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Camping in a dorm
We (myself, wife, 6-month-old child and large, clean and friendly 10-year-old Golden Retriever) were able to find lodging for a few days on East Campus in Gilbert Addoms Dorm. My wife knew some faculty members who live in an apartment in the dorm. We called them and they graciously offered to put us up in their apartment. When we arrived on Thursday, other families were there as well and so with support and understanding from the other dorm residents we moved into one of the large TV rooms and used couches as beds. We were able to shower in the faculty apartment but shared the large room with another family and their children. Other families stayed in the faculty apartment. All of us shared a communal meal Thursday night in the apartment.
Our dog slept in the TV room with us. We kept him in an enclosed area in the corner of the room, so as not to disturb the other family. We were told by housekeepers on Friday that our dog was not welcome and they would have to sanitize the room due to liability issues (apparently the housekeepers believed our dog might be carrying fleas!). We relocated our dog to a friend's house on Friday. I was at work at Duke both Thursday and Friday and also worked Saturday. I would get off work at 5 p.m. and pick up my wife and child at the dorm and travel to our house to get clothes and personal items each night. We continued like this from Thursday through Sunday morning until being officially asked to seek shelter with the Red Cross by the Gilbert Addoms RA. She failed to mention where we could find the Red Cross. I am writing this on Tuesday and our house is still without power and heat. We are currently staying at a friend's house.
Although we regret any inconvenience we might have caused Duke and their employees due to our unexpected lodging on their property, we very much appreciated the understanding, warmth and hospitality we received from our faculty member friends and the students and others who were sensitive to our displacement, shock and homelessness during our stay in Gilbert Addoms. God bless your generosity.
Name withheld at request of author
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Friendly phone call
During the recent storm I misdialed a friend's phone number and got someone else. Even though it was a wrong number, the woman on the other end said she hoped I was staying warm and we wished each other luck. It made me feel warm on the inside, even though I was cold on the outside.
Abee Boyles
Duke University Health System
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Wanting comfort from popcorn chicken
Well, my family and I are still without power (Wednesday). We lost power early Thursday morning, waking up to hear the sounds of snapping and falling trees. I ventured out on Thursday morning to find us some food and noticed that Hillsborough Rd. had power. I noticed that all of the fast food spots had long lines, so I chose to brave KFC/Taco Bell. At first, I went through the Drive-Thru and found out that there was noone manning the Drive-Thru Station, so I had to go inside and wait about 30 minutes to an hour to get some food (they were only selling chicken, but no Popcorn Chicken...I was really looking forward to some Popcorn Chicken). We then, decided to venture out some more to buy a radio, some snacks and some other necessities at the Hillsborough Rd. Kroger and the lines were all the way down the isles. Luckily, I knew to jump into a U-Scan line because those lines were going pretty quick with 2 customers going at the same time.
Pretty much, we were able to stay warm by use of our fireplace and a combination of Duralogs and regular wood. We then, noticed around Saturday that our stock pile was getting low, so we ventured out again to see if we could find more Duralogs and/or a Kerosene Heater. We had no luck during the day. Every store we went to either just sold out, or they were waiting on a truck to arrive. My father and I decided to venture out again that evening and we weren't having much luck. After we tried the New Hope Commons Wal-Mart, we decided to drive into Chapel Hill. I thank God that we did because the Lowes on 15-501 had a stock pile of Super Logs! We bought 8 boxes (which held 6 logs in each) for about $114-116 and were ready to go. We really only needed 6, but I thought of some of our neighbors, so we bought two extra for them (only one of my neighbors really needed a box, so we helped them out).
Right now, we are still hopeful. Duke Power was in our neighborhood working to restore power and I was able to briefly talk to one of the electricians. He told me that if we didn't get power last night, that we will definitely get it today. I'm going to hold him to that.
Bryan Evans
MCIS
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Dancing in the cold
I was walking around Thursday around 1:00, looking for an open grocery store and something to break the monotony of my bleak, dark, cold apartment. I came across a couple of girls, probably about 12 or 13, playing in their front yard. They had a radio turned on (battery operated, I'm sure) and a Nelly song came on, the one that is supposed to go "It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes." The girls started singing/shouting "It's getting cold in here, so put on all you clothes" and dancing around. At least they kept their spirits up despite the cold weather.
