It was coming. One of the most destructive hurricanes predicted to hit Houston in years. As information flooded throughout the airwaves panic hit the people. My husband and I had only been married for a little over 3 years. We had 2 children, John was 3, Allie was 2 and I was 7 months pregnant with Travis. Our loyal chocolate lab, Parker, was 4 years old.
The plan was to spend the day packing and preparing so we could leave before dawn the next morning for a 2 & 1/2 hour drive to Pollok,TX to stay with my parents. Many people had already evacuated and the latest news was not only that the hurricane was 5 days away, but that the traffic was horrific. Hurricane Rita was right on the heels or hurricane Katrina that had hit Louisianna and caused massive destruction and many deaths. Rumors spread that Rita (a category 5 hurricane) was to cause just as much damage and destruction to Texas as Katrina did to Louisianna.
Eric is an Army veteran and has been trained on how to survive in circumstances such as these. He planned for everything. He hooked up the boat to our SUV so we could travel with more supplies. He packed several ice chests including one that was electric and would keep food warm, a travel propane grill, most of our clothing, 50 gallons of gasoline, tools in case we broke down, first aid kits, wind up flashlights, flares, spare tires, and many, many more necessary essentials. Most of the things he packed would've never crossed my mind. It's times like these that make me grateful for his rather impulsive peronality.
My little 4-door Plymoth Neon carried all the baby supplies (playpen, diaper bags, extra clothes, toys, car seats, etc.) We were more prepared for a nuclear war than we were a hurricane. Eric boarded the windows to our house with help from some family members and I took care of preparing the inside of the house (moving items to high shelves, cleaning out the freezers, laundry, ect). Eric & I exchanged phone numbers with some of our neighbors and we all wished each other good luck and safe travels. We went inside and watched the weather one last time and went to bed. I lay awake that night wondering if I had prepared enough. Did the kids have everything? Have I secured my pictures and personal mementos high enough to avoid flood waters? Will our neighbors be safe? Will I ever see them again? Will our house be here when we get back? Will this be the last time I sleep in my bed? Will our insurance cover everything? You name it, I worried about it.
As planned, Eric & I were up at 3 AM the next morning and on the road in less than thirty minutes. Eric pulled the boat and Parker rode happily at his side. I traveled with both of the kids in my car and followed. We drove for a good 20 minutes thinking that we had missed all of the outbound traffic, but by the time we hit Baytown, I was proven to be very wrong. John was awake and noticed all of the tail lights for as far as our eyes could see. My mouth opened in shock at the vast amount of traffic but my innocent little boy saw the beauty in the colors. He said "Look, mommy, it looks just like Christmas". A smile crossed my face and I knew that God was there with us and using the words of my little boy to calm my nerves and lift my spirits.
Hours had gone by and we had traveled bumper to bumper in traffic since Baytown and we were nowhere close to our destination. It was hot. None of the convenient stores or restaurants were open. Our cell phones didn't work because of the amount of people on them was clogging up the servers. And our speed hadn't reached over 30 mph since the beginning of our journey.
It was early morning, around 8 am,when John needed his first potty break. He was potty training at the time and I hated to tell him to go in his pull-up after we had made so much progress with him. My bladder was full as well and was causing me to be very uncomfortable. Not to mention, Travis's summer-saults were not helping matters much. We came to a complete stop in traffic for several minutes. I got out and asked Eric to watch Allie while John and I walked over to the bushes. Luckily, there was very tall and thick brush on this stretch of road. This was the first time John had gone to the restroom on a tree. As excited as he was I was not all that keen on having to squat while 7 months pregnant, watch for on-lookers and supervize a 3 year old. Nevertheless, I managed. When we were done, John skipped out of the brush and announced to all of those standing outside of their cars that we had tee-teed in the jungle. I felt my face turn several shades of red but I'm certain that many of those people, including myself, needed a good laugh.
Lunchtime came and we found an empty convenient store to park our small convoy. We had been in the car for over 8 hours and we hadn't even made it half way to Pollok. My back was hurting, legs were cramping, ankles were swelling and shoulders were stiff. Allie had been screaming to get out of her car seat for over an hour. We desperately needed the stop. Our lunch consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the back of the boat. I prepared our sandwiches using Eric's pocket knife because of all the things we packed, we didn't think to pack plastic ware. This picnic has always been one of my favorite memories. We were so glad to be out of the car and in each others company that the long trek ahead didn't seem to bother anybody. The kids were happy, the sun was shining and I was completely calm knowing that we were in good hands with Eric and, of course, with God the Father.
After about 30 minutes, we got back on the road. Several more hours went by. Traffic had been deadlocked many times so we made sure we were walking and stretching when we could. And of course, we made more tips to the "jungle". Traffic was moving so slow that I was able to take the kids out of the car seats to keep their backs from getting sweaty. This seemed to help in stopping Allie's fits.
More time had past. By now we had traveled for 13 hours and Eric had finally reached his breaking point. Luckily, we were now able to get cell phone service so he called his dad, Dennis. Dennis had an atlas that consited of only the back roads in Texas. Dennis was able to direct Eric onto some very hidden dirt roads and out of the way of traffic. Once we got to the first dirt road we were completely alone. There were no cars in sight. We caught a new sense of determination. Excitement moved us now. It was the first time our vehicles had reached the 60 MPH mark.
