Ok, I'm going to try this again......I spent this afternoon typing a huge post to this blog since (as you can tell) it's been quite a while since my last one. As I typed I kept seeing at the bottom that it was being "autosaved" into my draft file so I didn't think too much about it. UNTIL.......YUP......all of a sudden it was gone, just like that. No problem I thought, it's all saved I'll just go into my draft file and get it. So.....that's what I did and sure enough there was the post with the timestamp of when I had been typing except.....it was BLANK!!!! Uggggghhhhh!!!! So..... after taking a long break and doing other things instead, I'm trying it again...Here goes...wish me well :)
Many people have asked us about the logistics of DRT. So I thought while we're hanging out waiting on Ike to decide which direction he's going, when he's going to get there, and how strong he's going to be when he does get there now might be a good time to fill you in on some of the "nitty gritty" of DRT. (don't take me seriously about the hanging out part, the DRT coordinators are all extremely busy having just gotten back from the Iowa floods, taking care of things following Hurricane Gustav and preparing for Hurricane Ike) ANYWAY.......
When I say "nitty gritty" sometimes that can also translate into the word "frustrating".
Such as with Gustav and Ike. Directly following Gustav's landfall Mark and I started making phone calls and sending emails to churches and contacts that we have across the gulf coast to find out how things were following Gustav (as you'll see in a minute, things are done differently for a cat. 2 storm compared to a major hurricane) Anyway, I spoke to Doug Burleson from the Goodwood Church of Christ in Baton Rouge. He said they had trees down and some roofs blown off but their biggest problem was lack of power but that the electric company was working on it and everyday there was more and more people with power. He felt that within 2 weeks when about everyone had power, Baton Rouge would be in pretty good shape. For the time being though, their congregation is doing a great job reaching out to their community with supplies and cutting trees, etc. I kept calling others and got about the same reports.
Keep in mind....... At the same time, Ike is lerking around the corner. It looks as though Ike could head into south Florida as a major hurricane. We are based out of Melbourne, Fl. our equipment is at our property in High Springs, Fl. .............NOW .......Whenever there is a "MAJOR" Hurricane predicted to make landfall in the U.S. things are set up differently for DRT coordinators and equipment drivers. (DRT is a 1st Response Disaster Team meaning we are prepared to respond immediately to catastrophic disasters) We all head toward the direction where the hurricane is to make landfall (close enough to get into the area immediately but far enough away to not be in harms way or have our equipment damaged) In this case we are to meet at our storage and training center in High Springs, FL. Ok......plans are made, drivers are scheduled............Ike's track changes and it seems as though he's going into the gulf. This particular update it looks as though he'll head right for our property....next update looks as though he'll head farther west, possibly Alabama or Mississippi.........We take a look at things again and decide it's best to come in from the east from Florida rather than trying to drive from the North following landfall so we keep the plans the same.......HAVE YOU TOTALLY LOST INTEREST YET?????
I bet you'll never ask about logistics again, will you?!?!? :-)
(and remember.....this is just the logistics about where to meet before the hurricane hits!!!!)
Ok, where was I?!?!.........Oh ya......I have you caught up to yesterday.....see this isn't so bad :)
So we have 2 of our coordinators (Bob and Shirley Card from Ohio) take the shower trailer to Florida (it had just returned from the Iowa floods) so they could come right back and pick up another trailer and go back down when we all meet there together. Sounds good so far.......Meanwhile........yesterday afternoon I begin receiving phone calls from Louisiana saying DRT is needed in Louisiana in a couple of areas that have absolutely no help at all!! OK.........BUT, that's not all........The new hurricane forecast update looks more and more like Ike could head for Louisiana or even Texas!!! ---------Well you don't need to know too much geography to know that is quite a ways from Florida! ;) AND.....Remember......Bob and Shirley are already on their way with the shower trailer to Florida.

Well, we have some new decisions to make.

1. Do we change all plans and immediately send the coordinators and take all of our equipment to Louisiana where we are told we are needed?

2. Do we hold off and see just where Ike is going first?

3. What do we do about Bob and Shirley who are already almost to Florida with the shower trailer?

One of the WONDERFUL things about being a Christian is.....we don't have to make all the decisions alone. :) So......we pray. (Laura's side note: I can't imagine how people that don't pray get through their day)
Anyway......We weigh things out and decide that if Ike does head for Louisiana we'll all have to evacuate anyway within a couple days of when we would have been able to get everything set up. Talk about a logistic nightmare (we've had to do this before following Hurricane Charley, what I've described above logistically is nothing compared to evacuating)

So.... 1. We decide for now to "hold off" a few days and see what Ike seems to do (maybe he'll fizzle over Cuba!!)

2. Yes

3. Bob and Shirley call and come up with a suggestion of going on to Florida, picking up a few more chain saws and equipment, etc. then taking the trailer west part way and drop it at the Creekwood Church of Christ in Mobile, Alabama (where we based one of our relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina) until Ike makes landfall ..GREAT IDEA BOB AND SHIRLEY!!!!! We call Creekwood, they have no problem with us leaving the trailer there and voila~
Next step is to contact all our drivers and coordinators with a new staging area west of Florida and we're done for another day.
I'm just glad to be done with the "frustrations" and hopefully return to the "nitty gritty" tomorrow ;-)