Erin Hathaway
Duke University Press
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Boy do I need a laugh today (Tuesday)
...still no electricity and I hear that our situation is one of the last that will be addressed - backyard outages; still dark, still cold, can't focus enough to finish my final paper, the car didn't work this morning, the short order cook got my first hot meal of the day wrong and my truck, which I had to drive because the car wouldn't start and we just replaced the battery in it, is missing the coffee cup holder so I spilled coffee all over the newly cleaned truck seat just as I made that final turn into the driveway of my warm, bright office building!
But of course I know that my woes are minor and solvable. One of the women who helps maintain our office building told me that her house burned down last week in the midst of the storm. She has several school-age children! I expressed my compassion to her and she immediately stated that she was luckier than some others; the house was her only loss. So while I complain, it is only a shallow complaint because though I am very tired, I realize that I am also so very fortunate!
Beverly Meek
Institute of the Arts
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Help at a church
The power at our church (Christ United Methodist Church-Chapel Hill) was finally restored on Saturday night. Those who braved the elements and attended the Sunday morning worship service were asked to check on every member of the congregation (over 500) to make sure they were all safe. Pages of our church directory were given to volunteers who were asked to call everyone on their page (approx. 12 families) and just ask, "Are you okay?" Needless to say there were more volunteers than pages! It was heartwarming to see a church family caring for each other.
Joy Searles
Office of Study Abroad
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Hole in the roof
My power went out at 6:20a.m. Wednesday morning. I am still without power. During the night on Thursday, a large limb fell off a tree and went through my roof, opening a large hole for the rain to come through. The rain soaked the ceiling in my clothes closet and the ceiling fell, ruining all of my clothes. So, I now have a large hole in my roof, ceiling, no power, no telephone. I do have a kerosene heater that I can cook food on, and I melted much of the snow/ice so I can flush my toilets. That is where I am right now. Glad to be alive and with no more damage to my house.
Brandon Stancil
Office of Information Technology
Postscript: Brandon wrote back Tuesday morning that he had received power: "Excitedly, I came home to find that I had power and telephone!!!! Sometime next week, the construction company should start work next week, and they do not expect the repairs to take too long. Overall, today was one of the best days that I have had in a while. I hope that others are having the same success."
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A story of bravery
The storm last week left me with memories of both a harrowing experience and of the kindness and bravery of a truly good neighbor, Mr. Thomas Faircloth.
My husband, Bob, and I live out in the country in Granville County. There is a big stand of tall pines at the back of the property. My mother, who is 91, still wants to have her own living quarters but needs some assistance with grocery shopping, transportation, etc. To allow her to have her own space and still have her close by in case she needs us, she lives in a small mobile home that is tucked down in the shade of the trees behind our house.
The night of the storm Bob was on his way back to North Carolina from a business trip to Florida. The roads were becoming iced over. We talked on the phone and we decided the safest thing for him to do was to stop at a motel for the night. Because of the cold, I didn't bring my mother up for dinner. I took her some soup and then called her before I went to bed to ask if everything was OK down there. When I retired at about 11 PM, there was just a little snow in the air and it didn't seem very bad. Everything was turning white, and I expected to wake to a winter wonderland scene. Little did I know what an experiece lay in store the next morning. About 5 AM Thursday morning I was awakened by a frightening noise that sounded like rifle fire followed by a crash.
At the same time my neighbor, Thomas Faircloth, called and said that the power was out and that trees were falling all around us. He said he was going to take a flashlight and walk down and check on my mother. I told him that I would get my boots on, go get her, and bring her to the house where she would be safe. Thomas insisted that he check on her right then. In a couple minutes he called again and told me that big limbs had fallen on the awning over my mother's deck. He was only able to open the door enough to squeeze in to see if she was all right. Most evenings my mother joins us for dinner. The distance between our house and her place is only about 300 feet but it is a long walk for someone her age so we carry her back and forth on a golf cart. That morning I ran to the garage to get the golf cart and then remembered that the garage door had an electric opener and we had no power. It is a double garage and the door is so wide that I could not raise it up manually. I was frantic as I knew I my mother could never walk that far or over all the ice.
I called my husband to ask how I could get the door open when Thomas came in with a flashlight, climbed up on a step stool and was able to release the lock and open the door. Everything was covered with ice and it was still completely dark outside. I could hear the continual sound of trees and limbs falling all around as I drove the golf cart down the drive. Thomas had already run back to my mother's deck. The fallen awning was full of ice and Thomas had to lift it up so that I could reach the door and open it just enough for my mother to squeeze out. We then had to walk her a few steps down the side of the deck until we reached a point where Thomas could lift the awning high enough for her to bend over and get out from underneath. I took one arm and Thomas took the other. The two of us hurried her down her walk and over the ice to the golf cart and we then she and I retreated to the house for safety. Thomas ran to see of any trees had fallen on his home. I was terrified the whole time that we were under the trees for fear that something was going to fall on us, but not nearly as traumatized as I was when I went back down there after daylight to see what had happened. The entire area looked like a bomb had dropped. Three trees had fallen and were leaning on the sagging roof a storage building. Another tree was leaning on the roof of my husband's workshop. A huge tree, just a few feet behind my mother's had fallen away from her place with such force that it was completely uprooted. Another tree had fallen across the cement walk where we had just led my mother a few minutes before and landed about six feet from her bedroom.
