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So........ There I was......
Sleeping like a baby when the phone rang...... It was daycare telling me that they were going to postpone opening because of the bad weather, so I flipped on the TV.... Then I called Mom to tell her I would be bringing the baby over to her house since daycare was delayed. The folks on the news were not freaking at all about my area. As a matter of fact, there was not even a tornado warning for my county. The phone rings again, and this time it is my wife calling from Austin where she was at a conference for work. She was a bit freaked out and told me that looking at Facebook and Twitter, folks were hiding in basements and what not.... I greeted this with an "Ahhh, those folks are nuts, it isn't even bad here... blah, blah, blah...."
Then the power went out.
I stuck my phone in my pocket, and grabbed my penlight. I went onto Chloe's room and got her, so if I needed to go hunker(which I thought that there was no need to do) I could. I made it into the den with her and stopped to look out the back door and noticed the trees writhing around like a den of cobras, and decided that It may be a good idea to go hunker. (just to be on the safe side)
We made it to the stairwell, and I shut the door behind me. Got half way down the steps and heard Camo (the most awesome 9 pound Shih-Tzu on the planet) pawing at the door behind me. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love this dog, but for whatever reason, I didn't go back for him. I felt like there was not time. I got to the bottom of the steps and turned right back towards the corner of the house that was most underground when I heard snaps and pops.
Then all hell broke loose.
I cannot describe the noise your freaking house makes when it falls in on top of you, but it is loud as crap. I looked over my shoulder in time to see my staircase coming down on me so I got as low as I could, and covered Chloe as best I could, placing my elbows on the ground and trying to get as much separation as possible........ The next 30 seconds or so are a blur, and next thing I know, things have gotten quiet, and I don't have much room to maneuver.
I ask Chloe if she is okay, to which she replied "Hey Dah-dee!" and felt relieved. This relief was short-lived, when I realized that I now needed to figure a way out of the mess I had found us in, and try to let folks know where I was in case I couldn't get out.
Dial 911....... Nothing..... That sucks.
Dial Heather..... Let her know a tornado hit the house, and we are fine, but may be trapped...... Probably not the best thing to say to your wife and mother of your child when she is 700 miles away, but my critical thinking skills were marginal to say the least.
Dial Mom and Dad..... Let them know the same.... They are on their way.
Brother in-law calls.....he is gonna call my father in-law and get him over. He lives about a half mile, away.
Okay, so folks know we are alive and well. Now I have to get us the hell out of this mess.
The one very strange thing about your house falling in on your head, is that you have to think really hard about how you are oriented. I struggled for a few moments to figure out where I was, because things had moved abot a great deal, and I had no real points of reference. I looked towards the front of the house and saw daylight. This is a good thing, so I start making my way over there. At this point, Chloe isn't to sure about my clumsy movement in the dark and is freaking a bit, so I stop and talk to her to calm her down for a second. While sitting there, I realize that the gas lines have probably been broken, and decide that Chloe would just have to get upset with me because I had just had a house fall on my back, and I'll be damned if I am gonna burn in it. I keep shuffling and squeezing through till I hear a familiar voice, my neighbor Josh. He is calling for us, so I yell and let him know I am coming his way. I snake us through a hole about the size of a car window and realize I am up under what used to be my front porch.....
"If this is here, then..... Holy crap....."
I crawl my way up and am finally able to stand. I get the baby to Josh who gets her up into his basement with his wife while I figure out how to get out of there. Another neighbor opens a window and assists me into my house..... Did I mention that I'm wearing flannel pajama pants? Good thing I decided to put those on.... Hard to keep a cell phone in your boxers. I get back to the bedroom to find the floor buckled, and grab the first pair of Jeans I see, along with a tee-shirt and a pair of boots. I noticed a scrape on my foot, but threw the boots on anyway. I grab a sippy cup and a diaper bag because I know Chloe is probably thirsty, and I know she has a full diaper and tear off to the neighbors. I find her playing with Katherine, and pause for a moment to marinate on what just happened.... I grab her and loose it.... She is more interested in the sippy cup that Katherine has filled with milk, so I let her have at it. By this time, My father in-law has made it over, along with several neighbors. I finnaly get back in touch with Heather, and let her know all is okay. I talk to Tim (Dalpilot) at some point but don't really remember much of the conversation......
