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boondock_saint
Jul 21, 2006, 2:16 PM
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It's been a long time since I've felt like I was going to die and last night came pretty close.
On Wednesday, St. Louis was battered by some of the worst storms people have seen in their life time. The Governor has declared a state of emergency for Missouri and roughly 400,000 homes are still without power in the greater city of St. Louis. The heatwave that brought in the storm sadly did not let up and following the storm we had another day that saw a heat index around 100 or maybe even more.
Electrical workers from all over the state have been pouring into St. Louis trying to restore power but the estimates right now are still at up 5 days without power.
I drove around my neighborhood a little and it seems like every other house had large trees laying across the yard. There was some trees that were actually broken near the root - first time I have ever seen that happen.
I was actually out on my bike as the storm rolled in out of nowhere. 5 miles from our house on a very wooded trail we decided to make a run for it. Half way through we realized what a bad idea that was. Along with the rain and very very painful hail the winds were tearing through breaking of branches some twice the size of my body. I even saw a transformer box explode not more than 25 feet from me. Once the gusts picked up even more speed our little trail became a pretty terrifying gauntlet of debris.
Even with all that, the worst part was last night. It was the first time I slept in 90+ temperature and, of course, no fans to keep the air moving around. I woke up several times soaking wet & panting thinking I going die before morning. I have been through a lot but nothing ever felt as desperate as trying to breath that hot and humid air last night. I definitely rank suffocation now as my top 5 worst ways to die.
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dr_feelgood
Jul 21, 2006, 3:03 PM
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Try Iraq sometime.
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kubi
Jul 21, 2006, 3:22 PM
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if it makes you feel any better, everyone else hates St. Louis, too.
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thorne
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Jul 21, 2006, 4:02 PM
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Kicking people when they're down is such fun... and quite sporting to boot. :roll:
My heart goes out to everyone hurt by this natural disaster.
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boondock_saint
Jul 21, 2006, 4:14 PM
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In reply to: Try Iraq sometime.
Yeah, except I'm not getting combat pay for this shit. (Nor did I volunteer myself to do it). Nor did anyone else.
In St. Louis most people don't have power. You can't get ice anywhere. Food is going bad. I'm sure I lived through worse than you in my time of war (at least you have food) so it's not like I don't know what deep shit is, but this is horrible because everyone is utterly and completely unprepared for it.
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blonde_loves_bolts
Jul 21, 2006, 4:19 PM
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That sucks, boondock. Hope things improve soon.
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tattooed_climber
Jul 21, 2006, 4:24 PM
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dude.....seriously.....shutup...it could be a million times worst(you could be dead)....wow, a storm knocked out your power.....get over it
don't for a second compare or thing you have it worst than soldiers in a warzone
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kubi
Jul 21, 2006, 4:38 PM
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In reply to: dude.....seriously.....shutup...it could be a million times worst(you could be dead)....wow, a storm knocked out your power.....get over it don't for a second compare or thing you have it worst than soldiers in a warzone
wow, way to not pay any attention to the posts in this thread. It could be a million times worse, but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck quite a bit. Plus Boondock wasn't the one who compared what he was going through to what soldiers have to endure.
btw, sorry for my mildy funny joke up above, I really do feel for you guys down there. They say laughter is the best medicine, though...
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reno
Jul 21, 2006, 5:11 PM
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Sucks, Boondock. One of the negatives about living in the midWest is the storms. Been through a tornado yet? THOSE things really suck.... at least you still have shelter now.
Tornados are like ex-wives... they make a hell of a lot of noise, you never see it coming until it's right in front of you, and you typically lose the house in the process.
Hang in, dude... this, too, shall pass.
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boondock_saint
Jul 21, 2006, 5:23 PM
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WTF? Tattooed, go read my post again then think about my 86 year old neighboor (to my left) and well she is coping with 95 degree weathre and 95% humidity. Then think about my neighbor to the right who has 3 month old baby. She spent the entire day driving around in the car yeserday because at least the car has A/C.
I told what happened in St. Louis from my point of view. I didn't include every damn detail, like looking at dust get picked up straight up - and then you wonder while looking at the pitch black sky, am I gonna go next? Does it really take a 6th fucking sense to imagine how everyone else is doing who isn't 25 and and in good physical condition. There are so many people, like children, babies, elderly and trying to stay cope that don't have it nearly as easy as some of us.
Think about that before you smart off like an ignorant prick.
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organic
Jul 21, 2006, 5:29 PM
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hmm, I just finished playing soccer for about 1-1.5 hours in 115 F heat index. I went climbing yesterday in about 100 F heat index. I don't have air conditioning and haven't all summer because it broke and my landlady hasn't fixed it and it is that hot every night. No, sympathy here.
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boondock_saint
Jul 21, 2006, 5:43 PM
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It's okay Kubi, obviously my post was also meant to contain some humor. It's just so rude when people are like "oh whatever don't be a pussy."
