Re: Texas/Houston

[Indian Group Leader]

Hi James,

Let me start off by thanking you all for your concerns. To date, Louis Rothermel’s home and business were spared and he and his wife are both high and dry. Joe McCauley was not so fortunate. Joe and his partner Cornelia apparently had several feet of water in their home. I have not personally spoken with Joe, so I cannot tell you any more than that. Our Texas Chapter President, Adam Finn, and his wife Susan had a close call in Bellaire, but are also high and dry. In Pasadena, TX, my wife and I watched as water crept up to within 2 inches of our door sills on Saturday night. Although it continued to rain for several days, the intensity was less and the water moved back into our street without further threat of flooding in our home. At last count, we survived 45.74" of rain at our home and my son and his family also escaped unharmed in Pearland after receiving several more inches than we did.

If you have watched the news, I can guarantee you that in my 63 years here in the Houston Metropolitan Area, I have never seen anything closely related to what Harvey has done to this area. After it finally slowed down for us, it moved east and basically destroyed the cities and towns between here and into Louisiana. I offer my thanks to the untold number of volunteers that came from the Houston/Galveston area, other areas of the State of Texas, as well as numerous individuals from outside of our state. One heroic act after another was shown as armies of personal watercraft, monster trucks, and farm vehicles came out and rescued unknown strangers from their homes as each was buried under tons of water. The total land area affected by this storm was larger than many of the states in our great country. The best thing to come from all of this was the total unrestricted help from everyone who took the time and effort to come and offer assistance. My hat is off to the Cajun Navy from Louisiana who brought a fleet of Jon boats powered by outboards to help out. Police and Fire Department officials from New York City drove over here to help. Numerous other states sent individuals in and we could not be more thankful. The usual 1st responders performed flawlessly and the local officials quickly setup shelters for those who lost everything. There are too many business owners to thank personally, but I can tell you that food was readily supplied to those needing it, dry shelter and suppies were donated for those driven out of their homes. Even a local furniture owner opened his front doors of his newest location and invited individuals to come into his showroom and provided matresses and furniture for people to rest upon.

That is all for now. I am sure that I did not give enough credit to everyone who deserves it, but my heart goes out to all of those who offered their unsolicited assistance. I could not be more proud to be a part of a country that can show such compassion and assistance in a crisis like this. Thanks to all.

Tom Oncken
Texas Chapter Vice President