Verdict with Ted Cruz - July 09, 2025


The Texas Flood Disaster-Stories from on the Ground in the Hill Country


Episode Stats

Misogynist Sentences

29

Hate Speech Sentences

7


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.620 Guaranteed human.
00:00:04.480 Welcome. It is Verdict with Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with you,
00:00:08.100 and it's so nice to have you with us on the program today.
00:00:11.380 Senator, we're going to be covering, yet again, the horrific flooding in Texas
00:00:16.260 and get people up to date on the latest information that you have right now.
00:00:21.320 Well, five days into it, we have 109 people who have been killed in the flooding in the hill country of Texas.
00:00:27.400 There are still a significant number of people that are missing.
00:00:32.360 We know of at least 27 campers and counselors that were killed at Camp Mystic.
00:00:37.180 Those numbers may grow. 109 is likely to grow.
00:00:41.540 And I have to say, just having spent all day yesterday on the ground in the hill country,
00:00:48.440 the devastation, I've got to tell you, as bad as you think it is, it's worse.
00:00:52.620 It is being on the ground in Camp Mystic.
00:00:57.400 And later in this podcast, I'm going to walk you through exactly what is going on in Camp Mystic,
00:01:03.600 what the state is.
00:01:05.840 It is the most horrific thing I've ever seen.
00:01:08.720 And it is.
00:01:10.560 Look, I've got to say, the whole state of Texas, we are grieving, we are mourning.
00:01:14.820 But the whole country is mourning.
00:01:16.280 Everyone, particularly anyone who's a parent, the nightmare of losing your child and losing your child to this kind of disaster.
00:01:26.320 Going from joy and celebration, dropping your kid off at summer camp to have an incredible experience.
00:01:33.760 Just days later, being swept away by floodwaters.
00:01:36.860 It is horrific.
00:01:38.380 And we're hurting.
00:01:39.900 We're hurting right now.
00:01:41.380 No doubt about it.
00:01:42.280 We're going to give you that update on exactly where we are now in just a moment.
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00:03:28.500 So, Senator, we've had a lot that's happened since we put out that podcast yesterday.
00:03:33.140 Usually we publish this show on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
00:03:36.020 I know many are tuning in this morning that may have missed part of that.
00:03:38.900 And we're going to talk about and play some of that for you in a moment.
00:03:41.740 But catch us up to the latest briefings you've received in the last 24 hours.
00:03:46.200 Well, look, I want to read you a story that was published in the Wall Street Journal.
00:03:50.340 And it was entitled, A Texas Dad Tried to Kayak to His Daughters.
00:03:56.140 The girls texted, I love you.
00:03:59.320 And the story focuses on the Harbor family that spent the holiday at a cabin they owned at Casa Bonita Cabin Community near Hunt, Texas.
00:04:09.620 Around 3.30 a.m. on Friday, R.J. Harbor was awakened by pounding rain, thunder, and lightning.
00:04:14.740 Hours earlier, he had received flash flood warnings for other areas, but not where he was staying.
00:04:21.480 R.J., who was a 45-year-old father and a Dallas lawyer who'd been vacationing and going to summer camp in this area his whole life,
00:04:29.040 thought the river might rise a little.
00:04:31.540 He wanted to check on his two young daughters, 11-year-old Brooke and 13-year-old Blair.
00:04:37.460 The girls were staying in a borrowed cabin closer to the river with their grandparents, Mike and Charlene Harbor.
00:04:46.120 R.J. said he thought he would also clear away a kayak and some fishing gear he was keeping by the river.
00:04:52.520 He put his foot down on the floor of his cabin and felt about four inches of water.
00:04:58.060 R.J. turned to his wife, who was laying in bed beside him.
00:05:01.360 Also awake, he told her, Annie, the cabin's flooding.
00:05:04.580 R.J. could see the water rushing in through the front door.
00:05:09.100 He tried to open the door, but he couldn't.
00:05:11.800 He looked out the window and saw the water level was about two feet below the window.
00:05:16.100 We need to get out right now, R.J. told Annie.
00:05:20.120 They grabbed a few items.
00:05:21.840 There were cell phones and a bag they hadn't unpacked.
00:05:24.580 By the time they jumped out the window about two minutes later,
00:05:27.540 the water had reached up to Annie's neck.
00:05:30.600 The harbors hurried to another cabin nearby on slightly higher ground.
00:05:35.340 They knocked on the door and woke the family.
00:05:37.420 By the time the family came to the door, the water was almost at their door.
00:05:41.660 They went to another cabin and woke a third family as well.
00:05:45.220 R.J. borrowed a kayak, a life vest and a flashlight.
00:05:49.100 He started a kayak to the cabin where the couple's daughters and R.J.'s parents were staying.
00:05:53.080 It was about 100 feet below, and he reached about halfway when, R.J. said,
00:05:59.340 a swell knocked him into a post.
00:06:02.500 I shined a flashlight out there, and I could see it was white water.
00:06:08.580 And I've kayaked enough to know that was going to be impossible.
00:06:13.380 He could see an entire cabin had been detached from its foundation
00:06:18.100 and was stuck against the side of the cabin where his daughters and parents were staying.
00:06:23.560 There were cars floating at me and trees floating at me.
00:06:29.740 I knew if I took even one stroke further, it was going to be a death sentence.
00:06:36.640 R.J. turned around to get his wife and the remaining families.
00:06:40.220 They went to a home nearby on higher ground across Highway 39,
00:06:43.960 where a family let them in about 3.45 a.m.
00:06:46.720 That was when he checked his cell phone,
00:06:50.640 and he saw a text sent at 3.30 a.m. from his daughter, Brooke.
00:06:57.420 Receiving the text alone was a miracle in the area,
00:07:00.100 where he usually couldn't get cell serviced.
00:07:03.520 It said,
00:07:04.800 I love you.
00:07:07.880 Annie, 43, worked at St. Rita's Catholic School,
00:07:11.820 which both girls attended,
00:07:13.140 received text from both Brooke and Blair,
00:07:17.920 time-stamped at 3.30 a.m.,
00:07:20.340 that said,
00:07:21.180 I love you.
00:07:23.460 Their other grandfather, who lives in Michigan,
00:07:25.600 received text with,
00:07:27.140 love you,
00:07:28.160 and a photo of the girls with him.
00:07:31.180 The Harbors and the other families waited without power all night,
00:07:35.260 hearing horrible sounds.
00:07:36.480 The next morning,
00:07:38.740 they realized,
00:07:40.460 they had been hearing the cabins being ripped off their foundations,
00:07:44.760 and crashing apart.
00:07:47.240 At sunrise,
00:07:48.360 the water had finally receded enough for RJ to go back to the site.
00:07:52.140 Only a half dozen of the community's 20-something cabins were still standing.
00:07:55.860 The others had been ripped from the foundations,
00:07:59.780 leaving only their tile floors.
00:08:02.680 The cabin where Blair,
00:08:04.140 Brooke,
00:08:04.580 and their grandparents had been staying
00:08:05.980 was completely washed away.
00:08:10.560 Blair and Brooke's bodies
00:08:11.860 were found and identified
00:08:14.180 about a dozen miles from the cabin.
00:08:17.460 Their grandfather's bodies were recovered on Monday.
00:08:20.440 their grandmother
00:08:22.280 was unaccounted for
00:08:24.140 as of Monday afternoon.
00:08:28.500 Can you imagine, Ben?
00:08:30.000 No.
00:08:31.500 The last thing you hear from your child
00:08:33.980 is a text.
00:08:37.480 I love you.
00:08:39.380 As the cabin they're in
00:08:40.980 is swept into the river,
00:08:43.020 and they're on their way to their death.
00:08:44.880 This happened
00:08:45.860 over and over and over again that night.
00:08:49.220 It is
00:08:51.380 another reminder
00:08:53.060 of just how quick things happen.
00:08:55.820 It's a reminder
00:08:56.620 of just how
00:08:57.540 unprecedented
00:08:58.560 this type of flooding was.
00:09:00.940 It's a reminder,
00:09:01.960 I think,
00:09:02.200 to those trying to politicize this
00:09:03.700 how
00:09:04.040 much this
00:09:05.420 should never
00:09:06.420 have been politicized
00:09:07.720 and
00:09:09.200 try to
00:09:09.940 turn this into
00:09:11.100 a talking point
00:09:12.220 for politics
00:09:12.880 because
00:09:13.380 as I said yesterday,
00:09:15.480 there is
00:09:15.840 no one
00:09:17.580 that was involved in this
00:09:19.200 in those moments
00:09:19.860 was thinking about
00:09:20.560 if you're a Republican
00:09:21.360 or Democrat
00:09:21.940 or rich or poor.
00:09:23.300 No.
00:09:23.500 Pray for Texas.
00:09:24.940 Pray for these parents.
00:09:26.020 Pray for these moms and dads.
00:09:27.480 Pray for these grandparents.
00:09:29.120 Pray for these brothers and sisters.
00:09:30.580 The agony,
00:09:31.380 the pain,
00:09:32.560 it is
00:09:33.420 unreal,
00:09:35.040 and
00:09:35.360 we have Texans and Americans
00:09:37.320 hurting tonight.
