[OKDXA] Surviving

[n5pa at comcast.net]

The Clark's are ok and surviving like everyone else.  It was VERY bad here and we had several friends killed.  We had about 25 to 30 trees down in the yard and only two hit the house.  We have not power, not water, no food, no fuel, no phones, no cell phones, nada!  I sent my wife and youngest daughter to Brookhaven this afternoon to stay with her sister for a while.  I have been at work since about mid-morning on Tuesday.  We are doing everything we can to keep the company  going.  I worked early Tuesday in the yard and it took me about 3 1/2 hours with the chain saw just to get a path large enough to drive out of our yard into the long drive up to the  main road.  Then my neighbor and I had to cut the tops of two trees out of the road that fell in his yard.  There were over 1000 homes totally destroyed and many times that damaged.  There is nothing like having 80 MPH winds for 14 hours and 125 MPH winds for 4 hours.  I have not eaten today and will have to be back at work at seven in the morning.  My sister in Tennessee is going to truck some supplies down to us next week.  We have been told we can expect to be without utilities for four to six weeks.  Let me tell you something, when the sun goes it is totally dark.  It is going to be a very long recovery.  My tower withstood the storm but my beam is at about a 70 degree angle and the boom is bent.  All the wire antennas are down.  Believe me, we were lucky.  W5XX lost all his towers in Vicksburg and he did not have winds over 60 MPH.  I will try to keep you posted.  Let everyone know what is going on here.

73,
Alan, N5PA