On the Mexican Backroads

Buster seems to have adventures wherever he goes. Right now he is in Mexico and is having a few adventures there. This is his story.

September 17, 2010 Veracruz-Mexico

Seems trouble follows me where ever I go. I had just arrived in Mexico when Hurricane Karl decided to make an abrupt left turn. Karl just so happened to come directly over my head just north of Veracruz. Unfortunately, the people here didn’t know it was knocking at their front door, no news or weather warnings what so ever. I guess after 50 years without a major cat 3 storm, younger people were oblivious to the possible dangers associated with hurricanes.

I am working here as a supervisor for an industrial filtration company out of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and I wouldn’t call this place a tropical paradise, just maybe tropical in nature. Don’t get me wrong - the company we are working for - Repindsa - has gone out of their way to make us feel as comfortable as possible and have bent over backwards to accommodate us every way they could.

We are doing a job at a steel mill called TenarisTamsa just north of Veracruz. I reluctantly went into work knowing what to expect from the storm. Having lived most of my life on the Gulf Coast, I have been through a few storms before, Hurricane Fredrick being the worst. (Time Magazine - September 12, 1979 - man rides out hurricane Fredrick in beach house on Fort Morgan, Gulf Shores, Alabama.) The 2000 local men working at this plant had no idea or warning what to expect from the storm, not even from their company. A foreman told me, “Oh, the rain will be over in a few minutes” and I told him, “You need to bend over and kiss it goodbye. Hell is about to break loose. Part of the roof will come off. Tornadoes will come through and trees will be gone when this is over.” He just laughed.

Well, about 2 hrs later he wasn’t laughing . After 4 cups of coffee, I had to go but the portables were outside of this very large tin building. I tried to force my way against 140 mph winds-of course to no avail- and decided to try later. Unfortunately, part of the roof did come off, and we did have tornadoes, and the trees never had a chance. The men were running around like scared rats trying to find a place to hide. When the eye of the storm came over they said, “See - it is over.” I told them to grab a cheek and hold on again. Once the wind reversed, I tried to make it to the bathroom again only to watch the portables go rolling across the parking lot.

Now the storm is over. Of course we have no power, the roads are out and flooded, and, to top it off, the next day a levee broke and flooded a town we had to go through to get to the plant. Just so happens there is a high toll road back to Veracruz and now we get to go back to work. I guess this is just another chapter in my exciting life. To be continued--