#42 - BB

URRRR!  Just the name makes me mad!  BOB BRECK!  I will never listen to him again.  His voice is like chalk on the blackboard to me.  Of course there is a story...

Let me set the stage.  I do not remember the name of the hurricaine that was coming.  That is significant because it obviously did not do much damage to our area.  I do remember that my nephew was only 3-4 months old and my mother in law was keeping him.  His parents were in Chicago on their first "leave our new baby" out of town trip.  I also remember that I was pregnant for Seth.  For those of you who have graciously forgotten my shape during pregnancy, that means I looked something like this

Anyway, we knew there was a hurricaine in the Gulf.  All of the people who evacuate had evacuated.  Jeff had done his job and boarded up the house.  We had decided not to leave, but to hunker down for the night.  Then BOB BRECK!!!

I remember lying in bed watching the 10 o'clock news.  We had just gotten a call from my mother-in-law asking again if we wanted to leave, because she had the new baby, and his parents were calling from Chicago (where they were watching the weather channel) asking if all was really safe in Houma.  We had just assured her that everything was going to be ok and we were staying.  I think she had decided to come to our house to ride it out, I really can't remember exactly, but the next part is crystal clear.

Bob Breck...wild eyed, crazy haired, screaming, weather forecaster, screaming at ME through the TV.  He screamed, (and I quote), "People of Terrebonne Parish...What do you not understand???  The roofs of your homes are not designed to withstand the winds that are coming straight for you!!!!!  THIS HURRICAINE WILL BLOW THE ROOFS OFF OF YOUR HOUSES!!!!  IF YOU CAN STILL LEAVE, LEAVE NOW!"

I remember Jeff looking over at me and saying, "OK, Let's call mom to bring Joseph over here, and if we hear a tornado coming, we'll get the boys, and we'll all get in your closet." 

Now remember, !!!!!!!

There was no way in the world that I was going to get into my closet with a husband, a mother in law, a 5 year old, a 3 year old, and a new born.  That's when all of my pregnancy hormones kicked in and I started to panic.  I told Jeff, "We are leaving."  Jeff (eyes wide because since it was our 3rd baby, he recognized the hormone surge) says, "Baby, it's 10 at night.  We don't have anywhere to go."  He started to say,

"I'll be O-K" but stopped mid-sentence when he looked at me. 

"Did you hear Bob Breck?  He said the roofs will blow off of the houses!!!!!!!" I screamed.

God bless my husband.  He said, OK, pack a bag and call my mom.  We were in the car in 5 minutes, picked up his mom and Joseph, and left our house at 10:30 PM, in the middle of the feeder bands, to evacuate with no place to go.  I remember calling my dad when we got to Thibodaux and crying, "Dad...please come with us!  The roof is going to blow off of your house!"  My dad had both of my grandfather's who were sickly and not wanting to travel.  I remember him also talking to me as if I was about to jump and saying... "It's OK.  We'll be OK."  Anyway, short story, long...We drove to Mobile, Alabama where Jeff remembered the name of a hotel right before you got into the tunnel.  We called and miraculously, they had 2 rooms available.  We got there right about dawn, checked in, and crashed.  When we got up around 1:00, we turned on the news, saw that it hadn't even rained in Houma, and drove home.  Sigh...

Just remembering the story, makes me furious!  So...to this day, when I hear his voice, I cringe.  But...if I am going to see the glass half full, I will remember my husband's patience with his crazy, hormone wife, my kids thnking how fun it was to see the trees blowing sideways while we drove, and the fact that when I got home, my roof was still in tact.

Late breaking news update:  Do not turn on channel 8 for the hurricaine news in the Gulf today!!! 

You'll regret it!!!!!