Déjà vu all over again

Larry Jones, Democrat Columnist

Yogi Berra, the beloved baseball player and manager for the New York Yankees, was infamous for his unique quotes or malapropisms. One of my favorites, which I have mentioned before, was his pronouncement that, “It’s like déjà vu, all over again.”

Yogi’s redundant expression clearly describes the recent severe weather conditions in Parker County, particularly in the western half.

Last week I whined and whimpered about the spanking we took at the hands of the weather demons down on the pore farm, and lo and behold, it’s been like déjà vu all over again. This time it wasn’t so localized. While my wife and I again had quite a scare down in Lazy Bend, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was 10 days earlier. The folks north of me weren’t so lucky.

Much of western Parker County was hit very hard by high winds, heavy rain and moderate hail. The wind was the greatest threat. An area from north of Millsap and Cool extending southeast toward Hood County was very hard hit. The worst damage appeared to be in the Brock Community where numerous buildings received extensive damage and hundreds of trees were uprooted or had major damage to their tops.

Like the tree I lost in my back yard earlier in the month, many of these trees were not fragile, shallow rooted, fast growing types like many folks plant in their yards. A large number of them were massive oak, elm and pecan trees, which will take hundreds of years to replace. Such destruction is almost like a crime against humanity.

Early Saturday morning after this latest storm, Helen and I drove through the area to witness the destruction we heard about. Damage was minor until we were about a mile west of Brock. Scattered debris from damaged buildings was everywhere, and trees were bent, broken and uprooted. Numerous buildings received extensive damage, which included both the Baptist and Methodist churches, the elementary school, the community center, Mike Jones’ café and countless homes and outbuildings. Farther north toward Interstate 20, the destruction continued.

Despite the chaos caused by the violent storm, it was heartwarming to witness the determination and resolve of so many volunteers within the community to help put things back in order. Although it wasn’t even 9 o’clock in the morning, chain saws were buzzing, and already there were great stacks of firewood sawed from the felled trees. The roads were cleared, and volunteer workers were gathering wrecked building materials to be hauled away. The buildings were being evaluated, and temporary fixes were made to roofs and walls in order to stabilize the situation.

Caring neighbors and determined residents did not sit around and blame the politicians or bureaucrats, sit on their “laurels” and wait for FEMA handouts, nor loot stores stealing beer and flat panel televisions. They did what was necessary to overcome this seemingly all too frequent disaster.

Within days and/or weeks the repairs will be made, the debris will be cleaned up, and life will return to normal throughout this part of the county that has been hit so hard by these recent violent storms. Our friends and neighbors, like Helen and I, will miss our majestic oak trees that are forever gone. Our lives will be changed, but perhaps it is through such adversity we grow stronger.

Another of Yogi’s infamous quotes was, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” By golly I’m ready for this bad weather to be over.

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Larry M. Jones is a retired Navy Commander and aviator who raises cattle and hay in the Brock/Lazy Bend part of Parker County. Comments may be directed to nowhearthis@pwhome.com.