00:09:37.980 Amen to that.
00:09:39.720 We do know that
00:09:40.360 President Trump
00:09:41.140 is planning on coming
00:09:41.860 down to Texas
00:09:42.880 and I think there's a lot
00:09:44.360 of people that are going
00:09:44.940 to want to see their president,
00:09:46.400 their commander-in-chief
00:09:47.280 down in Texas.
00:09:49.460 The White House
00:09:49.980 has said that,
00:09:50.680 that they're going to be there
00:09:51.500 and that's going to help,
00:09:52.400 I think,
00:09:52.720 with certainly
00:09:53.160 some of the healing as well.
00:09:56.740 Absolutely.
00:09:57.300 I'm very glad
00:09:57.800 the president is coming.
00:09:58.840 It's the right thing to do.
00:10:00.400 I want to go back
00:10:01.520 to what many of you
00:10:02.860 may have missed yesterday.
00:10:04.580 Senator Cruz
00:10:05.340 was down
00:10:06.460 in the center,
00:10:08.680 the epicenter
00:10:09.180 of where everything happened
00:10:10.600 and for many of you,
00:10:12.200 you may have missed it.
00:10:13.680 What was said
00:10:14.620 about that time
00:10:15.540 down there
00:10:16.020 on Monday
00:10:16.880 and the time
00:10:17.960 that was spent
00:10:18.520 and the stories
00:10:19.280 that were told
00:10:19.880 and the families
00:10:20.540 that were there
00:10:21.200 and if you missed it,
00:10:22.980 I hope,
00:10:23.420 by the way,
00:10:23.720 that you'll take this show
00:10:24.560 and share it
00:10:25.060 wherever you can
00:10:25.920 so others can hear
00:10:26.900 exactly what happened
00:10:28.220 in Kerrville
00:10:30.200 and the surrounding area
00:10:31.420 and how you can also
00:10:33.540 help as well
00:10:34.560 so if you missed that
00:10:36.000 yesterday
00:10:36.520 when we put this out
00:10:38.320 on a day
00:10:38.600 we normally don't publish,
00:10:39.880 we wanted to play that
00:10:40.720 for you again right now.
00:10:43.160 Well, Ben,
00:10:43.820 you and I are recording this
00:10:45.000 at 12.36 a.m.
00:10:46.660 Monday night
00:10:47.360 and I spent the entire day
00:10:49.360 in the Hill Country
00:10:50.800 starting at 6 a.m.
00:10:51.800 this morning
00:10:52.300 and I visited
00:10:54.820 with families
00:10:55.740 who were grieving.
00:10:57.420 I went to Camp Mystic
00:10:59.500 and saw firsthand
00:11:00.840 the devastation.
00:11:01.780 I will tell you
00:11:04.320 there are not words
00:11:05.360 to describe
00:11:06.240 just how much
00:11:07.540 Texas is hurting.
00:11:09.300 This is
00:11:10.260 across the state
00:11:12.740 and across the country
00:11:14.280 people are grieving.
00:11:15.560 They're grieving
00:11:16.040 for the moms and dads.
00:11:18.500 This flooding,
00:11:19.680 I'll tell you
00:11:20.560 in my 13 years
00:11:21.620 in the Senate
00:11:22.080 I've seen a lot
00:11:23.360 of natural disasters,
00:11:25.460 hurricanes
00:11:25.880 and tornadoes
00:11:26.740 and wildfires
00:11:27.540 and it's always difficult
00:11:29.260 but this was something
00:11:32.020 really different.
00:11:33.620 What happened
00:11:34.740 in the Hill Country
00:11:36.840 right now
00:11:39.080 the fatality count
00:11:41.520 it is over 100.
00:11:43.640 It is expected
00:11:44.740 to keep growing.
00:11:46.980 They are still
00:11:48.060 searching for
00:11:48.980 and finding bodies.
00:11:51.360 Right now
00:11:52.380 Camp Mystic
00:11:53.340 we know
00:11:55.320 of 27 kids
00:11:56.820 and counselors
00:11:57.460 who lost their lives
00:11:58.900 in the flooding.
00:12:00.400 There are an additional
00:12:01.340 10 more girls
00:12:02.400 and one more counselor
00:12:03.680 who are missing
00:12:04.940 and so there are
00:12:07.040 search and rescue teams
00:12:08.300 that are searching
00:12:08.940 for them
00:12:09.540 right now
00:12:10.300 obviously every hour
00:12:11.400 every day
00:12:12.420 that goes by
00:12:13.280 the odds
00:12:14.640 of
00:12:14.960 a happy
00:12:17.660 outcome
00:12:19.340 go down
00:12:20.080 but we are
00:12:21.380 certainly praying
00:12:22.240 that
00:12:22.540 those 11 girls
00:12:26.160 are found
00:12:27.180 safe and sound.
00:12:30.840 You know
00:12:31.480 I want to tell folks
00:12:34.580 a little bit
00:12:35.100 about what
00:12:35.880 has happened
00:12:37.240 on the ground
00:12:37.800 and where this is.
00:12:38.920 So if you're not
00:12:39.780 from Texas
00:12:40.380 the Hill Country
00:12:42.340 is in central Texas
00:12:43.740 it's the central part
00:12:45.020 of the state
00:12:45.540 and it is
00:12:47.860 I think
00:12:48.680 the most beautiful
00:12:49.300 part of the state
00:12:50.000 and I think
00:12:50.320 most Texans
00:12:51.300 agree with that.
00:12:52.660 There are
00:12:53.400 rolling hills
00:12:54.360 there are
00:12:55.820 beautiful
00:12:57.020 rivers
00:12:58.140 and in particular
00:12:59.980 Kerr County
00:13:00.780 there are
00:13:03.780 about
00:13:04.680 40 summer camps
00:13:06.120 and there's
00:13:06.700 a long tradition
00:13:07.780 of camps.
00:13:09.620 It's an incredible
00:13:10.820 tradition
00:13:11.280 that goes back
00:13:12.040 100 years
00:13:12.800 where people went
00:13:13.860 and formed
00:13:14.320 these summer camps
00:13:15.260 because the natural
00:13:16.860 beauty was so
00:13:17.640 extraordinary
00:13:18.200 that it's
00:13:18.940 it's an incredible
00:13:19.700 place for girls
00:13:20.960 and for boys
00:13:21.700 to come
00:13:23.380 and spend
00:13:24.220 typically a month
00:13:25.780 at a time
00:13:26.480 and Camp Mystic
00:13:28.680 is
00:13:29.280 it's 100 years old
00:13:31.940 it is a Christian
00:13:32.880 girls camp
00:13:33.680 and I will tell you
00:13:35.400 Camp Mystic
00:13:36.080 is really
00:13:37.040 an institution
00:13:39.020 in Texas.
