A drive in a storm

Hey if anyone is still reading this thing ... here is something to read.

(I'm sure there are more exciting stories - but my cable is out, and I'm bored.)

After work I made the haul to my friends house in Katy to help him move stuff to a storage unit in Richmond (Harlem & Beechnut - new neighborhood - Grand Missions). Two trucks headed out there as the sun set and the storm clouds rolled in. Going south on the Grand Parkway, I was talking to my friend - my sponsor - and catching up. I saw the clouds to the east of us and to the north of us. Really wished I had a digital camera or at least a good phone camera. The rain line was thin and distinct. One side was a yellowish green of a hazy sunset in Houston and the other a rich ocean blue of a cold spring shower. While he was talking, I was observing the clouds. As we pulled in the storage, we had the work done in 10 minutes. 15 boxes packed up by his pregnant wife, ... only 2 or 3 required 2 people to carry. His friend went home and we went on to see his new house under construction. Driving over there I noticed the low clouds.

After we saw the house, we headed back to drop him off. In the driving direction, there were dark purple clouds. Along the horizon - in town - the center clouds were charcoal grey and faded into the dark of the coming night. (Poetic, ain't it!?) There was no avoiding this one. I poured on us from the Grand Parkway and I-10 all the way to Fry and Morton. At his house we tried to check the weather on his flat panel (yes I said flat panel) TV mounted on his wall. But the $3500 piece of crap was useless when it was raining and the dish was out. Gotta love that. (PS - I promote cable over dish any day). We check the web (cable) and saw that the storm was mostly north of I-10 and east of Hwy 6. It was safe for me to go home.

As I headed in on I-10, I hit the rain right about Hwy 6 and by Dairy Ashford - I got off. Here's where it got adventurous. On the off ramp, I came to a relatively quick halt to avoid the blown over construction cylinder/vat and I waited for a car to pass before maneuvering around it, hoping others would be as alert as I was. I turned right on Dairy Ashford and the rain was lightening up, but it was dark now and I came to a quicker halt to avoid hitting a tree in the left lane - not a broken branch - a damn tree! Thankfully the two cars tailing me were not too close and avoided my bumper. We all waited for clearance and one by one got around it. I was laughing as the guy behind me passed me. How crazy was this drive home. I'm sure he had words like crazy running in his head also. I turned left on Memorial - finally, and went to take an eventual right on Kirkwood to cut on over to Westheimer. The power at all the light around the area was out. Hell, all the area was dark.

I started down Kirkwood and kept getting surprised by these puddles and then a few intersections before Briar Forest, hail started coming down. I took a U-turn back to Memorial. I had to creep by and rollover a few top branches of another tree down on Kirkwood. Wilcrest was dark and flooded. I thought the feeder of the Tollway would surely be impassable, so I proceeded to Gessner. Gessner was flooded. I took another U-turn and head to the Tollway. Talking to another friend, he was stuck from getting to Memorial. I wasn't sure I'd ever get off Memorial. He was eating by Westheimer and Hays. I turned on the feeder and missed the exit. Thank God - I may not have been able to exit til 59. I was able to get past Briar Forest and the underpass and when I got to Westheimer to turn right and go eat, the lights were out and the whole intersection was flooded and chaotic. I called back and cancelled.

People were going throughout the intersection with the water up to their doors. But they were going 6 to seven cars at a time, leaving those on the feeder - screwed. I finally managed to pass through the light by flashing my blinkers at those attempting to cross me. Westheimer was an absolute mess. Cars were honking all over. I had flashbacks to Hurricane Rita and that hole heap of shit. I couldn't pass the tollway and keep heading east because I managed to get stuck in the one lane of traffic in the turning lane to which all sorts of illegal maneuvers were going on. I couldn't call anyone now, my cellphone was down to one bar and I was missing my charger. I turned back the other way on the feeder and took a right to cut through a Church parking lot to get back to Seagler (was really close to my place now - if all else, I could park and walk. Seagler was flooded, but I pulled through and got to the intersection and finally got going on Westhiemer. Still, no one was coming even remotely close to following the rules of the road when lights go out. I punched it into Westeimer and my truck wa ssputtering and had been through 3 or 4 flooded roads I shouldn't have gone through. The street in which I take around to my place was also flooded (Briarpark). I thought if I went through one more flooded street I'd for sure stall out. I hoped the over the curb and did a u-ey. Took a right on Westhiemer and made it to Elmside.

When I got in the complex, I was good for half way through, then I had no choice but to try to drive through the waves again to park. When I pulled in, I took off my nice shoes and my socks and put on my golf shoes. I waddled through a foot of water to my apt building and emptied out the cups of water in my shoes. Finally, I was home.

And then my cable went out. Damn.