Organic, don't be a retard. The issue is not the fact that it's a 115 derees. I can play soccer in a 115 derees and rock climb and go from house to house to make sure my neighbors are okay. The issues is that people north of I70 were advised to boil all their water - which a real bitch when you don't have power. Which means you also have no water. The issue is that you've got a fridge full of food that will go bad pretty soon and you can't even cook it since you have no power. In fact, are you fucking stupid for even bringing it up? WTF? When the governor decleres state of emergency it's usually not because of "some rainfall" or "mild heat." The brought in the national guard for fuck's sake.
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thorne
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Jul 21, 2006, 6:33 PM
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In reply to: dude.....seriously.....shutup...it could be a million times worst(you could be dead)....wow, a storm knocked out your power.....get over it
Worse? You mean like having a little rain dampen your climbing? :(
* See similar topics, below
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boondock_saint
Jul 21, 2006, 6:35 PM
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thank you BLB,
In reply to: Around the region, people began cleanup from Wednesday's storms that brought 80 mph winds and heavy rain. In St. Louis, the storms tore off a section of airport roof and dumped it on a highway. Windows were blown out of a hotel restaurant and a press box at baseball's Busch Stadium. At least three buildings collapsed, and more than 30 people were injured.
I have pictures of one of the buildings that collapsed. part of it collapsed onto one of the briges on the Mississippi so just added to the shitstorm.
In reply to: I had to go to six stores to get this. They were either closed because of the electricity or sold out," Swapshire said. "I don't think you can buy a cube of ice in all of St. Louis, either."
That's no joke either, I think every gas station within a reasonable distance of my house was out of ice by like 6am.
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reno
Jul 21, 2006, 6:35 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: dude.....seriously.....shutup...it could be a million times worst(you could be dead)....wow, a storm knocked out your power.....get over it Worse? You mean like having a little rain dampen your climbing? :( * See similar topics, below
No, Thorne.... he said it could have been "a million times worst." Obviously, that's different from "worse."
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blonde_loves_bolts
Jul 21, 2006, 6:59 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: dude.....seriously.....shutup...it could be a million times worst(you could be dead)....wow, a storm knocked out your power.....get over it Worse? You mean like having a little rain dampen your climbing? :( * See similar topics, below
:lol: :lol: :lol:
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crimpergirl
Jul 21, 2006, 7:20 PM
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My neighborhood was pummeled as well - Houses were smashed by huge trees. No power for 5-7 days they are telling us. The parrots and I are living in my office (which somehow continues to have power). I've been through many hurricanes, and I'll say the Wednesday night's winds were the worst I've ever been in. Another stormed pounded us today with *only* 80mph winds. Over half a million continue not to have power. Awful.
BTW, Boondock, part of the university is closed due to structural damage (the part near my home). What is open is being used as a cooling center. So come on by if you need some relief.
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neuroshock
Jul 21, 2006, 10:56 PM
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i'm confused. :?
if St. Louis is out of power, how are boondock and crimpie posting here??
boondock, by that i mean: if you have electricity at home to have your computer on the Internet, shouldn't your 86-year old and newer-mother neighbors have electricity to run the A/C? please fill in the gap that i'm obviously not bridging on my own.
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tgreene
Jul 21, 2006, 11:14 PM
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We endured the same conditions last fall, when we returned to NOLA post-Katrina... 95 degrees & 95% humidity, with no electricity, water or ice to be had anywhere. If not for all of the bugs and red ants, it would have been better to sleep outside. After 2 days of that bullshit, we couldn't wait to get back to our motel in Arkansas!
If there's anything you guys need, we're just a couple hours south, and at the very least, we have plenty of AC, since I have to keep my house at 71 because of my reef tank.
Mi casa es su casa!
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boondock_saint
Jul 22, 2006, 3:47 AM
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In reply to: i'm confused. :? if St. Louis is out of power, how are boondock and crimpie posting here?? boondock, by that i mean: if you have electricity at home to have your computer on the Internet, shouldn't your 86-year old and newer-mother neighbors have electricity to run the A/C? please fill in the gap that i'm obviously not bridging on my own.
:roll: :roll: :roll:
I work for a large government contractor who got completely shut down on Thursday so Friday they had generators up and running. I posted while I was at work. After work I went home, packed some shit and left for Arkansas to visit my sister (who just happens to have A/C :lol:)
Thank for your offer Tim. I want to apologize for being so brief with you on the phone - you called at a really bad time and I was in the middle of an argument.
Crimpy: I hope you and your birdies can stay cool in your office. I did hear that the millenium center was open as a cooling center. That's good. I'm also glad the water-boiling advisory has been lifted up there.
Let's hope St. Louis will get some milder temps over the weekend. Give people a chance to recover.
I am at my sister now in Arkansas so I'll check in here when I get the chance.
peace,
BDS
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tgreene
Jul 22, 2006, 1:49 PM
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In reply to: After work I went home, packed some shit and left for Arkansas to visit my sister (who just happens to have A/C :lol:) |
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crimpergirl
Jul 22, 2006, 2:18 PM
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Neuroshock: The university where I work has some power and internet. Given that I'm living in my office now, posting is easy. The parts of the university that weren't structurally damaged are open for the community to come to.
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boondock_saint
Jul 22, 2006, 8:24 PM
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Tim: I'm in Bentonville - it's like 5 -6 hours west of Jonesboro I think.
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