00:13:39.700 it is
00:13:42.480 you see
00:13:47.400 families
00:13:48.040 from all
00:13:48.540 across Texas
00:13:49.360 who
00:13:51.020 at the end
00:13:53.060 of typically
00:13:53.820 the month
00:13:54.240 long camp
00:13:54.800 session
00:13:55.240 that there's
00:13:56.400 a two day
00:13:57.720 closing ceremony
00:13:58.620 and you'll see
00:14:01.180 grandmothers
00:14:01.880 and moms
00:14:03.040 and daughters
00:14:03.680 three generations
00:14:04.780 of Texas women
00:14:05.940 that are there
00:14:06.680 and it is
00:14:08.160 look for me
00:14:09.820 this is not
00:14:10.400 abstract
00:14:11.020 our girls
00:14:12.220 have gone
00:14:13.020 to camp
00:14:13.600 in Hunt
00:14:14.480 in Kirk County
00:14:15.300 for a decade
00:14:17.280 now
00:14:17.720 and actually
00:14:18.940 just last week
00:14:20.100 Heidi was there
00:14:22.300 picking up
00:14:23.000 Catherine
00:14:23.440 our youngest
00:14:23.900 daughter
00:14:24.180 from camp
00:14:24.760 and so this
00:14:26.080 was literally
00:14:26.640 a week ago
00:14:27.420 that my daughter
00:14:29.940 was there
00:14:30.400 she was at camp
00:14:31.260 they'd been there
00:14:31.760 for a month
00:14:32.240 and I'll tell you
00:14:32.760 these camps
00:14:33.420 are
00:14:33.820 they teach
00:14:36.600 girls
00:14:37.240 independence
00:14:40.300 and responsibility
00:14:41.400 and teamwork
00:14:42.420 and the
00:14:44.240 friendships
00:14:44.900 that are formed
00:14:46.040 are lifelong
00:14:47.740 friendships
00:14:48.540 Catherine's
00:14:49.800 best friend
00:14:50.440 is a girl
00:14:52.580 from
00:14:53.060 the Rio Grande
00:14:54.920 Valley
00:14:55.220 who she would
00:14:55.760 never have met
00:14:56.440 going to school
00:14:57.080 and growing up
00:14:57.520 in Houston
00:14:57.960 if it were not
00:14:59.020 for that camp
00:14:59.700 and they are
00:15:00.360 absolutely inseparable
00:15:01.840 those sorts
00:15:03.200 of friendships
00:15:03.700 you see
00:15:04.460 at the closing
00:15:05.200 ceremony
00:15:05.780 you see
00:15:06.380 women in their
00:15:07.840 70s and 80s
00:15:09.300 with those same
00:15:11.280 lifelong friendships
00:15:12.280 and
00:15:13.900 when this flooding
00:15:16.000 hit
00:15:16.520 it just
00:15:17.160 devastated
00:15:17.960 Camp Mystic
00:15:19.760 and not just
00:15:20.520 Camp Mystic
00:15:21.180 but the entire
00:15:22.220 region
00:15:22.820 it was the
00:15:24.340 4th of July
00:15:24.980 weekend
00:15:25.360 and so you had
00:15:26.620 thousands of
00:15:27.660 thousands of people
00:15:28.440 there celebrating
00:15:29.320 by the riverbanks
00:15:30.540 and the Guadalupe River
00:15:31.540 is this beautiful
00:15:32.660 river
00:15:33.100 that I have
00:15:34.580 floated on
00:15:35.520 and swam in
00:15:36.520 dozens of times
00:15:37.940 it's a gorgeous river
00:15:39.080 it's wonderful
00:15:39.860 people
00:15:40.280 love to swim in it
00:15:41.840 vacation in it
00:15:42.920 canoe in it
00:15:43.860 and
00:15:45.000 no it's
00:15:45.880 it's part of
00:15:46.600 just the summers
00:15:47.660 in Texas
00:15:48.280 and for people
00:15:49.500 like you mentioned
00:15:50.060 that are outside
00:15:50.560 Texas
00:15:51.000 floating the river
00:15:52.240 is just so much fun
00:15:53.520 because you
00:15:54.100 you get
00:15:54.780 I mean
00:15:55.240 these basically
00:15:56.240 they used to be
00:15:57.280 back in the day
00:15:57.680 the inner tubes
00:15:58.220 of tires
00:15:58.780 you get
00:15:59.280 these floats
00:15:59.900 now
00:16:00.340 and you float
00:16:01.900 with your best
00:16:02.460 friends
00:16:02.880 I have a friend
00:16:03.940 that actually
00:16:04.580 met his
00:16:05.180 future wife
00:16:06.240 floating the
00:16:07.300 Guadalupe River
00:16:08.520 I mean
00:16:09.220 it's just a community
00:16:09.960 it's a slow float
00:16:10.900 it's very safe
00:16:11.860 it is something
00:16:12.920 that you do
00:16:13.520 we've stayed
00:16:14.100 on that river
00:16:14.600 before
00:16:15.000 we floated it
00:16:15.800 as you mentioned
00:16:16.700 countless times
00:16:17.660 and on the 4th of July
00:16:18.960 a lot of people
00:16:19.720 go down there
00:16:20.240 camping
00:16:20.640 you camp close
00:16:21.980 to the river
00:16:22.420 you bring your RV
00:16:23.740 and you do that
00:16:25.600 and that's what
00:16:26.320 people were doing
00:16:27.020 as you mentioned
00:16:27.560 it was a 4th of July
00:16:28.700 weekend
00:16:29.140 well and you
00:16:30.700 mentioned RVs
00:16:31.940 the flooding
00:16:33.480 there were many
00:16:34.500 RVs
00:16:35.380 that were just
00:16:35.960 swept into the river
00:16:37.400 and we don't have
00:16:38.280 a count
00:16:38.760 so I started
00:16:40.080 this morning
00:16:40.700 by meeting
00:16:41.300 with the mayor
00:16:41.940 and the county judge
00:16:42.900 and the county
00:16:43.340 commissioners
00:16:44.120 and Texas DPS
00:16:45.840 and the sheriff
00:16:46.540 and just getting
00:16:47.140 a report
00:16:47.600 from on the ground
00:16:48.760 and one of the
00:16:50.500 challenging things
00:16:51.800 we have over
00:16:52.760 100 confirmed
00:16:53.560 fatalities
00:16:54.220 there are a number
00:16:55.640 of bodies
00:16:56.160 that have been
00:16:56.600 discovered
00:16:57.080 both adults
00:16:57.800 and kids
00:16:58.460 that have not
00:16:59.220 been identified
00:16:59.780 yet
00:17:00.180 and bodies
00:17:01.300 that have been
00:17:01.680 in the water
00:17:02.160 for an extended
00:17:02.740 period of time
00:17:03.580 can be difficult
00:17:04.940 to identify
00:17:05.640 visually
00:17:06.240 and so they're
00:17:06.860 doing DNA
00:17:07.500 swabs
00:17:08.220 you know
00:17:11.060 when this
00:17:12.080 started happening
00:17:12.880 it was early
00:17:13.680 in the morning
00:17:14.340 on the 4th of July
00:17:16.200 the National Weather
00:17:16.980 Service put out
00:17:17.820 an emergency warning
00:17:18.740 just after 1 a.m.
00:17:20.460 they put out
00:17:20.960 another emergency
00:17:22.140 warning just after
00:17:23.100 4 a.m.
00:17:24.220 and the waters
00:17:25.760 rose about
00:17:26.800 30 feet
00:17:27.720 in less than
00:17:30.080 an hour
00:17:30.480 30 feet
00:17:31.240 is a lot
00:17:32.220 for an ordinary
00:17:33.520 calm river
00:17:34.580 to rise suddenly
00:17:35.660 the flash flood
00:17:37.080 was absolutely
00:17:39.180 devastating
00:17:39.860 now when this
00:17:40.680 was happening
00:17:41.400 within hours
00:17:42.820 of the flooding
00:17:43.460 occurring
00:17:44.100 I was on the phone
00:17:46.140 speaking with
00:17:47.440 Governor Greg Abbott
00:17:49.140 I spoke with
00:17:51.140 Lieutenant Governor
00:17:51.880 Dan Patrick
00:17:52.600 I spoke with
00:17:54.600 Nim Kidd
00:17:55.280 who is head
00:17:56.140 of the Texas
00:17:56.740 Department of
00:17:57.340 Emergency Management
00:17:58.260 and I called
00:17:59.800 President Trump
00:18:00.480 and I talked
00:18:01.760 to President Trump
00:18:02.580 on that first day
00:18:03.680 and I said
00:18:05.320 Mr. President
00:18:06.220 what is happening
00:18:08.620 in Texas
00:18:09.160 this is bad
00:18:10.340 it is
00:18:12.600 all indications
00:18:14.140 are this is
00:18:15.020 really really
00:18:15.820 serious
00:18:16.220 there could be
00:18:16.880 a lot of
00:18:17.440 fatalities
00:18:18.040 information was
00:18:19.600 just starting
00:18:20.180 to come in
00:18:20.760 so it was
00:18:21.300 it was hazy
00:18:22.100 but I said
00:18:23.140 this could be
00:18:23.920 really really bad
00:18:25.380 and President Trump
00:18:27.500 to his credit
00:18:28.040 he said
00:18:28.360 Ted whatever
00:18:28.940 Texas needs
00:18:29.800 the answer
00:18:30.300 is yes
00:18:30.720 whatever federal
00:18:31.400 assets you need
00:18:32.300 the answer
00:18:33.260 is yes
00:18:33.820 and that
00:18:34.460 I passed on
00:18:35.520 to the state
00:18:35.940 officials
00:18:36.300 to the local
00:18:36.840 officials
00:18:37.340 and I'll tell you
00:18:38.920 Ben within hours
00:18:39.780 I was hearing
00:18:41.260 from families
00:18:42.060 I was hearing
00:18:43.060 from parents
00:18:44.020 whose daughters
00:18:45.520 were at Mystic
00:18:46.300 and whose daughters
00:18:48.180 were missing
00:18:48.660 and they were
00:18:49.080 panicked
00:18:49.540 and they were
00:18:49.880 saying
00:18:50.140 can you tell
00:18:51.500 us anything
00:18:52.000 do you have
00:18:52.560 any information
00:18:53.260 and I was
00:18:53.680 connecting them
00:18:54.480 with the local
00:18:55.880 sheriff
00:18:56.320 with emergency
00:18:57.160 management
00:18:57.860 and look
00:18:59.220 you and I
