Julie Pippert: Using My Words

The last few months of 2008 were a little mind-blowing in a "I'll let you know when I've finished processing that" kind of way. Have you ever gotten busy and let your house go? You know what I mean...skip the laundry, dusting, cleaning, tidying, vacuuming and so forth and one day, walk in, notice the mess and dirt and think, "Holy crap, how did it get this big and bad so fast and where in the world do I start?" Have you ever just backed out of the house and decided to find errands to run and a good excuse to eat out in order to avoid the mess and all you have to do? Overwhelmed. I haven't written much because I've been so overwhelmed, and had no way of figuring how to break it down and which one thing to tackle first. The next thing I knew, the things I wanted to say had piled up on top of one another and I? had no time to get to it, but more than that, it was such a cluttered jumble in my mind that I needed to break it down. Let's go back a few ...

One day, it seemed that the crisis was over, the disaster passed, even if the situation wasn't completely at an end. Blue tented roofs covered well-lighted houses that received phone calls once again, and where the people within made breakfast, squabbled about what to do for dinner, ran showers a little too long, and folded laundry while watching reality TV. The traffic lights no longer dangled into the streets, bigger than you imagine up close, and just one more obstacle to drive around. And though they still flashed, instead of running the red, yellow, green cycle we expect, flashing made everyone stop, instead of allowing some to pretend it meant a free for all where you never have to halt. The big government trailers and trucks still hogged the roads and parking lots, but there were fewer of them. As the public sector moved out, the private sector moved in. The big sailboat still leaned against the palm tree next to the hotel. I wondered if the owner had to drive by and see it ...

From the State of Texas website (Secretary of State, Hope Andrade): Election Procedures and Information Following Hurricane Ike TO: Voter Registrars, County Clerks, and Elections Administrators FROM: Ann McGeehan, Director of Elections DATE: September 22, 2008 RE: Election Procedures and Information Following Hurricane Ike The Secretary of State and her staff would like to extend their sympathy to all Texans affected by Hurricane Ike. As emergency relief efforts continue, we would also like to provide basic information with regards to the upcoming November 4, 2008 election. As we learn more about the situation in all affected areas, we will provide updated information. In the meantime, the following general information may be helpful to you. Voter Information We realize that evacuation is a difficult experience and that voters may not be certain of their future living arrangements, neither short nor long term. Voters who have been displaced have several options for voting in...

On the way to dinner the other night, we turned down a street and my mother said, "Hey Julie, look at those apartments right there---they just built them..." And I said, "Are they full?" Which she misheard, unsurprisingly considering the amount of noise six children can make, and said, "No, no they aren't for the poor, it isn't subsidized housing, I think anyone can live there." Which caused my sister to say, "Are you telling your HOMELESS daughter about alternative housing possibilities?" We laughed---a little at my mother for misunderstanding, and a little at me for the homeless thing. See, the homeless thing is a joke. It came from this whole incident at the school, when I tried to register my kids for temporary enrollment. When I went by the local school to see about sending the kids there until our school district opens, they handed me a form that I had to sign, declaring myself homeless, so that my mother---with whom we are staying-...

If you donate to the Red Cross they are sharing and distributing funds all across the Gulf Coast to help all the people affected by the recent nasty hurricane and tropical storm season. If you want specifically to help the people in Texas affected by Hurricane Ike, here are details: Right now every $5 donation to the Austin Food Bank buys $20 worth of food. Austin has five shelters that are housing over 1800 people. The shelters need these specific items: canned meats, vegetables and fruits with pop lids; granola bars and snacks; peanut butter and diapers and wipes (baby, child and adult ones). Houston Hurricane Recovery appears to be a website with good information. However, I cast my vote to the Houston Chronicle as the best hurricane resource . They've kept up with news, information, community details, and more via many avenues including Twitter. Houston Red Cross has a list of Houston-area shelters and contact information. That site also provides a number of ways to make a do...

The thing you have to consider beyond the damage from the hurricane are the dangers created in the aftermath. Other hazards to consider: dangerous traffic conditions because of lack of traffic lights, health hazards from unsafe water and waste, vulnerability to additional bad weather, and so forth. I've been curious about how "tip of the iceberg" the reporting on the Ike aftermath has been. I know media attention swung over to the Wall Street implosion, but I've also had the sense that the media thought: what's the story here? a hurricane hit, homes were destroyed, ho hum, BTDT. So here's the story, folks: what besides homes and local businesses were vulnerable to the hurricane? What else may have been destroyed? What else may be littering the roads, land, and water? or maybe I should ask, what else might be polluting my community? I began thinking about this when I received my town's latest update: As of today, Tuesday, September 16 at 7 pm, the City is w...

This is the latest message from my town's mayor: Hurricane Ike Update The City of [redacted] has sustained serious damage from Hurricane Ike. As of this writing, the City has no electrical power, no landline phone service, no potable water service, and sanitary sewage may be compromised. Cellular telephone service is limited as cell towers may be down or out of service. Many trees are down and storm debris is still obstructing many streets. [Surrounding bodies of water] are still over their banks in many places, but water levels are receding. The. . .Sheriff's Department has set up roadblocks to our neighborhood entrances and on [major roads] to prevent sightseers and non-residents from entering the area. There is a dawn to dusk curfew and non-residents are not allowed in the City between these hours. The Mayor is working with FEMA and other emergency management officials to assess the damage and to begin the reconstruction abd claims process. Residents are urged to not return ...

Soon, I will have a story with words. But for now...a few photos and links to what we knew a of yesterday when we went back to our neighborhod to check on the house. The area is getting hit with more rain and has flash flood warnings now, and news is of course making it sound really dire but I'm hoping it's just a case of newsodrama. In short, it's a good news/bad news situation. Bottom line: we fared okay and have not suffered any major losses personally. I'll leave it at that because you're probably going to get to hear plenty of whining from me about the financial hit this is going to be. Here are the photos: Trying to get back to our town: Hmm, boats in the hotel parking lot... This used to be a really nice park across from our neighborhood. Park and large parking lot covered. Water up to the roofs of the pavilions. Water receded off the road, thankfully: In our neighborhood---and YES this is the very neighborhood the CNN reporter drove through and filmed and th...

Hi friends So many of you have contacted me to send me offers of assistance, good wishes, thoughts, and so forth. Thank you. We have evacuated to an area just west and south of Houston, where we will get hit by Hurricane Ike but are safe from the storm surge. They have said to anticipate power outages of about 18 days, so I thought I'd put in this update while I can. Our town had a mandatory evacuation on noon Thursday. We left at noon on the dot, which is good because the police literally began a neighborhood check. Our dedicated little police force. It took about twice as long as usual to get here, which frankly we were extremely grateful about. When we evacuated for Rita, we never made it past Columbus, slept in our car for three days, got no assistance from locals or local authorities, and saw horrors that made us think next time drowning in a storm surge was preferable. However, this time, the authorities swore they had learned their lesson. We put our faith in that and I'...