As Angelina keeps track of the storm on television, the hurricane increases in strength to a category 4. Angelina suddenly realizes her father is right. Hurricane Harvey is moving north and is going to slam into Rockport. Angelina calls everyone she knows in Rockport and begs them to evacuate. "Please, come to Harlingen. You can stay at my mom's place. We will get air mattresses. We will find you a place to stay." Some of Angelina's cousins take her pleas to heart and make the trip to Harlingen. Others ignore her warning and make excuses for staying in Rockport.
On Saturday, August 26, Angelina sits glued to the television. News reporters survey the damage. As the images flash up on the screen, Angelina recognizes every building, every street and so many of the folks interviewed. Angelina is grateful she evacuated, but she cannot begin to come to terms with the massive destruction done to her city.
On Wednesday, August 30, the roads to Rockport are open. Angelina returns home. Upon arriving in Rockport, Angelina is stunned to see every apartment building in the city in complete ruins. Only her apartment complex is still standing. Angelina cautiously enters her apartment. Angelina lived on the ground floor. The damage to her apartment would have been minimal; however, in the apartment above her, the roof collapsed, allowing rain to pour into the apartment. The water then leaked through Angelina's ceiling, causing massive flood damage to her apartment. Everything Angelina picks up is covered in mold and mildew. As she goes from room to room, the only things she is able to salvage are a few pots and pans stored on some high shelves in the kitchen and a few of her youngest son's school clothes which are hanging up in a closet. Everything else is a complete loss.
Angelina sees her neighbor Barb and begins to strike up a conversation with her. Barb and her husband Tim had just renovated their apartment to make it handicap accessible. Tim recently had a sudden downturn in his health--he now uses a wheelchair and has very poor vision. Barb is frantically trying to salvage anything and everything from her apartment. Angelina tries to encourage Barb that everything is ruined--everything is covered in mold and mildew. Barb sharply replies, "No! Tim and I lost everything 12 years ago in Hurricane Katrina. We are not going to start all over again!" The closest housing Barb and Tim are able to find is in a town an hour and a half from Rockport. Every day, Barb drives to Rockport and painstakingly tries to wash and salvage anything she can find in her apartment.
Knowing everything is complete loss, Angelina leaves her apartment--she leaves her possessions, her home and her former life. She slides into her car and drives back to her mom's house--a safe haven for Angelina, her family, plus a plethora of Angelina's cousins, aunts and uncles. All of them are now homeless.
(Last week: Angelina knows she must leave her mom's house. She must continue her life. She decides to travel back to her childhood hometown in hopes of finding a job, in hopes of starting a new life. Last week Thursday, Angelina was hired at a healthcare agency. On Friday, she started her first day of work. Yesterday, her youngest son started kindergarten. Today, Angelina signed a lease for a new apartment. Yes, despite all Angelina's recent losses, God has so graciously showered her life with abundant blessings.)
As Angelina tells her story, only once does she become misty-eyed as she recounts her drive back to the storm-torn city of Rockport. Only for a few seconds do tears well up in her eyes, but just as abruptly, the tears fade and a sense of hope and optimism returns. Angelina does not know if she will ever return to Rockport. "Oh, I LOVE the city! It is so small and friendly! Everyone says, 'Hi' to everyone. Everyone knows each other. Everyone loves and cares for each other. Rockport is home...but I do not know if I will ever return. I must live here and now. I must have a place for my family to live. I must have employment to provide food and pay bills. I must only think about today. If in a year, my apartment in Rockport is re-built, perhaps I will move back there again. But for now, all I can think about is today...and today, I cannot live in Rockport. Only two days ago a small section of Rockport regained power. But most of the city is still without electricity. Who can live in a city without electricity? Who can live in a city where there is no place to live? Right now, my family and I must start a new life. We are grateful we made it through the storm alive. Every day I am grateful for that."
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