00:18:59.640 are both dads
00:19:00.460 it is difficult
00:19:05.080 to imagine
00:19:05.920 the panic
00:19:06.600 the fear
00:19:07.400 the bewilderment
00:19:08.680 everything
00:19:10.560 those moms
00:19:11.420 and dads
00:19:11.860 were feeling
00:19:12.400 as you get
00:19:12.900 the news
00:19:13.480 that your
00:19:14.820 daughter is missing
00:19:15.640 and many of
00:19:16.920 those parents
00:19:17.260 just drove
00:19:17.780 to Central Texas
00:19:18.520 immediately got
00:19:19.200 in the car
00:19:19.680 and drove
00:19:21.400 as I told you
00:19:22.700 we picked up
00:19:23.660 our daughter
00:19:24.200 last week
00:19:25.040 from right there
00:19:26.380 and Catherine
00:19:29.020 said to me
00:19:29.520 why would the
00:19:31.160 dads drive there
00:19:31.960 and I said
00:19:32.520 sweetheart
00:19:32.800 that's just
00:19:33.200 what you do
00:19:33.720 if your child
00:19:35.640 is lost
00:19:35.980 you just go
00:19:36.880 you'll move
00:19:38.000 heaven and earth
00:19:38.780 you'll do
00:19:42.600 whatever you can
00:19:43.260 I mean
00:19:43.640 this is the same
00:19:44.160 conversation
00:19:44.700 I have with my
00:19:45.320 boys
00:19:46.040 and in the
00:19:47.140 ages here
00:19:47.960 you know
00:19:48.340 you see
00:19:48.740 these little
00:19:49.120 girls that
00:19:49.560 are missing
00:19:49.920 and
00:19:50.420 one of
00:19:51.760 my wife's
00:19:53.040 high school
00:19:53.560 friend's daughter
00:19:54.240 is one of
00:19:54.760 those that
00:19:55.220 lost her
00:19:55.640 life
00:19:56.060 and
00:19:56.660 having that
00:19:57.920 conversation
00:19:58.680 with your
00:20:00.160 kids
00:20:00.460 you're the
00:20:00.680 same age
00:20:01.100 my twins
00:20:01.560 are six
00:20:02.180 they could
00:20:03.400 have been
00:20:03.620 at camp
00:20:04.060 and my
00:20:04.920 oldest is eight
00:20:05.800 could have
00:20:06.260 been at camp
00:20:06.860 and you put
00:20:07.860 yourself in
00:20:08.340 that situation
00:20:09.040 of just
00:20:09.780 what would
00:20:10.180 you do
00:20:10.580 and it's
00:20:11.180 exactly what
00:20:11.680 you just
00:20:11.940 said
00:20:12.260 you just
00:20:13.840 go
00:20:14.380 and there's
00:20:15.200 been
00:20:15.500 I also
00:20:16.380 want people
00:20:16.860 to understand
00:20:17.400 flooding in
00:20:18.020 this region
00:20:18.560 because I
00:20:19.140 think there's
00:20:19.400 been a lot
00:20:19.760 of misinformation
00:20:20.420 nationwide on
00:20:22.040 this so that
00:20:22.580 people understand
00:20:23.340 the hill country
00:20:24.540 and kind of how
00:20:24.980 it works
00:20:25.300 there's a lot
00:20:26.120 of rock
00:20:26.680 in the hill
00:20:27.600 country
00:20:28.020 and so when
00:20:28.740 it rains
00:20:29.320 the water
00:20:30.040 doesn't absorb
00:20:30.780 into the
00:20:31.960 land like it
00:20:33.520 does in most
00:20:34.160 places in the
00:20:34.820 country
00:20:35.140 like when we
00:20:35.680 get rain in
00:20:36.240 Houston
00:20:36.620 or when I
00:20:38.060 lived in
00:20:38.560 Dallas
00:20:39.460 like it rains
00:20:40.420 and a lot
00:20:41.120 of the water
00:20:41.540 goes into
00:20:42.380 the earth
00:20:42.920 and you
00:20:43.660 don't have
00:20:44.120 this flash
00:20:45.000 flooding
00:20:45.340 this massive
00:20:45.940 quick flooding
00:20:46.780 in the hill
00:20:47.840 country
00:20:48.320 that's what
00:20:49.160 you get
00:20:49.660 when you
00:20:49.900 get rain
00:20:50.240 but to be
00:20:50.720 clear in
00:20:51.300 this part
00:20:51.660 of the hill
00:20:51.900 country
00:20:52.180 they don't
00:20:52.700 get a lot
00:20:53.240 of rain
00:20:53.740 they can
00:20:54.680 go hundreds
00:20:55.200 of days
00:20:55.640 without rain
00:20:56.480 in this
00:20:57.520 area
00:20:57.880 and so
00:20:58.700 when it
00:20:59.260 you know
00:20:59.800 there's
00:21:00.080 there's a
00:21:00.500 reality of
00:21:01.340 like when
00:21:01.860 it rains
00:21:02.340 the locals
00:21:02.920 know that
00:21:03.620 you're going
00:21:04.140 to have some
00:21:04.540 flooding in
00:21:05.040 the low
00:21:05.280 lying areas
00:21:05.900 and you
00:21:06.200 kind of
00:21:06.500 know where
00:21:06.760 those areas
00:21:07.240 are and
00:21:07.680 where the
00:21:07.920 bridges are
00:21:08.540 and where
00:21:08.760 the low
00:21:09.640 areas are
00:21:10.240 in the
00:21:10.500 roadways
00:21:11.240 this is
00:21:12.440 something
00:21:12.900 that no
00:21:14.060 one had
00:21:14.780 seen in
00:21:15.280 their lifetime
00:21:16.160 there had
00:21:16.860 never been
00:21:17.460 flooding like
00:21:18.220 this in
00:21:19.700 Kerrville or
00:21:20.440 in Comfort
00:21:21.160 the way that
00:21:22.220 we are
00:21:22.940 witnessing it
00:21:23.580 now and so
00:21:24.260 there's some
00:21:24.620 people I think
00:21:25.060 out there
00:21:25.340 acting like
00:21:25.820 well they
00:21:26.180 should have
00:21:26.540 you know
00:21:27.020 this is
00:21:27.380 something that
00:21:27.760 happened so
00:21:28.260 common I've
00:21:28.880 seen comments
00:21:29.740 like that
00:21:30.180 this was
00:21:31.080 catastrophic
00:21:31.780 you witnessed
00:21:32.520 it today
00:21:33.140 yeah it
00:21:35.100 was utterly
00:21:36.040 unprecedented
00:21:36.820 I went up
00:21:37.640 at a
00:21:37.900 Coast Guard
00:21:38.460 helicopter
00:21:38.980 and I
00:21:40.480 flew a
00:21:41.820 significant
00:21:42.320 portion of
00:21:42.960 the Guadalupia
00:21:43.540 River and
00:21:44.120 I will tell
00:21:44.840 you just
00:21:46.140 looking at
00:21:46.980 the devastation
00:21:48.000 you know
00:21:49.000 water when
00:21:50.600 you have a
00:21:51.180 fast-moving
00:21:51.980 wall of
00:21:52.520 water nothing
00:21:53.740 stands in
00:21:54.360 its way
00:21:54.800 there were
00:21:56.180 cars strewn
00:21:57.340 everywhere and
00:21:58.180 by the way
00:21:58.600 when a car
00:21:59.320 is being
00:22:00.020 thrown and
00:22:00.520 it crashes
00:22:00.940 into a
00:22:01.380 tree it
00:22:02.800 destroys the
00:22:04.280 car but
00:22:05.720 there were
00:22:06.320 thousands and
00:22:07.320 thousands of
00:22:07.880 trees that
00:22:08.460 were just
00:22:08.880 mowed over
00:22:09.780 by the
00:22:10.160 water because
00:22:10.760 when water
00:22:11.400 hits a
00:22:11.800 tree water
00:22:12.780 is a lot
00:22:13.180 stronger than
00:22:13.740 the trees and
00:22:14.260 the volume of
00:22:15.280 you saw houses
00:22:16.720 just taken
00:22:17.480 clean off
00:22:18.200 off their
00:22:19.140 foundation and
00:22:20.720 swept into
00:22:22.420 the river that
00:22:23.320 we were talking
00:22:24.300 about RVs a lot
00:22:25.260 of people bring
00:22:25.880 RVs or in
00:22:26.800 mobile homes and
00:22:28.140 look if you're
00:22:28.600 going to a
00:22:28.980 campsite you know
00:22:29.760 it's a 4th of
00:22:30.320 July weekend it's
00:22:31.280 it's a great
00:22:31.940 weekend and
00:22:33.300 and the problem
00:22:34.080 is RVs and
00:22:35.020 mobile homes are
00:22:35.780 particularly vulnerable
00:22:36.600 in a flood or
00:22:38.200 tornado or other
00:22:38.960 natural disaster and
00:22:40.580 so you just had
00:22:41.460 multiple RVs swept
00:22:43.140 into the river they
00:22:43.960 don't have a firm
00:22:44.720 count they don't
00:22:45.760 know how many
00:22:46.120 people they're
00:22:46.520 looking for because
00:22:47.400 many of the
00:22:47.980 visitors were not
00:22:49.260 from Kerr County
00:22:50.160 and were just there
00:22:51.740 to celebrate the
00:22:52.520 4th of July
00:22:53.260 going down
00:22:55.300 flying that
00:22:57.620 helicopter and
00:22:58.400 just seeing
00:22:59.340 the extent of the
00:23:01.660 devastation was
00:23:03.380 was massive
00:23:05.900 and look but I
00:23:09.840 but I want to say
00:23:10.500 this that there's
00:23:13.320 so much grief in
00:23:15.600 Texas our hearts
00:23:16.640 are broken right
00:23:18.760 now and their
00:23:22.380 families from
00:23:23.440 from Houston from
00:23:24.740 Dallas from Austin
00:23:26.120 from San Antonio
00:23:27.120 from every community
00:23:28.120 in Texas and
00:23:28.800 there and there
00:23:29.260 there are campers
00:23:30.260 who come from all
00:23:30.840 over the country to
00:23:31.640 come to Camp
00:23:32.100 Mystic but many of
00:23:33.140 them are from
00:23:33.620 cities in Texas
00:23:34.400 and and many of
00:23:35.860 them you and I
00:23:36.380 know we have
00:23:37.000 multiple friends
00:23:38.080 who who've lost
00:23:39.400 children my
00:23:41.540 street at home
00:23:42.780 around the oak
00:23:44.280 tree in our front
