A short hop and a skip across Texas has brought us to Orange, or rather a shadow of the place that used to be Orange. Hurricane Ike has taken its toll here, if not physically then emotionally. Streets are deserted, families live in hotels and shops are boarded up.
The signs of Ike crept up on us as we began to pass torn down restaurant signs and debris by the side of the road. As we entered Orange the town looked normal enough, but streets contained no cars, shops were closed and boarded. The theatre itself is lovely, with a great crew and a lot of seats! As we pulled up we were met by "the volunteers". A band of around a dozen OAPs who come and help at get ins and get outs. They were all dressed in there best lifting gloves and scruffs and I think they were slightly disappointed we didn't have more set for them to help with.
As we passed through town this evening we saw a high school football game kicking off with a large crowd beginning to gather. We can only hope for the same turn out. We ate in a great old Texan bar which was packed and one customer made a point of coming over, welcoming us to Texas and saying how pleased he was we were here and that the place needed something to smile about.
So life seems to be continuing in some form or other and tomorrow we'll attempt to play our part and do what we can. The staff at the theatre have promised us a "pot luck" dinner where they each bring some food in for us, the whole place has a real sense of a community coming together. You can't begin to imagine what they've been through.
Its a shame we're seeing Orange in this light as on another day, at another time this would be a lovely town to spend some time. As it is we've been advised to take our planned day off on Saturday elsewhere.
More to come tomorrow hopefully
Alan
State lines crossed 4 (8 Total)
Time Zones crossed 1 (2 Total)
27 Days to Election
Bumper sticker/ Yard sign/ Anything else advertising a candidate count:
Obama 6
McCain 9
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