My heart is breaking apart for my home town and for all of you affected. I catch a ton of mostly good natured ribbing here in Portland for being from Houston. And yes you can call me a Portlander now. But my heart is and always will be in Texas. Houston is full of amazing people, great art, great food, and people who will do anything for you to help you as their friend and neighbor. So much of who I am was formed right there in HTown. Stay strong Clutch City. My heart is with you. Go Coogs!
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I agree with Jerry. It’s tough watching what’s happening to our home town from so far away. My family and friends are safe. Some have lost homes, but they all have their health at least. This is almost over. You guys will rebuild and be stronger than ever.
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My feelings exactly- couldn’t agree more with Portland’s thought.
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Not sure how it appears from afar, but whole subdivisions with 500-1000 homes are being evacuated all around Houston. The scope of this disaster will be felt for weeks if not months.
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It appears as horrific as it is. Haven’t slept much. Watch a ton of the weather channel, which sensationalizes everything… so it’s hard to know how bad it is. But the aerial pictures don’t lie. It’s that bad.
The aftermath is going to be tough, as the hit on the economy and the pain on everyone is going to be felt… I mean, just trying to get a contractor is going to be rough.
All the loss is immense. I hope everyone reading this is as well as they can be.
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Wow that picture is amazing
Ya’ll! A couple friends and I went out to help in Katy this morning to something remarkable. I am at a loss for words. The situation out there is incredible! Out there is what you see on TV, but I wanted to share a moment with everyone.
On the way back from Katy we noticed a crowd of people standing on the side of I-10. We stopped to see if anyone needed a ride and here is what we saw. The scene is something else. The apartments about 150 feet from I-10 were in water about 5’ - 6’ high. There was no boat launch or clear ground. The only way to get across was to jump over the barrier. Boats were coming to a small patch of high ground between the water and highway barrier. Every couple of minutes a boat came by with 3 -5 people. Folks were parking their trucks and just pushing their boats over the barrier to go help people stranded in the apartments. The Sherrif’s deputy’s stopped with their huge SWAT APC and asked, “How can we help?” and then others stopped to help taxi people as they came. We helped out until more police came with reinforcements. The outpouring of love by our city is remarkable.I wish I had a boat, I wish I had a bus. Unfortunately, I do not, but like our University I do have the heart and will to do what needs to get done. Take care of each other y’all! Go Coogs! Houston Strong!
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Portland, you’ve posted a 2005 New Orleans Katrina picture.
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Yes this is hard to watch as a former Houstonian. Its a great city with great people. I remember moving there from Montreal in the late 70s (when everyone else was moving to Houston). I thought it would be a huge culture shock and I wouldn’t fit in at my new high school, (Stratford) for years, or ever. Wrong, the Houstonians I met were the most welcoming, friendly and gracious people I have ever known. For several years after moving down there people would ask me if I considered myself a Canadian or an American and I would always respond “I consider myself a Texan”.
Maybe its because I was there for high school and college, but the very best period of my life was in Houston and its still impossible to look at pictures of that great city or see it on TV and not feel nostalgic. Now I see the devastation and feel for those warm, friendly (but I am sure resilient) people and my heart sinks. Living in Florida now, I have been through a few hurricanes (one last year in fact) but they all pale in comparison to this. My prayers are with all of you and needless to say, I will be giving everything I can to help out. Go Coogs!!
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OMG you’re right. Still though, after I saw this video today… the devastation is no less obvious and horrible…
I am happy to report that my parents house was spared, water made it all the way to the foundation and stopped. Another point of anxiety was we have a cattle ranch in Manvel, TX. with 150 head of cattle, and the pastures were under 4 feet of water. Yesterday we couldn’t find any of the cattle, today miraculously we found all of them. They somehow survived.
And saying all this, I know there are hundreds of thousands who got it far worse than we did and there is tremendous pain for houston, texas and louisiana and beyond.
My theater is doing a fund raiser here in Portland at our next show, and likewise, people I know here are collecting money and items to send.
See we Left-Coasters ain’t so bad. 
#houstonstrong
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This is my old neighborhood. Breaks my heart.
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