00:23:44.940 yard we have a
00:23:45.680 big green ribbon
00:23:46.420 for the girls at
00:23:49.060 Camp Mystic and
00:23:49.860 if you look at
00:23:50.560 tree after tree
00:23:51.420 just going up and
00:23:52.280 down our street
00:23:53.100 they're green
00:23:54.160 ribbons on tree
00:23:55.000 after tree after
00:23:55.880 tree but but I
00:24:00.000 want to I want
00:24:01.680 to give some
00:24:02.300 encouragement
00:24:02.900 look this is
00:24:04.860 unbearably hard
00:24:07.280 and painful for
00:24:09.220 the state but in
00:24:11.960 the face of
00:24:13.100 unspeakable pain
00:24:14.220 there's also
00:24:15.080 unbelievable
00:24:16.020 courage and there
00:24:19.760 were over 850
00:24:22.620 rescues from that
00:24:26.820 river we had
00:24:28.520 early on when I
00:24:29.640 got on the phone
00:24:30.360 and I worked to
00:24:31.000 make sure that
00:24:31.580 there were there
00:24:31.960 were federal
00:24:32.380 assets there went
00:24:33.560 over a dozen
00:24:34.120 helicopters in the
00:24:34.920 air we had
00:24:35.420 Coast Guard in
00:24:36.040 the air we had
00:24:36.720 National Guardsmen
00:24:37.960 in the air we
00:24:38.800 had DPS in the
00:24:40.340 air we had game
00:24:41.220 wardens on the
00:24:41.900 ground and and
00:24:43.320 they were rescuing
00:24:44.480 people pulling them
00:24:45.600 out of harm's way
00:24:47.620 I met today with a
00:24:50.740 Coast Guard swimmer
00:24:51.680 and and by the way
00:24:52.460 Coast Guard
00:24:52.900 swimmers are
00:24:53.540 incredible you know
00:24:55.840 I've analogized
00:24:56.660 Coast Guard
00:24:57.120 swimmers before to
00:24:58.780 kind of a blend of
00:25:00.320 Navy SEALs and
00:25:02.480 California surfers
00:25:03.640 and and and I've
00:25:05.180 gotten to know
00:25:05.620 several of these
00:25:06.160 Coast Guard
00:25:06.580 swimmers and
00:25:07.040 Hurricane Harvey I
00:25:07.840 got to know them
00:25:08.480 and they're utterly
00:25:09.460 fearless these are
00:25:10.320 guys that jump out
00:25:11.120 of helicopters into
00:25:12.300 hurricane force
00:25:13.600 winds and waters
00:25:14.620 and and just swim
00:25:15.620 and rescue people
00:25:16.520 and and they kind
00:25:17.760 of you know often
00:25:18.540 will be just sort
00:25:21.480 of dudes like
00:25:22.440 surfer dudes who
00:25:24.080 are these incredibly
00:25:25.680 fearless lifesavers
00:25:27.220 well I met met
00:25:29.380 met this one one
00:25:30.900 Coast Guardsman who
00:25:32.760 who landed at Camp
00:25:37.600 Mystic he was on a
00:25:38.900 Coast Guard helicopter
00:25:39.840 they they landed him
00:25:41.100 there and he rescued
00:25:42.780 165 girls and and and
00:25:46.400 and I talked with him
00:25:47.380 his name is Petty Officer
00:25:48.340 Scott Ruskin he's 26 years
00:25:50.940 old he's he's from New
00:25:52.500 Jersey and and it was
00:25:54.440 his first mission as
00:25:55.860 as a Coast Guard rescue
00:25:56.920 swimmer he's new to the
00:25:58.160 Coast Guard he did a lot
00:26:00.100 of training but they
00:26:00.900 they put him on the
00:26:01.620 ground there and and
00:26:03.280 it was the highest part
00:26:04.400 part of Camp Mystic and
00:26:05.680 then they they brought
00:26:07.000 in a whole series of
00:26:08.360 helicopters to
00:26:09.180 helicopter the girls
00:26:10.060 out because all the
00:26:10.760 roads were underwater so
00:26:12.080 you couldn't drive in and
00:26:13.240 get the girls because the
00:26:14.300 roads were completely
00:26:15.040 submerged and and so he
00:26:17.000 was there he spent three
00:26:18.120 and a half hours on the
00:26:20.260 ground at Camp Camp
00:26:21.500 Mystic understand there's
00:26:22.620 torrential rains coming
00:26:23.920 down he he's sitting
00:26:26.400 there with girls girls
00:26:27.980 who are terrified who
00:26:30.840 are crying who are
00:26:32.080 screaming who are scared
00:26:33.760 some of them were singing
00:26:35.280 hymns and and he's trying
00:26:36.620 to comfort them they
00:26:38.080 dropped him off and he
00:26:39.180 was the one staying with
00:26:40.500 them and trying to get the
00:26:41.540 girls that they would come
00:26:43.240 and and and land
00:26:44.420 helicopters and they
00:26:45.300 would load about 15
00:26:46.220 girls and and they'd
00:26:47.300 take take them take them
00:26:49.120 to a safe place they'd
00:26:50.040 come back and pick up
00:26:50.840 another load and another
00:26:51.640 load and another load so
00:26:52.480 for three and a half
00:26:53.260 hours you know when I
00:26:55.600 when I visited with him
00:26:56.940 and it's interesting he's
00:26:58.820 26 years old he has kind
00:27:00.500 of short blonde hair and a
00:27:02.220 mustache and and it's you
00:27:03.700 know he's done some media
00:27:04.620 interviews today and one
00:27:05.820 of them he said I'm just a
00:27:07.680 dude which is sort of what
00:27:09.720 I said about like the and he
00:27:13.080 was saying and he was kind
00:27:14.780 of laughing and saying like
00:27:15.940 like he talks to his
00:27:17.220 commanding officer and
00:27:18.380 sometimes says hey dude
00:27:19.380 he's like oh wait wait
00:27:20.040 you're my commanding
00:27:20.680 officer sorry but it's it's
00:27:22.540 kind of just how swimmers
00:27:23.620 are it it's sort of their
00:27:25.080 culture but he said he had
00:27:27.800 just gotten off the phone
00:27:29.040 with a mom and dad and a
00:27:31.440 girl who he said and he
00:27:32.880 said they were crying and
00:27:33.860 he was crying because they
00:27:35.020 said you saved my daughter's
00:27:36.400 life she said that when she
00:27:38.080 was terrified you held her
00:27:39.320 hand and just held her hand
00:27:40.420 as you put her on in the
00:27:41.440 helicopter and and made her
00:27:43.520 not be scared for a minute
00:27:44.740 and I that heroism was
00:27:50.200 happening over and over and
00:27:52.340 over again it's it's
00:27:55.880 incredible it's the best part
00:27:57.620 of of the tragedy is just
00:27:59.860 seeing how quickly people came
00:28:01.380 together you know there's
00:28:03.140 there's also another aspect of
00:28:04.740 this and and I do want to
00:28:06.160 just take a moment and set the
00:28:07.780 record straight there have
00:28:09.880 been some people that have
00:28:12.160 tried to use this tragedy to
00:28:14.400 score political points I I it
00:28:18.840 makes me sad that are that
00:28:20.680 that there's people in the
00:28:22.440 media and there's people on
00:28:23.960 the left that are just that
00:28:26.120 vile and partisan we even saw
00:28:29.620 you know a pediatrician that
00:28:32.400 actually worked for my kids go
00:28:34.140 to a pediatrician who said that
00:28:36.220 basically the people deserve
00:28:37.540 what they get because they
00:28:38.420 voted for Donald Trump in this
00:28:39.520 area of the country you know
00:28:41.060 thank goodness it was exposed
00:28:42.280 and she was fired today for
00:28:45.140 that it is it is sad to see
00:28:49.040 this happen and I even called
00:28:52.000 her pediatrician's office and I
00:28:53.260 said hey like this I I need to
00:28:55.960 know that if there's an on-call
00:28:57.900 doctor they're not going to give
00:28:59.260 my kid bad care if they know what
00:29:01.580 I do and they said watch our
00:29:04.000 website you'll be getting an
00:29:05.260 update soon thank goodness they
00:29:06.620 put out there that this this
00:29:07.920 doctor had been had been fired
00:29:10.060 from from this job as a
00:29:11.660 pediatrician and you look at
00:29:12.940 these moments and it does make
00:29:14.280 you sad but I also think we need
00:29:16.420 to be clear about the the record
00:29:18.260 here there's a lot of rumors that
00:29:21.340 this was all preventable that this
00:29:23.180 was somehow Donald Trump's fault
00:29:25.040 this was the fault of defunding of
00:29:27.760 FEMA and different agencies National
00:29:29.740 Weather Service all that is a lie
00:29:31.420 they were staffed adequately there
00:29:33.820 were warnings that went out can we
00:29:35.680 learn from this and do better
00:29:36.900 absolutely can we put maybe a
00:29:38.780 warning system on the on the on
00:29:40.520 the riverbanks something they've
00:29:42.200 talked about seven years ago but
00:29:43.720 it was voted down because the
00:29:44.820 costs and and Kerr County that the
00:29:47.100 these are things that we can learn
00:29:50.220 from but but the partisan politics
00:29:52.740 of this and just watching people try
00:29:55.140 to somehow blame Trump for this
00:29:56.520 tragedy it really makes me sad that
