Holding Their Own: A Story of Survival (11 page)

Bishop and Terri were both
feeling disheartened. The night before they had been enjoying a wonderful sunset from their front porch, but the mood turned melancholy as the splendor grimly reminded them of the world’s troubles. After the sun had set, the sky to the south continued to glow. The couple lived 23 miles north of Houston and despite the postcard colors, they knew it was evidence of the raging fires devastating Houston proper. The radiance was an orange haze of flame and ash permeating the air. Fortunately for them, the wind was driving the flames south. At least they didn’t have to abandon their property like countless thousands of others. The football stadium was littered with homemade tents and sleeping bags where many of Houston’s newly homeless were sleeping. Exceedingly long lines formed outside of local churches where displaced folks hoped for a cup of cold coffee or a peanut butter sandwich.

The g
overnor of Texas called up the National Guard to help the Houston police cope with the massive number of homeless and to assist with other tasks. He had also ordered the cities of Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio to send firefighting equipment and workers to assist. It was unclear just how much help was coming, but the HFD would welcome anything they could get.

Since Terri had the day off, Bishop and she had planned a quiet day at home with a little grocery shopping scheduled for the afternoon. While Bishop polished off his BLT on wheat, Terri snuggled next to him on the couch to see the local news at noon. The teaser before the show indicated that a local cardiologist would be interviewed later in the broadcast, giving valuable advice about triglyceride control
. A healthy dose of indigestion to go with my lunch
thought Bishop. He was about to flip the button on the remote when yet another breaking news alert stopped him.

For the first 20 minutes, they sat watching in complete
, stunned silence.

The news was showing
footage of Chicago and the Dan Ryan. Mile after mile of cars were sitting on the expressway, looking like they had been parked or abandoned. The news reporter commented that hundreds of them still had their engines running. As a helicopter camera started zooming in, they could see unmoving people sitting in several of the cars. When the camera panned to a school bus full of children slumped in their seats, both Terri and Bishop had to dry their eyes.

The story sounded
almost the same in Boston and Los Angeles.

The next
scene was the cell phone film of the bridge. While the casualties were not nearly as horrific, the footage of major sections of the bridge falling in the Mississippi River was more graphic, leaving no doubt of the nature of the devastation.

The picture then
switched to the president, broadcasting from Air Force One. Bishop had to give the man credit for putting on a good show and trying to calm the American people. The president reminded everyone, “We have been attacked several times in our history, and each time the United States of America has overcome the challenge.” He went on to recall how America had reacted to the 9/11 attacks. “We pulled together like no other time in our history and responded as one nation. We, as a people, must now do the same thing. The number of our citizens murdered in cold blood is greater than 9/11, and our resolve will not waiver. We will overcome just as we did during those terrible days.”

Bishop’
s response was one, single, eloquent word. “Bullshit.”

Terri gave him a puzzled look
as he muted the sound on the television.

“Terri, when the
terrorists attacked us on 9/11, unemployment was at 4%, and the economy was healthy and growing. Most people don’t realize how close we came to financial disaster then. If you read the 9/11 Commission Report, it spells it out in black and white – we were very lucky.”

She nodded
, and he went on.

“Look at us now
. Unemployment is 20%, almost every major city and state is on the verge of bankruptcy, and our infrastructure has been largely ignored for twenty years. We have fewer cops, fewer firefighters, and citizens have fewer financial resources to fall back on. Do you think the medical center fire would have been burning for more than a week if the fire had been started five years ago?”

Bishop
stopped talking when the TV picture changed to a man neither of them recognized. He was speaking to a large crowd with intense passion on his face. Terri turned the sound up and heard the guy ranting, “The rapture has occurred! Jesus has taken his worshipers to Heaven! The end times are upon us!”

Bishop muted the sound again and just looked at Terri shaking his head
. Gathering his thoughts, Bishop continued, “See what I mean? As a people, we are so weak financially, and everyone’s morale is low. The president can say what he wants about recovery, but I have to wonder if the country has enough strength left to pull through this.”

Terri said
, “I don’t know, Bishop. Church doesn’t sound like a bad idea right now.”

When the news broadcast
started repeating everything, Bishop muted the television again and looked at a very frightened Terri. He didn’t blame her for being alarmed. He was scared.

“Bishop, are we safe here?”
she asked, a vague, unsettled feeling growing inside her.

“We are as safe as anywhere from
terrorists, if that is what you mean.”

“Yes…ummm…
. NO….ummm…. I really don’t know what I mean.”

Bishop understood what they were both feeling and fought the urge to simply
glue himself to the TV set, devouring any little bit of new information that became available. Thinking that it would be best if they did something productive, they got dressed and began to take inventory of their supplies “because it was close to hurricane season,” or at least that’s what they told each other.

Bishop started off by going to the garage to check the gas cans
. Following the last storm, their neighborhood had been without electricity for six days. Like many Houston homes, they had a small gasoline generator that could keep the refrigerator and freezer running and provide for a fan or two. At that time, they had a single 5-gallon can of gas in the garage, and that lasted less than two days. They had lost hundreds of dollars’ worth of food, spoiled in the refrigerator, when there was no more gasoline to supply the generator. When things had gotten back to normal, Bishop purchased nine more cans and kept them full. Or at least he tried to keep them full. Gasoline has a limited shelf life and will turn into an unusable lacquer. This meant that he had to cycle the gas constantly, pouring it in their cars and then refilling the cans. After a few years, he had gotten into the bad habit of not keeping the cans full until the storm season was close.