From this point the only thing I can think of to describe what came next is an outpouring of love. My pastor comes by, people that work with Heather come by, my parents take Chloe, my sister shows up, folks grab chainsaws to clear my driveway so I can get the truck out, which for some reason isn't to worse of the wear. Minor dings and such.
I bet you are wondering "Where's the dog?"
Well, that little squirrely bogger bobs up after I call for him a few times. It seems as if he may have had quite the adventure himself, but he is all good. My sister takes him for a haircut and a cleaning. He looks like a homeless dog.
Guys, I am absolutely overwhelmed at your kindness. I cannot describe how good it feels to be included in a community with folks like yall. I have said it before, but folks who don't know about the Comp D family have no Idea about how we take care of our own. Thanks for all of the calls, texts and emails checking up on us, thanks for the monetary contributions which have already come in quite handy when you have to go buy enough plastic bins to salvage what you can out of your house, buy a few meals, and start to figure out exactly what it is you have to do to get your life back to some sense of normalcy. Most of all, thank you for all of the thoughts and prayers. This is no doubt the most difficult thing I have ever experienced, and I know that your thoughts and prayers are somehow giving us peace when looking into an uncertain future. Luckily, along with you guys we have a wonderful support group here, and we have managed to salvage some clothing, furniture, and personal stuff. We are at my parents' house and we have been contacted by the insurance company, although it is probably gonna be some time before all of this is sorted out. The main thing I ask of you guys is to keep up those prayers for those that didn't fair so well. The line of storms that came through Wednesday afternoon were much worse and the death toll is rising by the minute. My brother in-law is a cop over in one of the hardest hit areas, and he says that the the devastation there is hard to comprehend.
I am a very, very lucky man. I am glad to be able to call you all friends and our family owes you all a debt of gratitude that I doubt we will ever be able to repay. Thank you once again for your kindness during all of this. You guys mean the world to my family.
This is Comp D. More than the fast stuff, uber-powerful trucks and animated discussion, it is the love that I feel from the members here to get though difficult times.
You guys freaking rule. I hope to see you all soon.
-Timbeaux and family.
Sleeping like a baby when the phone rang...... It was daycare telling me that they were going to postpone opening because of the bad weather, so I flipped on the TV.... Then I called Mom to tell her I would be bringing the baby over to her house since daycare was delayed. The folks on the news were not freaking at all about my area. As a matter of fact, there was not even a tornado warning for my county. The phone rings again, and this time it is my wife calling from Austin where she was at a conference for work. She was a bit freaked out and told me that looking at Facebook and Twitter, folks were hiding in basements and what not.... I greeted this with an "Ahhh, those folks are nuts, it isn't even bad here... blah, blah, blah...."
Then the power went out.
I stuck my phone in my pocket, and grabbed my penlight. I went onto Chloe's room and got her, so if I needed to go hunker(which I thought that there was no need to do) I could. I made it into the den with her and stopped to look out the back door and noticed the trees writhing around like a den of cobras, and decided that It may be a good idea to go hunker. (just to be on the safe side)
We made it to the stairwell, and I shut the door behind me. Got half way down the steps and heard Camo (the most awesome 9 pound Shih-Tzu on the planet) pawing at the door behind me. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love this dog, but for whatever reason, I didn't go back for him. I felt like there was not time. I got to the bottom of the steps and turned right back towards the corner of the house that was most underground when I heard snaps and pops.
Then all hell broke loose.
I cannot describe the noise your freaking house makes when it falls in on top of you, but it is loud as crap. I looked over my shoulder in time to see my staircase coming down on me so I got as low as I could, and covered Chloe as best I could, placing my elbows on the ground and trying to get as much separation as possible........ The next 30 seconds or so are a blur, and next thing I know, things have gotten quiet, and I don't have much room to maneuver.
I ask Chloe if she is okay, to which she replied "Hey Dah-dee!" and felt relieved. This relief was short-lived, when I realized that I now needed to figure a way out of the mess I had found us in, and try to let folks know where I was in case I couldn't get out.
Dial 911....... Nothing..... That sucks.
Dial Heather..... Let her know a tornado hit the house, and we are fine, but may be trapped...... Probably not the best thing to say to your wife and mother of your child when she is 700 miles away, but my critical thinking skills were marginal to say the least.
