America: 50☆Stars (Vol. 1)

Episode 38: Otis

This wasn't Texas's worst hurricane, but it was close. Very close.

It was hard to believe how much rain Texas was getting in recent years. She remembered the scorching drought that brought her to her knees in 2011. She prayed to the sky for some kind of relief. Her answer came over a hundred days later: some small precipitation in a few selected areas.

She was lucky though. California's drought lasted twice as long as her's. Thank God she wasn't in her position. Yeah, she did feel bad for her. Then again, it was partially her fault for the drought's severity. It was hard not to make her situation a giant meme.

'I wonder. Is it possible to donate all this floodwater to California?' She thought to herself. It would make a nice birthday present while also making fun of that libtard.

She chuckled at the thought of California's reaction before cutting the joke off with a saddened sigh. "I shouldn't be laughing at a time like this..." She stared at the torrent floods that blocked her truck from getting across.

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Hurricane Harvey must've loved Texas because he hadn't left her since arriving in her home three days ago.

The last days of August were supposed to be summery, sparkling, and sunny like the shimmering waters off South Padre Island, a serene end to the summer months. Then again, the autumn months might as well be called a second summer to most, if not all, Texans. September was just around the corner. The concluding days seemed to be passing smoothly until Harvey made a stop at her doorstep.

Texas slowly drove her truck full of supplies down the soaked roads. "Shit... There has to be an accessible road somewhere..." she grumbled.

It was difficult to navigate the fourth largest city in America that was seventy percent underwater. Even though she was driving her biggest truck, large enough to drive through some of the flooded roads, there were some roads she couldn't get across unless she wanted to go whitewater rafting for the day. It was frustrating. Going down alternate roads only to be blocked by three foot torrents, it was tempting to accelerate and push through the obstacle like a shortcut. But having been through this multiple times, it was better to be wary than wind up a burden to rescuers who were already overwhelmed by the task at hand.

While traversing a neighborhood, hoping its roads would lead her to the community shelter, Texas spotted a tan coated mutt on the street. 'A stray?' she thought at first until she saw the bag of dog food the dog carried in its mouth.

Despite dire circumstances, the sight brought a smile to her face. It was clear the dog didn't need any help; it already helped itself. It held its head up high with pride, its eyes directly forward as it strolled down a street. Indeed, the dog was a true Texan. How it found a bag of dog food in midst of the storm, Texas would probably never know. Nevertheless, the dog brought a sense of hope, filling her heart with determination. No matter the difficulties, there would always be a way. It was up to us to use our strength to help ourselves and others make it through what seemed like a somber time. Seeing the dog had somewhere to go, knowing it would be alright, she didn't get in its way.

Texas left the mutt alone to find another way to the community shelter.

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+ Hurricane Harvey was a tropical cyclone that was originally formed on August 17, 2017. The storm reached its peak as a category 4 hurricane when it reached the Texas coast on August 25, 2017. Unlike most hurricanes that usually continue on a trajectory path, Harvey remained stationary around the Texas coast, producing heavy rainfall that quickly flooded cities such as Houston. The hurricane would eventually move through Louisiana before dissipating on September 2, 2017. Overall, Hurricane Harvey became tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cyclone in the United States, inflicting $125 billion in total damages in addition to 107 confirmed deaths. Later on April 11, 2018, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name 'Harvey' from its rotating list of hurricanes based on this event.

+ On August 28, 2017, a photo of a golden retriever mix carrying a bag of dog food went viral on social media. As it turned out, the dog named Otis was a well-known resident in the town of Sinton, Texas. The bag of dog food he found came from a lumber yard, a place Otis was familiar with. Wanting to be prepared for the hurricane, Otis escaped from the house and went to the lumber yard to fetch some dog food. He was confirmed to return to his home safe and sound.

+ I had multiples ideas I wanted to write about Hurricane Harvey. This episode could've been longer, but I decided to settle on a short episode. Looking back on it, I realized there wasn't much humor in this story. Probably because when I was writing this chapter in May 2019, Houston was raining all week and flooding as usual. That probably dampened my mood a bit. Oh well...

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