The Storm is Passing Over

When I taught Choral music, my students were always thrilled to perform the Moses Hogan arrangement of "The Storm is Passing Over."  I'd prefer teaching music, with my one remaining good ear, rather than enduring a repeat of the wind storm that rolled through Kentucky courtesy of Hurricane Ike. The Bluegrass State found over half of its 120 counties with power outages, down power lines, and thousands of toppled trees after sustained winds gusting to 75 mph roared through the Ohio valley on September 14th.

Our home was one of the 301,000 without electricity for a week in the Louisville area. Schools in southern Indiana and Kentucky, including the large Jefferson County Public Schools, cancelled classes from the 15th through 19th due to the lack of electricity.  A gym roof was ripped from one of the local high schools, and a 10-year old was killed by a falling limb as the unexpected winds quickly surpassed the forecasted 30-40mph that had led to a wind advisory being announced for the Louisville area. 

After the storm passed and power was restored to most neighborhoods, the local news announced that over 100 people had been rushed to area hospitals throughout the week for carbon monoxide poisoning due to improper usage of generators.  One tragic story involved a newly-rented property.  In that case, the owner had loaned a generator to his new renters.  When the renters improperly placed the generator in the home, the entire family was overcome by the build-up of carbon monoxide. The property owner, who decided to check on the family, grieved at finding the family deceased.

Additional loss of life and property were some of the stories lost behind the headlines of the Ryder Cup that captured the national spotlight after the storm.   While Governor Steve Beshear called the National Guard to assist with cleanup, comments on local radio expressed concern that some of these guard members were actually directing traffic flow for Ryder cup attendees at Valhalla Golf Course. Others were busy directing people to the shuttles lining the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center to carry attendees to the golf course.

On radio, many people complained far too much, considering how minor the problems in the Commonwealth when compared to the likes of Galveston Island and the deep south. One caller to WHAS 840 AM call Louisville "a war-zone" only to be berated by the on-air host.  The caller most have missed Headline News and The Weather Channel coverage of the tragedies of the deep south as Hurricane Ike wiped coastal Texas off the map.

As for now, the Ryder cup has left town, and we are playing catch-up both at home and work.  Thank goodness Sherri and I were able to live comfortably with a gas stove and gas water heater.  Isabel slept soundly with the windows open each night and temperatures in the upper 50's and low 60's.  Although ice was hard to come by, I was able to transport the contents of our deep freezer to my dad's home before everything was lost.  It was a learning experience.  We got closer to our neighbors, and met many people who would have otherwise remained glued to their television sets, if power had not been lost.

As for those who truly experienced hardship over the last few days, our prayers go out to those truly struggling to simply make ends meet after this late summer storm.