KINGWOOD, Texas – The Murphy family evacuated from their home in Orange, Texas to a hotel in Kingwood, where they lost power on Thursday for seven hours.
“I got up this morning watching the coverage and was amazed,” Gary Murhpy said.
The Murphs rebuilt their home after Hurricane Ike destroyed it in 2008. They drove two hours to a La Quinta Inn in Kingwood after forecasters started to predict Laura would become a Category 4 storm.
Gary and his wife Mylinda, who is disabled following a stroke a couple of years ago, laugh a little at what is sometimes called Murphy’s law, that “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”
Thursday around 1:30 p.m., the La Quinta Inn lost power, taking away the television and the reading light that kept them occupied.
“Murphy’s law, right? You know, we thought something was going to happen, but we didn’t think the hotel was going to be without power,” Gary Murphy said. “It’s starting to get a little warm in here now.”
Given what they saw of the hurricane coverage, the Murphys were certain they would lose their home again. On Thursday morning, a friend sent them photos.
The storage shed is destroyed and the yard is a mess, but Murphy’s law failed for them in the best way.
“The home’s still there, no broken windows, no damage per se,” Gary Murphy said. “It’s better than the best I could have expected.”