Dial Mom and Dad..... Let them know the same.... They are on their way.
Brother in-law calls.....he is gonna call my father in-law and get him over. He lives about a half mile, away.
Okay, so folks know we are alive and well. Now I have to get us the hell out of this mess.
The one very strange thing about your house falling in on your head, is that you have to think really hard about how you are oriented. I struggled for a few moments to figure out where I was, because things had moved abot a great deal, and I had no real points of reference. I looked towards the front of the house and saw daylight. This is a good thing, so I start making my way over there. At this point, Chloe isn't to sure about my clumsy movement in the dark and is freaking a bit, so I stop and talk to her to calm her down for a second. While sitting there, I realize that the gas lines have probably been broken, and decide that Chloe would just have to get upset with me because I had just had a house fall on my back, and I'll be damned if I am gonna burn in it. I keep shuffling and squeezing through till I hear a familiar voice, my neighbor Josh. He is calling for us, so I yell and let him know I am coming his way. I snake us through a hole about the size of a car window and realize I am up under what used to be my front porch.....
"If this is here, then..... Holy crap....."
I crawl my way up and am finally able to stand. I get the baby to Josh who gets her up into his basement with his wife while I figure out how to get out of there. Another neighbor opens a window and assists me into my house..... Did I mention that I'm wearing flannel pajama pants? Good thing I decided to put those on.... Hard to keep a cell phone in your boxers. I get back to the bedroom to find the floor buckled, and grab the first pair of Jeans I see, along with a tee-shirt and a pair of boots. I noticed a scrape on my foot, but threw the boots on anyway. I grab a sippy cup and a diaper bag because I know Chloe is probably thirsty, and I know she has a full diaper and tear off to the neighbors. I find her playing with Katherine, and pause for a moment to marinate on what just happened.... I grab her and loose it.... She is more interested in the sippy cup that Katherine has filled with milk, so I let her have at it. By this time, My father in-law has made it over, along with several neighbors. I finnaly get back in touch with Heather, and let her know all is okay. I talk to Tim (Dalpilot) at some point but don't really remember much of the conversation......
From this point the only thing I can think of to describe what came next is an outpouring of love. My pastor comes by, people that work with Heather come by, my parents take Chloe, my sister shows up, folks grab chainsaws to clear my driveway so I can get the truck out, which for some reason isn't to worse of the wear. Minor dings and such.
I bet you are wondering "Where's the dog?"
Well, that little squirrely bogger bobs up after I call for him a few times. It seems as if he may have had quite the adventure himself, but he is all good. My sister takes him for a haircut and a cleaning. He looks like a homeless dog.
Guys, I am absolutely overwhelmed at your kindness. I cannot describe how good it feels to be included in a community with folks like yall. I have said it before, but folks who don't know about the Comp D family have no Idea about how we take care of our own. Thanks for all of the calls, texts and emails checking up on us, thanks for the monetary contributions which have already come in quite handy when you have to go buy enough plastic bins to salvage what you can out of your house, buy a few meals, and start to figure out exactly what it is you have to do to get your life back to some sense of normalcy. Most of all, thank you for all of the thoughts and prayers. This is no doubt the most difficult thing I have ever experienced, and I know that your thoughts and prayers are somehow giving us peace when looking into an uncertain future. Luckily, along with you guys we have a wonderful support group here, and we have managed to salvage some clothing, furniture, and personal stuff. We are at my parents' house and we have been contacted by the insurance company, although it is probably gonna be some time before all of this is sorted out. The main thing I ask of you guys is to keep up those prayers for those that didn't fair so well. The line of storms that came through Wednesday afternoon were much worse and the death toll is rising by the minute. My brother in-law is a cop over in one of the hardest hit areas, and he says that the the devastation there is hard to comprehend.
I am a very, very lucky man. I am glad to be able to call you all friends and our family owes you all a debt of gratitude that I doubt we will ever be able to repay. Thank you once again for your kindness during all of this. You guys mean the world to my family.
This is Comp D. More than the fast stuff, uber-powerful trucks and animated discussion, it is the love that I feel from the members here to get though difficult times.
You guys freaking rule. I hope to see you all soon.
-Timbeaux and family.
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