I woke on 27 April 2011 (Wed) at about 0440 and headed for the gym. Already we had thunderstorm and tornado warning all over the place, which I expected would go on-off all day. Little did I realize how bad they would be; this was just the first (and most minor) of three waves that would come through that day. It was pouring rain during my early weight-lifting workout. By the time I got home around 0610 (typically would wake Matthew then for math team practice at 0700), all the local schools were on 2-hr delay, so let the boys and Kirsten sleep.
I got to the office about 0730 to prep for an all-day meeting starting at 0800. But then that was at first delayed 2hrs, then then cancelled outright. By 1030 we started another series of tornado warning, and my building was evacuated to the basement. Since I work in the basement, this naturally makes for some great impromptu meetings, so I had long chat with others about ongoing technical projects. Little did we realize it would days before we started working on the taskers we gave ourselves! More tornado warnings continued 1130-1300, I got more visitors (friendly), but nothing much getting done now.
By the end of the midday tornado wave, the leaders in our organization began to recognize that another monster storm wave was coming through in the late afternoon. So we kicked everyone out and sent them home. By then I had already seen photos of the tree damage at Kim Susor's place up in the Moore's Mill area in NE Huntsville, half her house flattened by a huge tree. I headed out around 1400, and after battling traffic snarled by tornado damage, got there around 1445 to see the whole neighborhood destroyed by blown trees.
Despite the damage, Kim was in amazingly good spirits, all things considered. She was level-headed and doing a great job prioritizing what needed to happen. Along with other friends that had arrived, we spent time getting her belongings consolidated into standing rooms and out of the rain. Another neighbor arrived with a chainsaw and we got to work on clearing another big tree blocking her driveway. Fortunately, Kim's long time boyfriend (Tim Kerstetter) dropped everything upon seeing the storm damage photos and started driving from Ohio that afternoon, God bless him. By about 1730 we started to watch the third (and most massive) tornado wave come through north Huntsville. Good gracious, I wish I had taken a photo of it. Never have I seen anything like, dozens of lightning bolts going off, far more strikes and far more vicious than any storm I had ever experienced. We waited until it looked like that wave has passed to the north, then I decided to head home before it got totally dark.
I headed back to Big Cove and home via Dug Hill Road without too many issues. Some downed trees but road not impassable anywhere. The problem is that I did not realize that power was no out all over the northern section of the state. I only had about 3gal of gas in the XTerra, and had planned to tank up at Wal-Mart near the house. I got home just after last light, Kirsten and the boys fine but no power. They had been hunkered down waiting for the worst of the storms to pass. Fortunately cool weather, so after checking the house for damage (thankfully none), got the boys fed and hunkered down for the night. I was also able to talk with Tim Kerstetter as he was heading south down I-65 through Kentucky and northern TN at that point. Good man, marched to the sound of the guns (so to speak) and was at Kim's place around midnight.
28 Apr 2011, Day 2: Power Out. Arsenal Closed. Schools Closed. Nearly All Commerce Shut Down. No idea on extent of destruction yet.
So the one morning I might be tempted to lounge around, Kirsten gets productive and starts a to-do list! Sorta funny, sorta not. She had me up by 0600, intent on getting the boys fed and doing some chores. Matthew (our oldest), opens the garage freezer and comments that the ice cream is starting to melt. Then he gets a devious gleam in his eyes and you can tell he has come up with a great idea. "Dad", he inquires, "can we eat the ice cream for breakfast? It's going to melt anyway." Can't fault that logic! Sure kid, ice cream for breakfast. Kirsten and I enjoyed a wry chuckle at the old Bill Cosby comedy routine (Dad is great! Give us the chocolate cake [for breakfast]). What kind of parents are we?!
We were all outside by 0700, busy cleaning out the garage! Neighbors started to emerge shortly thereafter, talking and checking on each other. Heard about the press conference that local leaders were going to hold, so turned on the car radio and several of us stayed in the driveway to hear the news 0830-0930. Turns out Browns Ferry plant shut down, all major transmission lines destroyed. I had suspected we might be several days without power, but this was our first inkling at the extent of the destruction.
