaning of “hurricane lamp”. We had oil lamps in Iowa for when the power went out, rain storms, tornadoes, snow blizzards … and we have them in Texas in case of hurricanes. My Grandmother had kerosene lamps - one was a lovely pretty red color on the base - it smelled awful whenever it was used but we were really grateful for the light it gave us when there was no electricity.