by Dr. Nava Miller, as told to Elaine Berkowitz
Living in Houston, we have experienced hurricanes before, but this time, since we were directly in the path of the storm, it was a little bit of a wild ride. We knew it would hit on Friday night, and because we are a little far from the shul, we had a minyan in our house for those who live near us.
Everyone was safely at home when Ike hit, late Friday night. There was a lot of lightening, and the force of the wind was so strong that it drove water into the house through the cracks of the French doors and every other crack – even the vent above the stove. Our power went out about midnight. The younger children slept through it, but the older ones were entertained; they thought it was very exciting.
In the morning, we saw trees down all over our block. The power lines were down; two poles had actually been sliced in half by the wind. There was no shul Shabbos morning, because the hurricane was still in effect through the afternoon, and it wasn’t safe to be out on the street.
We were lucky we didn’t have damage to our house, but trees fell onto the homes of two families in the community. One of them was sitting at the window and saw the tree coming at them. Fortunately, no one was hurt. At work, I found out that a lot of my patients lost roofs. One patient had slept just one night in their new home before it was ravaged by falling trees.
We have been without power for two weeks and don’t know when it will be restored. Roughly two million customers lost power, which translates into many more people, when you include their families.
Shabbat was very hot and humid. On Sunday, some community members and the shul got power back, so people went to neighbors and the shul to cool off. We were able to take the meat in our freezer to the shul’s freezer. The rest of the week was thankfully cool, and this week, we bought a generator. It was expensive and also costs a lot to run: $30 to $100 of gasoline per day. Although we have hurricane insurance, we’re not sure if the generator will be covered. For sure, the gas won’t be.
I am able to cook and store food, because I have a gas range, and our refrigerator is on the generator. Those who cook with electricity are out of luck. But we have a strong community, and everyone is helping each other. There was a bar mitzva last Shabbat, and the family saved the leftovers and invited everyone for a communal meal in shul on Sunday night. For Yom Tov, people are working on a plan to cook at the shul have everyone come and eat there.
Some families have a sign on their door saying, “Come in any time.” Others say “Internet Café,” inviting people to check their email. We get calls all the time asking, “Do you need anything?” or “Do you have food,” etc. Some people have been staying with other families ever since the hurricane ended. Some people left for Dallas or other places.
A lot of things are affected that you would never think of. For instance, we don’t have phone service; I charge up my cell phone at work or at neighbors’ homes. Gas stations were closed in the immediate aftermath, reopening on Tuesday. We had filled our cars before the storm, but the hospital where I work as a pediatrician brought in a gas truck for employees to fill their tanks so they could get to work. Since I live closer than my partners to the hospital, I volunteered to go in on Monday and Tuesday to check the babies.
The food stores opened on Tuesday. There were no lights, so they were walking people through with a flashlight in groups of 10 to get essentials. They now have generators. We didn’t have to go shopping, because we had put our milk in the freezer beforehand. We also froze bottles of water in our freezer, which kept the food safe until Tuesday. We had even bought propane, figuring we could always barbeque. Another issue was running water. There was none in the beginning. People with an electric water heater still don’t have hot water.
The school has no power. The first week, the middle and high school students learned at our shul. Now the children are divided up: The middle school is at our shul; the lower school is at another shul building; and the high school students are at an office building owned by one of the fathers.
Everyone is looking out for everyone else; it’s very beautiful to see. At times like this, it’s really important to have a strong community. Ike has definitely brought neighbors together. We were very fortunate, and we just thank G-d that everyone is healthy and safe.
Gideon and Nava (Goldman) Miller grew up in Baltimore. They have lived in Houston for 11 years, attend the United Orthodox Synagogue (Rabbi Barry Gelman), and have “five delicious children.”