I thanked God that we got out of there when we did. I also thanked him for the kindness and bravery of my neighbor who alerted me to the danger, voluntarily went down there by himself to check on my mother and then risked his own well being to help me get her out of danger. I would not have been able to lift the awning and get her out without his assistance. Thomas could hear trees falling around his place, too, but he continued to help us until we were safe. I don't know what might have happened if he had not been there. We have thanked him personally but there are no words to really express our gratitude. His kindness and concern should not go unnoticed and I want to take this opportunity to thank him publicly and to let him know how very much my family appreciates his help.
Grace Tisdale
Duke University Medical Center
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Joy at Biscuitville
We had a similar story to many others who were house-bound. It was a humbling experience that once again got our attention as to how very blessed we are in our warm, lighted homes and lives.
Stuck in-house without power or heat beginning Wednesday night! Due to downed trees around our house and on our street, we were unable to get out of our drive (or street) from Thursday until Saturday. No firewood for the fireplace since everything was wet despite the many trees. To top off the scenario, we were in the process of having our kitchen renovated with the luxury of all new appliances (to come), and had given our gas stove away already! Otherwise we could have at least cooked up what was in the refrigerator and freezer as we did during Hurricane Fran and had hot meals for our neighbors, plus stay warm to some degree (no pun intended).
The person we had given the gas stove (who is also our lawn and tree man) came to the rescue late Friday afternoon, cleared a pathway down our long driveway so that we could get out for a hot meal on Saturday. He came back on Saturday with some firewood so we did have a fire in the fireplace on Saturday night! The house temperature was down to 45 degrees.
On Sunday morning, once again we went out for breakfast to the Hillsborough Rd. Biscuitville, which was packed with cold hungry souls like ourselves. The workers there were on the ball and cranked out meals as fast as anyone could have hoped. We felt much better!
On our return home, Georgia Power trucks were on our street and because the electric lines run along the side of our property (in the woods) with the only access to the downed pole asked if they could come through our property with their big trucks. The answer, of course, was "Yes!" So, down our very narrow winding drive into our parking area they came and then up into the woods-- but alas, not very far. That huge truck with the cherry-picker basket mired down to the top of the big tire into mud and was stuck!
Another huge truck came and it took about 2 hours for it to work back and forth in a very small space (compared to the size of the trucks) to get the mired truck out -- but they did. They left a three foot-deep trench in the wooded area back of our parking area and a two foot-deep trench in the parking area of squieshy mud. Now what?!
We went out Sunday late to eat and on our return, they had filled in the trenches!! Although they couldn't replace the azalea plants, we were very happy to see that thoughtful gesture. Still very muddy, but no holes to get stuck in.
Georgia Power worked in our area throughout the storm and at 6 p.m. on Sunday night our power was restored. At that time, our house temperature was 38 degrees, but when the heat came on, the temp rose as did our spirits.
We have no complaints that Duke Power and our Georgia Power workers worked
tenaciously in the most difficult circumstances. We are blessed in so many
ways!
Sandra (Sandy) M. Tuthill, Senior Career Specialist
Health, Medicine & Life Sciences
Program Director,
Health Careers Internship Program;
Duke Summer Alum Medical Mentorship Program
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Dog emergency
My power went out about midnight on Wednesday/Thursday, after a number of conversations with an emergency veterinarian about my dog, who was clearly in distress. Spent the remainder of that night with her, then located a vet Thursday morning. The vet was about a mile away; it took over an hour to get to her. She had no power either, and did an examination with a flashlight, diagnosing a gastrointestinal problem (not a tricky diagnosis), which was potentially serious. We got the dog to a hospital in Cary faster than we had made it to the vet in Durham. The dog had x-rays, then major surgery that afternoon to prevent her intestine from rupturing from the elastic that was wrapped in it.
At least the dog was warm, if stitched from head to whatever. We were cold. And in the dark, which we still are. Since it is too cold for the dog to heal, she is with me at the office. I have tried telling people it is "Bring Your Dog to Work" day.
