storm3.txt

We watched the storm moving in all of last weekend on the Weather Channel and local news. I went to Home Depot just in the nick of time to purchase a portable generator. I filled up my three SUVs and I filled up five five-gallon containers of gasoline. We purchased supplies to last us a few days. Since I live about 60 miles from the coast, I wasn't expecting too much damage.
The storm rolled in on Monday, September 1, in the morning. Power went out about 11:00am. Winds started kicking up. We were told our area would get winds of about 50mph. I live in an area where there are lots of large pine and oak trees.
About 12:30pm, I was standing on my back patio when I watched a large tree split in two and fall in my neighbor's yard. I started to get nervous at that point because I have numerous trees near my home and I was concerned that if those fell, it would cause serious damage to my home and perhaps to my family. My wife, our five children, and our dog, stayed in an area of the home where we felt safest.
Then, I heard a large crash. I looked out my front window and saw that a tree from my across-the-street neighbor's house had fallen on top of another neighbor's RV. Trees were dropping all around us. Another tree fell on my riding lawn mower and my golf cart. Fortunately, no trees fell on my house. Many of my neighbors were not so fortunate.
President Bush came to Baton Rouge yesterday to assess the damage. I have three good friends on Governor Jindal's cabinet and I know that they are doing a super job bringing things back to order. It's been three days since the storm and I still do not have electricity - but that is expected given all the downed power lines. Unfortunately, my brand new generator does not work - I brought it in for repair. Thankfully, my parents' house had electricity restored the day after the storm so I was able to bring my family to their house until electricity at my house gets restored. There are downed trees and power lines all over the city.