00:29:59.060 this is still where we are in this
00:30:01.520 way when something like this
00:30:02.560 happens I wish people could just
00:30:03.860 learn this isn't political this
00:30:06.640 storm didn't care if you're
00:30:07.840 Republican or Democrat or agnostic
00:30:09.780 or Christian or Jewish or Catholic or
00:30:12.540 anything else they didn't care if
00:30:13.960 you're rich or poor black or white
00:30:15.600 everybody that was in the line of
00:30:18.180 this flooding life was in danger
00:30:20.480 that's what people should focus on
00:30:22.640 and the help we can do to give them
00:30:24.100 not trying to say all right how do we
00:30:25.940 use this to make points yeah you see
00:30:29.820 this unfortunately frequently after
00:30:31.720 after natural disasters after
00:30:33.540 hurricanes or tornadoes or in this
00:30:35.760 case flooding that that partisans
00:30:38.140 will try to attack their political
00:30:39.740 opponents and and and score cheap
00:30:41.660 points and and there are a bunch of
00:30:43.160 folks uh online and and both in the
00:30:46.180 media and and and on the left that
00:30:48.820 are just trying to attack Trump and and
00:30:50.780 you know if there's a hurricane the
00:30:52.780 hurricane is Trump's fault and and in
00:30:54.320 this case the the sort of talking
00:30:55.860 point of the left was that that doge
00:30:58.600 made reductions in different areas of
00:31:00.240 government and the National Weather
00:31:01.460 Service they say doge gutted it now
00:31:04.200 now we know that that is not the
00:31:06.960 case how do we know that number one
00:31:08.480 because the National Weather Service in
00:31:10.500 this case put out two warnings one as I
00:31:12.460 mentioned just after 1 a.m. one after
00:31:14.180 4 a.m. that that was their job we also
00:31:18.860 know the National Weather Service for
00:31:20.440 this region was headquarters in New
00:31:23.080 Braunfels which is another small town
00:31:24.860 not too far away from Kerrville not
00:31:26.360 too far away from Hunt and and and the
00:31:29.420 night of of of this flood they not only
00:31:32.400 had full staffing they had three
00:31:33.900 additional people three extra people
00:31:35.760 staffed that evening because they knew
00:31:38.300 it was going to be a difficult weather
00:31:39.360 event so they deliberately staffed up
00:31:41.260 and and look he I will say beyond that
00:31:45.280 that the National Weather Service union
00:31:47.100 which has been very critical of the
00:31:49.700 doge reductions as you would expect the
00:31:51.680 union to be they publicly said that that
00:31:55.540 the reductions through doge had zero
00:31:58.340 impact on the National Weather Service's
00:32:00.460 ability to predict what happened here
00:32:02.820 and and and given that they're they're an
00:32:06.560 entity that is naturally critical of
00:32:08.200 those cuts I think that's that speaks
00:32:09.740 volumes now you know I spent the day I
00:32:12.720 did did a lot of a lot of interviews with
00:32:14.900 a lot of reporters today and and many of
00:32:16.800 them were saying okay well and they would
00:32:18.820 ask this question many of the reporters
00:32:20.120 would say well isn't this all Trump's
00:32:21.800 fault and so I tried to say look stop
00:32:24.440 politicizing a crisis that has broken
00:32:27.400 the heart of our state but as you noted
00:32:31.560 and listen with any disaster that there's
00:32:34.300 a natural order of events the first phase
00:32:38.540 is is search and rescue it is crisis
00:32:42.580 saving people's lives and and we have been
00:32:45.620 in that phase we're still in that phase
00:32:47.700 looking for these these 11 still missing
00:32:51.220 girls but but but that phase will soon
00:32:53.480 come to an end the next phase is
00:32:57.280 rebuilding and then there are many
00:32:58.480 people who have who've lost their homes
00:33:00.060 who've lost everything and the and the
00:33:01.500 rebuilding time phase will take it will
00:33:04.320 take months it may take years for for some
00:33:06.580 of these some of these places to be
00:33:08.020 rebuilt but but that's a process that's a
00:33:10.860 process that there will be local
00:33:12.680 assistance and state assistance and
00:33:14.220 federal assistance at the same time we
00:33:17.980 will when we get through the crisis
00:33:19.600 period there will naturally be a
00:33:22.860 retrospective examination of what
00:33:24.800 happened what was the exact timeline and
00:33:28.260 what could have gone better what what
00:33:30.240 lessons can be learned and we've seen
00:33:32.640 that for instance with the many
00:33:35.100 hurricanes you know you and I both live
00:33:36.720 in Houston if you live on the Gulf Coast
00:33:38.160 you have a lot of hurricanes I will say
00:33:40.440 unfortunately Texas has gotten really
00:33:42.320 good with dealing with hurricanes because
00:33:44.260 we have a lot of practice in and so
00:33:46.040 we've learned lessons we've learned how
00:33:48.160 to identify the most vulnerable areas
00:33:50.540 the most vulnerable populations when a
00:33:52.040 hurricane is in the Gulf to get them
00:33:53.780 out of there to try to minimize
00:33:55.100 fatalities and I think we can
00:33:56.620 certainly learn lessons here in
00:33:59.320 particular the the you know you're
00:34:02.980 putting out warnings at 1 a.m. and 4 a.m.
00:34:05.300 most people are sleeping at 1 a.m. and
00:34:06.880 4 a.m. and and every one of us if you
00:34:09.860 and they balance their phones or they
00:34:11.580 have yeah yeah and actually with the
00:34:14.140 kids at the camp they don't have
00:34:15.100 phones we knew people yeah and by the
00:34:18.220 way there was people that we knew that
00:34:19.500 were in Kerrville that received the
00:34:21.780 notices on their phones they woke up to
00:34:23.920 them and yeah they didn't get them
00:34:26.500 because they were asleep and the cell
00:34:30.540 coverage I will say in that region is
00:34:32.200 is just lousy like every time we go for
00:34:34.840 camp pickup you it's very hard to get
00:34:36.740 any cell coverage at all just just
00:34:38.780 given the topography there's not not a
00:34:40.620 lot of cell towers there and and it's
00:34:45.220 also you know the the campers are not
00:34:51.920 allowed to have phones and and so they
00:34:55.000 leave their phones at home so it's just
00:34:56.640 the counselors and adults that that have
00:34:58.480 phones but look Ben if you and I could
00:35:01.000 step in a time machine right now and and
00:35:03.660 go back to two or three in the morning
00:35:06.020 on the fourth of July we would run into
00:35:09.100 those cabins and pull those girls out
00:35:11.580 and get them out of there every one of
00:35:13.220 us we're just like dear man dear God get
00:35:15.780 them to high ground and and so it is
00:35:19.220 perfectly reasonable to say how can we
00:35:21.760 improve the response from when an
00:35:24.580 emergency warning gets out to make sure
00:35:27.060 that it is heard and I'll tell you I I
00:35:29.380 spoke today with lieutenant governor Dan
00:35:32.020 Patrick the Texas legislature is coming
00:35:34.220 back for special session shortly and and
00:35:36.820 I suggested to him this is something
00:35:38.500 that should be on the call the governor
00:35:39.980 chooses that but lieutenant governor
00:35:42.040 agreed that it made sense to look at an
00:35:46.500 emergency warning system in along the
00:35:50.220 Guadalupe River much like we have up in
00:35:52.960 the Texas panhandle when there's a
00:35:54.260 tornado they have sirens that go off
00:35:57.020 because a tornado like a flash flood you
00:35:59.000 get very little warning I could develop
00:36:01.200 quickly it could be devastating and so
00:36:02.900 they'll set off the alarms I think it
00:36:06.440 makes a lot of sense to consider putting
00:36:08.280 in a warning system like that so at least
00:36:10.300 if you had a blaring alarm going off at
00:36:13.080 one or two or three in the morning it
00:36:15.240 would wake the kids up and wake the
00:36:17.440 counselors up and put them in a position
00:36:19.080 to get the kids out of harm's way no I
00:36:22.820 couldn't agree with you more on that
00:36:24.560 one how does that when you when you look
00:36:26.200 at the response moving forward fight a
00:36:28.160 final question on this because there
00:36:29.820 are people that say hey we want to make
00:36:31.300 sure as you just mentioned this never