Peter Vaughn
Duke Development
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At home at the Franklin Center
Although we had serious tree damage to our deck and screen porch, my husband and I felt very smug in our home in Chapel Hill when we still had power at 3:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon. The feeling was premature, however, as that evening saw us plunged into darkness and cold along with everyone else in the area. One night sleeping at home in a 50-something degree house with two young children was all we could take. Since my parents, who live in Durham, didn't have power either, I decided on Friday that the best thing to do would to be to bring my children to work with me at the John Hope Franklin Center, where lights and heat had been on the whole time. I originally planned simply to stay for the day.
Once I got to work, however, it became clear that the Franklin Center was on its way to becoming a welcome shelter for the families of all its staff. By noon Friday, at least six other young children under age six had joined my two -- all happily watching Nickelodeon in the Franklin Center's downstairs lounge. My parents had set up camp on the sofas in the lounge with them, both to babysit and to take refuge themselves from the cold at their house. Soon my husband arrived, and because of the warmth and hospitality we found here, we all decided to stay the night. Other families trickled in, dragging their sleeping bags, pillows, and camping mattresses, and before long, the Franklin Center had become once again the dorm it used to be.
The Franklin Center's staff, especially Vice Provost Cathy Davidson, Operations Director Rob Sikorski, and International Studies Program Coordinator Pam Gutlon went out of their way to make the Franklin Center homey for us and the perhaps 50 other people, several dogs, and even some birds who lived here during the weekend that followed. They ordered Chinese food for everyone on Friday and Saturday (helped tremendously by the staff at Grace's Cafe in Trent Hall, who came to work on Saturday especially to fill the Franklin Center's order). Eating around the big table in the conference room, everyone welcomed these warm meals and the chance to get better acquainted. Rob and other Franklin Center technical staff made sure that child-friendly movies played on the conference room's big projection screen throughout the weekend, followed at night by feature films and popcorn for the adults. With help from Tony Bumphus, the Facility Manager for the East Campus Department of Housing Management, Rob and Pam had numerous sleeping cots brought into the center. FC staff member Jess Mitchell prowled the building, taking photographs to document the weekend's events. My colleague Michele Longino, whose office is next to mine, offered her assistant's office for my elderly parents to sleep in, which prevented me from having to house six people in my small office space. Her kindness and generosity were typical of that expressed throughout the ordeal by everyone in the building.
Our family ended up staying at the Franklin Center both Friday and Saturday nights. And while almost any building on the Duke campus could have similarly provided warm rooms and lights, we all believed the Franklin Center provided much more -- neighborliness, real community and hospitality, and a thousand small and large efforts by many among its staff to make a difficult experience bearable and even fun.
Anne Mitchell Whisnant
John Hope Franklin Center
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A symphony of falling branches
Like everyone else in Durham, I woke in the early hours of Dec. 5 to the symphony of falling tree limbs or entire trees. An elm had settled on the roof, as had the branches of a sinuous cherry. Several massive oak limbs lay in the backyard. Electricity had gone. We woke to what we thought was a cold house. It retained enough heat to remain in the fifties for the day, only to slump into the low forties the next day. We had water and, fortunately, one mechanical phone, but no lights. Our only heat came from the small living room fireplace originally built in the 1930s for coal fires. Because the sump pump could not operate, our basement was flooding and threatening to reach the level of our furnace, washer and dryer.
Our neighbors Steve, Monique and John helped me fashion a siphon to drain the basement. (Make sure your hoses are air tight.) Edwin from up the street helped me chop, cut and stack the enormous amount of wood that had fallen. Tom from next door helped haul branches to the streetside. (We have the tallest pile in the neighborhood.)
The night of Dec. 6, when the outside temperature went to 17, was a brutal one, and my wife, son and I shivered on the floor in sleeping bags beside the fireplace. My daughter stayed at her friend Amy's house, where they had a wood stove. When daylight came we warmed ourselves again by chopping, cutting and hauling. We made coffee and pancakes on the propane camp stove. We waited in a 30-minute line for gas. We, and others, watched with disgust as a loathsome example of human selflishness managed to find a shortcut through a neighboring parking lot and cut in line. Soon after, a gas station employee emerged and directed traffic. Everyone else was courteous and patient.
A relative had electricity by Saturday night. We gave our house key to Steve and Monique, who did not have a working fireplace, and drove off for a night of sound sleep.
Steven D. Williams
Communications Director
Duke University Child and Health Policy Initiative
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