I also had to get accountability of all my employees, something I had started on the previous evening with mixed success. Considering I had no power to work on my laptop, I was doing all communications on my gov't BlackBerry, sending text messages to everyone's personal cell phones or calling home lines to those without. Fortunately, by that evening I had contacted all of my folks and all of them were safe. Also got to talk with Tim K again before my personal cell phone died. Only way I could get a charge into it or my BB was via car charger at that point.
So as I mentioned, Kirsten's first chore for us was cleaning the garage. We got both cars out, swept everything, scrubbed out all the cobwebs and dead mosquitoes, etc. With a little "help" from the boys, that and the news conference tied up the morning. Around noon I had heard from just about all of my folks at work, so sat down on the couch to read and eventually took a very pleasant early afternoon nap. Fortunately the weather is pleasant and a breeze blowing through the windows to air out the house.
In the afternoon we took good stock of our food supply, then Kirsten and Matt made a recon (via bicycle) to see if Wal-Mart, Lowe's, or any of the gas stations were oeprating (none at that point). We ate a simple dinner, concentrating on no cooking and eat perishables. Everyone was down by 2100 in the dark, lots of stars to look at with no city lights at all.
Oh by the way: Happy Birthday to me! 39 years old today! Had a couple of cookies from the pantry (ice cream all gone!)
29 April, Day 3: No power at home. Arsenal Closed. Schools Closed. Beginning to understand extent of destruction.
Matthew and I were up by 0600, and wandered down the street to our neighbor's house. We shared a leisurely pot of morning coffee, while charging electronics on the generator (this includes the boys' Nintendo DS systems, which proved to be handy in a few occasions in the next few days!).
Once back at home around 0700, Kirsten had her to-do list ready to go. So me and the boys set about cleaning the entire back porch in detail: sweeping the floors, clearing out cobwebs, scrubbing off chalk marks, cleaning the grill, hosing it all down, etc. Later in the morning, Kirsten and Matt went on another bike recon to Wal-Mart, Lowes, and Publix. Brought back some ice and limited groceries. I spent more time consolidating obvious perishables into available coolers, trying to keep ice alive and not waterlog the remaining food. By midday I got a chance to ready a book and take another long nap (love it!)
This is the day I figured out that a great source of news is the WHNT FaceBook feed. Followed that on-off through the day as more details of the power outage, destruction, and other news became available. Kinda funny that in the middle of a huge power outage, my gov't BlackBerry became the only reliable communications device. I spent a great deal of time getting news communicating with many of my employees and bosses (via text message and/or email). Dinner that evening was a no-cooking affair; easy to eat healthy by concentrating on perishables good without cooking! The boys took colds baths in the back yard, touch less complaining
Dinner was Cold baths, touch less complaining than last night. All asleep by 2130
30 April, Day 4: No power at home, obvious devastation across North Alabama
Up around 0600 again, strolled down to our neighbors' place to charge electronics. We enjoyed a leisurely pot of coffee and conversation on the front porch, boys had some hot chocolate and played horseshoes in the front yard. Got home around 0745, fed the boys some cereal and last remnants of the cold milk. Cleaning tasks for today revolved around emptying both refrigerators, consolidating remaining perishables into coolers with ice, then taking the interiors of the frig/freezer apart and scrubbing it all down in detail in the driveway. I dare say when we got it all back together it was the cleanest it had even been since its delivery brand new!
The lines for gas started to become manageable, so after listening to the daily 0830 press conference on the car radio, Kirsten headed out to fill up the kid-hauler vehicle. She also brought back 4gal of fuel to put into my XTerra so I could drive more than 25mi anywhere. By now it was on the fuel-low light, I had to crank it up once or twice a day to charge our personal cell phones.