00:36:33.040 happens again is this a cooperation
00:36:35.240 within the state of Texas with the
00:36:37.900 federal government does the state of
00:36:39.440 Texas come first there's a lot of people
00:36:40.740 to ask that question I'd love for you to
00:36:43.140 answer it where does that start so it'll
00:36:46.720 be at every level of government it'll be
00:36:48.800 the the local level it'll be at the
00:36:50.860 state level it'll be at the federal
00:36:52.040 level and I think at every level we're
00:36:53.980 going to have discussions about what can
00:36:55.600 we do what makes sense how do we keep
00:36:57.980 people safe and and look this level of
00:37:04.400 devastation we've never seen anything like
00:37:09.040 it but but I want to go back to to to some
00:37:13.380 of the signs of encouragement I met with
00:37:16.740 with with one family today a mom and dad
00:37:19.540 who had a a a young boy a 14 year old boy
00:37:23.580 who was at La Junta which is another
00:37:25.560 summer camp for boys it's right right
00:37:28.400 down right down the river from from
00:37:30.780 Mystic and La Junta also badly flooded
00:37:33.880 and and miraculously nobody was killed but
00:37:37.420 but they said their 14 year old son was
00:37:40.180 woken up about 3 in the morning and and
00:37:42.280 the counselors were telling him come come
00:37:44.380 help us let's get the little boys out of
00:37:46.360 harm's way and and and he said they were
00:37:47.980 going and and getting getting 7 and 8 year
00:37:51.580 old bull pulling them out of their cabin
00:37:53.360 and having them swim through rushing
00:37:54.940 water and and rescue them and I got to
00:37:57.300 tell you this mom and dad they were there
00:37:59.420 just just hugging I was hugging them and
00:38:03.640 and and they had tears in their eyes and
00:38:05.720 and they were just and and and first of
00:38:08.480 all their son was alive so I just said
00:38:09.960 praise God but but it was you know
00:38:12.760 terrifying and and and and what I did say
00:38:16.900 to the mom and dad I said look that this
00:38:19.380 this trauma this experience will be with
00:38:21.680 your son for the rest of his life it will
00:38:24.420 be with with both of you for the rest of
00:38:26.940 your lives but I said your son also has the
00:38:30.200 experience of knowing for the rest of his
00:38:32.280 life that that is a 14 year old boy he
00:38:35.380 helped save the lives of of these younger
00:38:37.560 seven eight and nine year old boys that
00:38:39.260 that that there are there are boys and
00:38:42.460 and soon to be men living because of his
00:38:46.380 heroism in a time of crisis and that I
00:38:48.900 heard another story of a counselor who
00:38:51.260 was in a cabin the cabin was was filled
00:38:53.780 up with water his head was just barely
00:38:56.340 sticking above the water where he could
00:38:58.400 breathe and with each hand he was holding
00:39:01.460 up a mattress with a camper on the on the
00:39:04.340 mattress and all three of them the the
00:39:06.040 counselor and both campers survived those
00:39:09.540 sorts of acts of heroism happened over
00:39:12.940 and over again there's stories of Eagle
00:39:14.620 Scouts who were counselors rescuing young
00:39:18.260 kids over and over and over again that
00:39:20.460 was happening repeatedly but I'll tell you
00:39:23.980 Ben the most difficult thing I did today
00:39:25.580 is I went to Camp Mystic and and and I
00:39:30.200 went and and walked the grounds at Camp
00:39:32.640 Mystic and and I I think it may be the
00:39:36.680 most horrifying thing I've ever seen in
00:39:38.180 my life you walk through and and actually
00:39:43.500 as you walk through the river was calm and
00:39:46.700 peaceful and beautiful but it rose and it
00:39:53.740 rose suddenly and and I will say the press
00:39:56.960 I think has been less than clear and honest
00:40:00.680 about how Camp Mystic is it is set up
00:40:03.680 because they've described it as saying well
00:40:06.180 the camps for the the cabins for the young
00:40:08.100 girls were down by the the riverbank and and
00:40:10.460 all of the other cabins were up high
00:40:12.180 that that's not accurate and walking the
00:40:15.340 grounds the cabins are all hundreds of yards
00:40:19.620 removed from the riverbank there's a lot of
00:40:21.700 distance between the river and where the
00:40:23.300 cabin is and the cabins are all about the
00:40:26.340 same elevation there's some differences but
00:40:28.380 not massive differences in elevation between
00:40:31.180 the cabins at at at Mystic and and I I was
00:40:34.720 talking with one of the longtime employees
00:40:37.980 there who said there had been a flood decades
00:40:40.820 before and it had gotten up it had gotten up
00:40:43.740 and crossed a little bit of the the ground
00:40:45.800 and it come to sort of the the foundation of
00:40:49.420 one of the buildings that was not a cabin but
00:40:51.460 one of the buildings closer to the river but it
00:40:53.260 had never gotten close to the cabins so
00:40:55.800 that's one thing to understand people say
00:40:57.720 well gosh this is prone to floods yes but
00:41:01.680 in the 100 years of Camp Mystic there'd never
00:41:04.520 been a flood where the water had gotten to
00:41:06.180 the cabins and in this case the water was
00:41:09.400 eight feet deep in the cabins walking through
00:41:14.980 and every building you could see the water
00:41:16.960 line you could see the water line outside the
00:41:19.720 buildings and it was eight feet deep and in
00:41:23.080 the cabins the water shattered the windows it
00:41:28.400 swept the furniture out you looked in the
00:41:30.620 cabins and every one of the cabins the
00:41:32.180 furniture had been swept out the windows were
00:41:37.080 all shattered and I gotta tell you look
00:41:40.020 there there was one cabin
00:41:45.020 it's called the bubble in
00:41:47.400 and it's a cabin at Mystic where where the
00:41:52.320 youngest girls were
00:41:53.280 and outside the bubble in
00:41:56.900 were 16 white crosses
00:42:00.800 and on each one of those was a name of a
00:42:05.660 little girl
00:42:06.060 and their names that that we've read in the
00:42:10.500 paper
00:42:10.840 their names of little seven and eight year
00:42:14.540 old girls third graders
00:42:15.520 who lost their lives and when one of the
00:42:19.380 crosses was was for Dick Eastland the camp
00:42:22.480 director
00:42:22.940 who drowned trying to save the girls lives
00:42:26.200 and and he had spent he graduated from UT
00:42:29.720 50 years ago and had spent 50 years of his
00:42:32.740 life running this camp for girls and and he
00:42:36.560 was in his suburban they they showed me
00:42:38.560 where he drowned it was a couple hundred
00:42:39.840 yards from where I was standing in the
00:42:41.240 river he was trying to save the girls and
00:42:42.720 the water swept him away and he drowned and
00:42:45.040 and the 16 crosses
00:42:46.300 reading those names
00:42:49.860 two of those little girls
00:42:53.000 go to go to school
00:42:56.520 uh with my daughter
00:42:58.900 there are third graders at our school
00:43:01.060 uh the parents of one of those little
00:43:04.080 girls
00:43:04.500 lives a block away from me
00:43:07.740 and I'll tell you I just
00:43:13.960 knelt and wept
00:43:15.720 there
00:43:19.260 there were families there Ben
00:43:22.560 there was a mom and dad
00:43:27.920 who was kneeling in front of those crosses
00:43:31.040 and they were kissing the cross
00:43:38.460 and I stood back I didn't want to interrupt
00:43:42.420 their grieving
00:43:43.020 but just watching them
00:43:45.420 the mom came to that cabin
00:43:49.540 the bubble in
00:43:51.360 and she just broke down in tears
00:43:54.560 in front of every cabin
00:43:59.040 there were the children's belongings
00:44:02.020 there were trunks
00:44:04.400 there were electric fans
00:44:07.080 there were
00:44:08.760 slippers and flip-flops and crocs
00:44:13.820 there were teddy bears
00:44:15.240 there were stuffed animals everywhere
00:44:16.580 these were little girls
00:44:17.480 and many of them have their names on them
00:44:21.620 and there were moms and dads
00:44:25.320 picking through the rubble
00:44:28.060 looking
00:44:29.820 for their girls belongings
00:44:32.280 and I don't know which of those moms and dads
00:44:37.040 lost a daughter
00:44:38.940 we know of 27
00:44:41.320 who were lost
00:44:42.820 and there may be more
00:44:44.840 there are 11 that are missing
00:44:47.120 and there were girls