As he picked up each can from its shelf, he found that all but two were empty
. He carried the empty cans to the truck and put them in the bed.

He had already checked on their food and bottled water supply and
updated the grocery list.

Terri was in the bathroom going through their supply of shampoo, medicine and the most critical item of all –
toilet paper, another lesson learned from the last hurricane.

Bishop walked in.
“Hun, are you about ready? I think we need to get going. A lot of people are going to have the same idea.”

“Ready.”

They jumped into the truck and headed for the corner gas station, eight blocks away. They had driven a few blocks, when Bishop looked up at the Centennial Bank and nudged Terri. “Look at that,” he said. The bank’s parking lot was full, and two police cars were parked on the sidewalk in front of the doors. A line of people came out of the building and around the corner. “Maybe they are selling tickets to the next Celebrity Dance Hall Show,” commented Bishop, which earned him a punch on the arm.

Terri said, “For once, I am glad I
’m not working today. I hope all the girls at the bank are handling it okay without me.”

As they neared the gas station, Bishop realized they were too late
. Everything with an engine was in line, stretched down one lane of the street they were on, waiting to fill up. As they worked their way cautiously to the corner, they could see that both streets had cars going in every direction waiting to pull into the station. “Shit,” said Bishop, “I didn’t realize the lottery pay-out had gotten so big. Look at all these people trying to buy tickets at the last minute.” Terri shot him a dirty look.

They bypassed the gas station and headed
for Food World. As they approached the strip mall that housed the giant grocery store, they again ran into snarled gridlock. Bishop looked ahead and noticed that the traffic lights were completely dark. He noted the business signs on both sides of the street were unlit as well.

“I hope th
e power isn’t out at Food World,” Bishop mused.

“Well, having the power out would slow us down for sure.
”

“
That’s only part of it,” Bishop continued. “How can they check people out without power to the registers? How can people pay with debit cards?”

They didn’t bother to attempt a turn at Food World
. The parking lot was overflowing, and the police were trying to control the crowd. “Damn it, Terri, I didn’t know it was double coupon day. Look at all of those thrifty shoppers.”

“Bishop, there is no need for the bad jokes. I
’m fine,” Terri said in her most reassuring voice.

“You told me humor was sexy.”

“HUMOR
would
be sexy,” was all she said.

They drove in silence for a bit
, trying to come up with another viable plan. Every single store they passed that sold any type of food, medicine or fuel was overflowing with people. At one point, they passed a home improvement super store, and Bishop could see two men fighting in the parking lot. He didn’t mention the skirmish to Terri, but she had already noticed the rather large crowd of spectators that had gathered.

They finally pulled over in an empty lot to think a
bit. Terri rolled down her window to get some fresh air, and they both heard music playing. Across the street was a church, and there were dozens of cars parked around the building. It was Thursday. They gave each other a puzzled look.

Bishop said, “Come on Terri, let’s go check it out. I need to stretch my legs anyway.”

As they entered the church, they could hear singing. A smiling man approached and welcomed them. Bishop shook his hand and asked, “Is there a special service today?”

“No my friend, there is no special service today
. A lot of us watched the news this morning and decided we needed to come and say a prayer. The organ player came and decided to add some music, and everyone just started singing. I’m sorry that we can’t offer any message or communion to you, but you are welcome to have a seat and join us.”

Bishop smiled at the man and said, “That is message enough
, sir. Thank you, we will.”

They stayed at the c
hurch for about 30 minutes and then left, feeling renewed.

As they were driving home, Bishop turned to Terri and said, “I have an idea
. I’m not so worried about food, but gasoline is critical. I know where there is a big tank of gas, and we might be able to get some if we’re lucky.”

Bishop drove to the HBR offices and found it odd that only a few cars were there
. He pulled around to the back gate and hit the intercom button. A voice said, “Good morning sir. Would you please scan your badge for verification?”

Bishop swiped his badge
, and the voice said, “Thank you sir.” The gate opened, and they drove into the back lot and parked. The guard met them at the door, “Bishop, is everything okay?”

Bishop explained to him what they had seen
. He continued, “Paul, I want to fill up my truck and gas cans from the storage tank. I know that is unusual, but I’ll sign the paperwork and use my account.”

The guard smiled and said, “Fine by me. Let me get the forms and turn the pump
on for you. I may do the same myself if the boss says it’s okay.”

HBR kept a 500-gallon above ground
tank in the back lot. The company had a few security patrol cars that were used to keep an eye on its many facilities around the city. Bishop filled out the paperwork required by HBR’s bean counters and pulled around to the tank. He topped off the gas in his truck and filled all the gas cans. On the way out, he stopped to let Paul know they were leaving.

“Bish
op, be careful going home. The president has ordered all of the roads closed. Everyone is supposed to stay at home and off of the streets,” he said.

“
Are you going home?”

“No, I don’t have anyone at home
. I am going to stay here and keep an eye on the place for The Colonel.”

Bishop and Terri kept some energy bars and bottled water in the truck
. They gave them all to Paul.

Bishop waved a final good-bye to his co-worker as he drove away.
“I will try to get back and check on you later, Paul.”