This is the day we started to get smart about heating water in the sun for cleaning (dishes and ourselves!). A bunch of containers in the backyard, full of water, laid out in the sun to allow semi-warm baths tonight. This included the kids' sandbox, which turned into an impromptu wading pool, then dishwasher, then bathtub around 7pm. Nothing makes a redneck like cleaning your children in a wading tub in the backyard!
I did manage to go for a short run in early afternoon, good gracious that was rough. The fractured toe felt OK, not great, still can’t jump around or do pushups and put weight on it. But I ambled down past Goldsmith-Schiffman Elementary School and back in 35min. Felt better on the way back as the rust started to break off, but overall shaky! Did some more core strength work on the back porch, then treated myself to a bath via hose before continuing to work around the house
We have a large freezer in the garage, typically holding the remnants of our side of beef (grass-finished, great stuff). But knowing it wouldn't be able to stay cold much longer, I reached and grilled up about 4-5 lbs of ground beef into giant burgers. And thus Clan Kennedy enjoyed its first cooked meal since the tornado, some vegetables and fruit on the side! Fortunately, still enjoying lovely weather, so we ate out on the back porch and played frisbee and catch afterwards.
In keeping for what is quickly become daily rhythm, woke around 0600 and headed to the neighbors for coffee and company. Boys enjoying boiling water on the grill to make hot chocolate and running around in the street; they don't even know what day of the week it is anymore. (For the record, Sunday; we considered heading into church services, but figure the building itself would be stifling without a/c).
I went out for a light run about mid-morning, Kirsten not so quick with the to-do list by now! Still breaking off the rust from two weeks rest, climbed up into nearby Little Mtn estates, paying careful attention to that broken toe. Felt OK, but had to NOT flex off it real hard. Once back at home, went about more cleaning chores through the morning, getting food supplies re-arranged and consolidated. One of the lessons learned from the whole episode is understanding, once again, how to manage perishable food supplies without electricity. It can be done, but takes time and planning to keep stuff on ice, be more careful about not overstocking frig/freezer, and planning meals more carefully so as not to waster perishables.
In the early afternoon, we decided it was time to take a family trip. So we loaded up in the car (now have the advantage of steady gasoline sources) and went up to Maggie Valley Berry Patch on Grant Mtn. What a wonderful spot! I let Kirsten pick strawberries in peace, kept the boys nearby while they "helped" me pick berries from a row 50m away. Together we picked almost 10gal of some darn fine Alabama strawberries, best I have tasted since California. Aftewards we talked with the owners a while, toured their growing blackberry bushes (more picking this summer), and tried to wear out the boys. Stopped at Publix on the way home for 10lbs of ice (fortunately, it was available).
At home, began immediately to make preserves from some of the berries. Re-arranged food once again into coolers, did some throwing away, but able to save off a really large majority of the food from the freezers. From there I went about grilling the remaining ground beef (about 10lbs), 6 chicken breasts, fish, and all of the shrimp. The outdoor freezer wasn't staying cold anymore, so it was time to cook it all or lose it. At the same time, Kirsten making preserves on the side burner of the grill. So we had a truckload of stuff on the grill and lots of pots/pan to wash by hand (in the converted sandbox/dishwasher, of course). After dinner, spent more time rearranging food into containers and putting on ice. Kirsten took a walk around the block to chat with neighbors. The boys and I meanwhile rolled the deep freezer into the driveway and proceeded to give that thing a thorough bleaching and scrubbing. Major portions of this house will never be this clean again!
But since tomorrow is Monday, there is a real question of my employees going back to work. Redstone Arsenal finally announced it would not open tomorrow (turns out it would be later in the week). So had to spent about 2 hours on-off through the late afternoon and early evening coordinating with folks about status of the Arsenal and issue guidance for maintaining continued accountability in the meantime.
And just after sunset, while finishing cleaning the freezer in last vestiges of daylight, something odd happens. I am standing in the driveway, and something is different about the front porch. And something is different about the street lights. Wait, the power is back on! To my amazement and continual thanks to TVA and Huntsville Utilities, about 1945 we were back in business. Much jubilation in the neighborhood (about 98hours without power), neighbors taking a final stroll, shaking hands and wishing each other well....then we all went back inside!