It was getting close to dark. The kids were back in their car seats and were napping. It had been a long day for all of us and I did not mind their late nap. I was tired. No, exausted. My body hurt. My feet were swelling. My mind was frazzled and Travis's back flips were not making this easy. But we pushed on. By this time all I could think about was just making it home to my mama and daddy.
We went from one back road to another as the sun continued to set. Finally, we reached one particular dirt road that was buried with a thick canopy. It was dark. Partly because of the setting sun and partly because of the heavy brush. The first thing that went through my mind when we turned onto this road was "Great, this is the kind of place where people get chopped up and eaten by the local weirdos and go missing forever." My love for horror movies and dramatic thinking did not help things one bit. I allowed my mind to go away from knowing I was safe with God and stray toward thoughts of the world. Serial killers, rapists, wild animals....more and more worry set in as our cars crept onto this road. I have always been very aware of my surroundings. I looked as deep into the brush as I could, but it was pitch black. I could hear the brush scraping the car and the rocks rolling under my tires but other than that, it was eerily silent.
Eric got excited and sped up. Dust began to blanket the air. I tried catching up with him but I was afraid the bumps and dips would wake up the kids. In minutes I lost his tail lights. My cell phone was dead. I was frightened. My stomach began to tighten with contractions. I could feel my heart beating in my throat. Tears began to fill my eyes. The stress of the day was catching up to me. I was finally breaking. I pulled the car over and scolded myself for being so weak when I needed to be focused. I took a deep breath and continued on. After all, the road was straight and I would meet him at the end.
I drove a few more minutes and came to a fork in the road. Panic began to set in. I knew I needed to concentrate and think straight but I couldn't focus. I couldn't see much outside of my bright lights. I stopped to look at my surroundings. We were now in the middle of the woods and it was very, very dark. I looked for dust hovering over each road to see which way he had gone, but I was so far behind that it had already settled. The realization that I was completely alone, litterally, in the middle of nowhere hit me hard. I began to cry. I cried many, many quiet tears trying my best not to wake the kids. It made things worse. I couldn't see anything now. My head was spinning. The car seemed smaller. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. My stomache became tighter. I just wanted out. I had never in my life felt so completely helpless. Weak. Vulnerable. Alone.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, head lights shone in my rear view mirror. I turned around to see a very old Chevy pick up truck with wooden planks built on the sides of the bed as a make-shift barrier. There they were....the local canibals here to eat me and my children. I began to panic. The truck got closer. "What do I do?!" I thought to myself. In the cab I could make out at least 3 people and in the bed of the truck stood at least 4 or 5 men. My mind got the best of me. The sleepiness and exhaustion had set in. I was convinced that I was in danger. We were going to die. I reacted. I pressed on the gas as hard as I could and spun out. I reached 40 mph down this dark little road. My heart raced and tears flowed from my eyes. Where was Eric? Why did he leave us? Anger and betrayal crept in but more than that was the desire for his presence. Small rocks shot out from under my tires, some hittng the windshield, and the bumps and dips shook the car. Dust blew all around me and both of the kids woke up. Allie began to cry...and then John. I knew I would be safe if I just had Eric there! I had many mixed emotions and I couldn't contain them any longer. I didn't care about anything. I didn't care that the kids werecrying, I didn't care if I damaged the car, I didn't care that my stomache was tightening. Nothing mattered and nothing else was more important than getting out of there and finding Eric. I was sobbing now.
Just then, in the distance I saw headlights. I could make out a silhouette of a boat. It was Eric. He had stopped on the side of the road. I saw him standing next to the truck waiting on me to catch up. I slamed on my breaks and fishtaled my car until I came to a stop next to the truck. My car skidded a couple of feet. I threw the door open and jumped out of the car not sure if I was going to hug him or slap him. He threw his arms around me and through sobs I began to tell him about being separated and the truck and the strange hillbillies. He stroked my hair back and, as always, managed to talk me out of my frenzy and got me breathing at a semi-normal rate.
And as luck would have it, the hillbillies drove up. Eric and I walked back over to the car together. I was glued to his side. The truck met us on the road and one of the men in the back yelled out from the bed of the truck asking if we were ok. Eric waved them over. I wasn't petrified anymore but still a little nervous. As they pulled up, the person in the passenger seat leaned over her window and said "Oh, Lordy, I just knew we had scared that poor girl." (I would've never known she was a woman had I not heard her voice.) Everyone of them were wearing overalls and some sort of cowboy hat. They never left their truck but they turned to be very kind. I call them my angels. I believe they had been sent by God to look out for us.
They introduced themselves. I don't remember any of their names except that one of them was called "Rooster." The lady noticed the kids in the car and how pregnant I was and just felt awful about scaring me like they did. As it turned out, they lived aroud the area and had been running the roads all day and night helping those who had been stuck in the traffic. I felt like a fool. We thanked them for looking out for us and I apologized for my over-reaction.
We got back into our cars and we were on our way again. It took us a couple of hours but the back-road atlas managed to get us safely to my mom and dad's house. I had never been so grateful to be back home and in the presence of my family in my life.
I learned a very valuable lesson that day. God is always with me and is always trying to help me out of sticky situations. His messages are always pretty clear, but it's up to me if I want to hear them or not.
I will never forget what I went through the day I met my hillbilly angels. I know I will never see them again but that I will always remember,and be grateful, for their kindness and willingness to come to my aide despite the fact that I was a complete stranger. And since then I have been more aware of those around me and have made myself available to be used by God to help those in need. And, I should add, since then I have cut out all horror movies!
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