Several days earlier I had turned off nearly all the circuit breakers in the house, save those controlling the lights in the foyer and front porch. I was concerned that a sudden jump in electrical current would fry some items in the house, so leaving those circuits and switches on gave us best indication power was back. I brought on selected breakers over the next hour: lights, receptacles, etc. Cleaned up the boys with boiled water, let them watch a video while Kirsten and I continued to clean up from all the days activities. After about 2 hours, waiting to (hopefully) make sure the power situation was stable, I brought outside frig, washer/dryer, and HVAC online around 2130, wanted to ensure no more power spikes. Left inside frig turned off so we can clean it again thoroughly in the morning.
Then just before 2200 came the big news: Osama Bin Laden killed during SOF raid into Pakistan! Holy shit! Kirsten went to bed, but I was wired, stayed up to watch the President’s address then news and FB until well past midnight. I finally settled down around 0300.
2 May, Day 6. ALL ARSENAL WORKSITES CLOSED; Power back on at home
Woke around dawn, dozed until 0700. Went for an early run, down to GSES and back plus some time on the track there, 40min total. Kirsten and I were busy rest of the morning: making preserves from some of the strawberries, freezing the rest, finished putting the deep freeze back in action, transferring food back into outside frig, cleaning out inside frig and putting back together, and more. Amazingly, still had a great heap of fresh lettuce that we kept alive the whole time, so made a big salad and hard-boiled eggs for brunch around 1100. Took my first shower since Wed morning.
Family trip to Costco 1230-1430. Had lunch in the foodcourt as a break from the past few days. (didn't take us long to get back to American suburbia ways!). Then shopping to do some replenishment of perishables plus use the coupons we had been saving. Once back home, put all the food away, set up the inside frig again, bagged the remaining strawberries for deep freeze, and did about 5-6 loads of laundry!
I went out for another run about 1600. Around Little Mtn loop in the sun (80deg) with 6x1min surges, 6 miles total. While all sweaty, went about task of seriously cleaning the grill, made a mess of myself. Pulled out the grease catch, threw out the heat distribution plate, scraped old grease and remnants from the inside, tried like hell to degrease the cooking grids with minimal progress, even major degreaser didn’t work all that well. Finally wrapped it up around 1830 and had dinner (leftover turkey and greenbeans). Then got to eat my birthday cake! Spent more time through the afternoon and evening communicating with my bosses and employees about status of the Arsenal and work. Power back on? Stayed up late, of course.
Woke around 0600 and headed to the gym to lift weights. Once back home, had breakfast with the boys and watched the rain come in. We were very lucky to have enjoyed cool, sunny weather throughout the power outage. After that I watched the daily press conference about local status on TV for once (instead of car radio) 0830-0900.
Now that laptop is charged back up, was able to look into and clean out all the email that I had been stacking up for days now. After that and a series of phone calls for work, I got Kirsten out of the house for a few hours and away from the boys. Fed the boys some lunch, did homework sheets with them all in turn through the afternoon. Even started to teach Luke how to ride his bike without training wheels. Got extra free time now, so take advantage. Went over to CrossFit Huntsville for a WOD ("Jackie"), then ran another 3mi at the X-C park nearby.
Spent time in the evening answering emails and doing command-control with my folks via text messages and email. Kirsten and I spent more time folding pile of huge pile of laundry (a lot of it with no washer-dryer for 5 days).
4 May, Day 8. ARSENAL STILL LARGELY CLOSED; HSV SCHOOLS STILL CLOSED; GORGEOUS SUNNY DAY (hi of 66deg)
By now, having the schools closed and Arsenal closed is getting to be a pain. I went for a run pre-dawn, then took the boys to Brueggers for bagels (say that 5 times fast). From there it was down to the YMCA where I could run some energy out of them for the next two hours.
By early afternoon, news came out out that most buildings on the Arsenal would be open tomorrow, as would Huntsville City Schools.
5 May (Thurs)...back to normal!
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