00:44:50.640 picking through the rubble
00:44:52.480 I don't know if those girls were
00:44:55.500 campers themselves
00:44:56.980 who had survived
00:44:57.820 I don't know if they're siblings
00:44:58.920 who had lost a sibling
00:45:00.180 but everyone is walking around
00:45:03.480 shell shock doesn't begin to describe it
00:45:08.300 they're up on the field
00:45:10.520 there was a field
00:45:13.560 that was basically a parking lot
00:45:15.120 for the cars of counselors
00:45:17.480 and the waters had thrown the cars
00:45:22.880 on top of each other
00:45:23.920 it was like they were matchbox cars
00:45:25.320 just flipped over
00:45:26.500 you saw car after car after car
00:45:28.400 stacked on each other
00:45:29.300 flipped on its side
00:45:30.200 flipped over
00:45:30.860 tossed around
00:45:32.780 the dining hall
00:45:35.920 an entire wall of the dining hall
00:45:39.340 had been ripped off
00:45:40.620 they had heavy wooden tables
00:45:42.960 that filled the dining hall
00:45:44.140 every one of them had been pulled out
00:45:45.680 and the bubble in
00:45:46.460 which is where
00:45:48.160 a large percentage of the fatalities occurred
00:45:52.120 the water swept in
00:45:54.920 and just pulled those girls
00:45:57.460 out the windows
00:45:58.340 it
00:46:01.940 seeing that
00:46:06.540 and I saw it first
00:46:07.640 from the helicopter
00:46:08.360 and you could see
00:46:10.360 all their belongings spread out
00:46:11.780 but then standing there
00:46:13.180 and viewing it
00:46:18.740 from the perspective
00:46:19.540 of a dad
00:46:20.180 you know
00:46:21.500 I've helped my daughters
00:46:22.420 pack their trunks
00:46:24.620 I've
00:46:26.740 you know
00:46:29.520 can't pick up every year
00:46:30.680 you go and pick up
00:46:31.660 your daughter's trunk
00:46:32.640 and it's a joyful time
00:46:35.540 our state is mourning
00:46:40.760 right now Ben
00:46:41.900 I tell you
00:46:45.960 for everyone listening
00:46:47.080 and I say this
00:46:48.020 just pray for the people
00:46:50.640 that are affected
00:46:51.560 pray for the people in Texas
00:46:53.000 pray for
00:46:53.860 the families who are
00:46:56.120 still without
00:46:58.040 their loved ones
00:46:59.340 they're still trying to find them
00:47:00.720 pray for the moms
00:47:02.400 and the dads
00:47:03.060 who are planning the funerals
00:47:04.400 is we know people
00:47:06.700 personally that are doing that
00:47:07.920 and getting ready for that
00:47:09.140 this week
00:47:09.760 pray for the moms
00:47:11.360 God please pray for the moms
00:47:13.120 yes
00:47:14.040 and anything you can do
00:47:15.820 to help
00:47:16.280 with all of the
00:47:17.000 there's so many different
00:47:18.120 groups that are helping
00:47:19.340 the people
00:47:20.000 and comfort
00:47:21.260 and Kirk County
00:47:22.460 and there are people
00:47:23.800 that need help
00:47:24.440 and we focus so much
00:47:25.600 on the kids
00:47:26.000 but there's a lot of
00:47:26.820 elderly people
00:47:27.540 that have been affected
00:47:28.200 by this
00:47:28.760 there are a lot of people
00:47:30.380 that lost their lives
00:47:31.260 and all their belongings
00:47:32.200 and help any way you can
00:47:35.740 with all of the non-profits
00:47:38.460 that are getting involved
00:47:39.460 that are doing this
00:47:40.920 and we're going to keep you updated
00:47:43.620 but I would just say
00:47:44.920 hug your babies
00:47:45.540 and Ben
00:47:46.040 I want to say
00:47:47.320 Ben I want to say
00:47:49.160 three more things
00:47:50.100 of encouragement
00:47:51.120 so
00:47:52.800 in Hunt
00:47:54.280 there's a store
00:47:55.540 that's kind of a focal point
00:47:56.720 it's called the Hunt Store
00:47:57.700 and it's right at the junction
00:48:00.100 of two of the highways
00:48:01.240 you go up one highway
00:48:02.960 to go to one of the big camps
00:48:04.260 you go up another highway
00:48:05.120 to go up to Mystic
00:48:06.020 and La Junta
00:48:06.460 and actually La Junta
00:48:07.300 is right across the street
00:48:08.320 from the Hunt Store
00:48:08.960 the Hunt Store
00:48:11.700 the flood
00:48:12.220 utterly gutted it
00:48:14.220 it's just ripped out
00:48:16.120 in a hollow shell
00:48:16.960 I went and stopped
00:48:20.200 at the Hunt Store
00:48:20.920 and just visited people
00:48:22.320 who were there
00:48:22.860 were gathering there
00:48:23.780 and they'd actually
00:48:25.040 changed the sign
00:48:26.080 where it said Hunt Store
00:48:27.280 and instead of Hunt Store
00:48:29.360 they'd changed the sign
00:48:30.640 to read Hunt Strong
00:48:32.640 and
00:48:35.300 you know
00:48:38.040 Heidi and Catherine
00:48:38.880 were at the Hunt Store
00:48:39.620 last week
00:48:40.240 I mean it's
00:48:44.600 I've been there
00:48:45.960 dozens of times
00:48:46.900 the owners were there
00:48:48.820 I just hugged them
00:48:49.840 and there were just
00:48:50.500 like residents there
00:48:51.660 who were just
00:48:52.400 there mourning
00:48:54.640 and grieving
00:48:55.380 and I'll tell you
00:48:56.040 there was set up
00:48:56.740 there was a giant
00:48:57.460 barbecue truck
00:48:59.000 alright so this is
00:49:00.420 a story that is amazing
00:49:01.480 that you're going to like
00:49:02.300 it's a barbecue truck
00:49:04.000 from Rockport
00:49:04.920 Rockport is a town
00:49:06.140 down on the Gulf Coast
00:49:07.460 and Rockport
00:49:09.720 when Hurricane Harvey
00:49:11.860 hit it
00:49:12.320 devastated the Gulf Coast
00:49:13.880 from
00:49:14.220 deep east Texas
00:49:16.300 to south
00:49:17.580 all the way really
00:49:18.780 to Corpus Christi
00:49:19.580 so that's a lot of
00:49:20.820 and Rockport is right in there
00:49:22.280 it's by Port Aransas
00:49:23.160 and Aransas Pass
00:49:24.000 and Rockport
00:49:24.840 was devastated
00:49:25.680 by Hurricane Harvey
00:49:26.420 well
00:49:27.780 these guys
00:49:29.780 and these are
00:49:30.220 big old Texans
00:49:31.520 with big old beards
00:49:32.560 they look like
00:49:33.080 ZZ Top
00:49:33.860 and
00:49:34.180 they said
00:49:37.120 well you know
00:49:37.680 when Hurricane Harvey
00:49:38.780 hit
00:49:39.160 there was a group
00:49:40.680 from Hunt Texas
00:49:41.740 little town
00:49:42.820 in the hill country
00:49:44.620 that came down
00:49:45.680 to Rockport
00:49:46.320 and set up
00:49:46.780 a food truck
00:49:47.360 and fed us
00:49:48.080 when we had
00:49:48.720 lost our homes
00:49:49.520 and so they got
00:49:51.000 in a truck
00:49:51.440 and drove up
00:49:52.080 this giant
00:49:52.980 smoker
00:49:54.280 and griller
00:49:54.920 and they were
00:49:55.880 just giving away
00:49:56.640 free barbecue
00:49:57.620 and one of the things
00:50:00.840 that's really cool
00:50:01.500 I was at
00:50:02.660 in Rockport
00:50:04.120 several times
00:50:05.140 after Hurricane Harvey
00:50:06.840 and I was in all the towns
00:50:07.720 up and down the Gulf Coast
00:50:08.680 but I was at
00:50:09.860 those food trucks
00:50:11.480 I don't recall
00:50:12.840 visiting with someone
00:50:14.340 and hearing that they were
00:50:15.080 from Hunt
00:50:15.540 down in Rockport
00:50:16.600 but you know what
00:50:17.220 in Rockport
00:50:17.740 they remembered that
00:50:18.600 and that's something
00:50:20.640 we see happening
00:50:23.360 just Texans
00:50:24.420 coming together
00:50:25.280 the Cajun Navy
00:50:26.580 from Louisiana
00:50:27.240 came and
00:50:28.220 were there
00:50:28.860 helping people out
00:50:29.760 that was
00:50:31.420 incredible
00:50:32.300 and I just had a chance
00:50:33.700 I visited
00:50:35.060 with a family
00:50:35.980 one dad
00:50:37.540 who introduced me
00:50:38.340 to two little boys
00:50:39.460 and he said
00:50:41.740 both of them
00:50:42.580 lost some of their
00:50:44.580 closest friends
00:50:45.240 in the flood
00:50:45.700 and I just
00:50:47.780 I said
00:50:48.720 you know
00:50:49.100 little kids
00:50:50.340 and they're not
00:50:50.780 much older
00:50:51.240 than your boys
00:50:52.020 they shouldn't
00:50:54.260 have to deal
00:50:54.820 with death
00:50:55.820 and loss
00:50:56.680 at that age
00:50:57.440 but I'll tell you
00:50:59.620 in that same
00:51:00.340 parking lot
00:51:01.120 at the Hunt store
00:51:02.140 there was a car
00:51:04.820 that had written
00:51:06.460 on the back
00:51:07.080 of it a Bible verse
00:51:08.020 written in like
00:51:08.880 shaving cream
00:51:09.480 on the back window
00:51:10.240 and it was
00:51:12.360 Isaiah 43
00:51:13.320 2
00:51:13.780 that says
00:51:16.440 when you go
00:51:18.100 through deep water
00:51:19.060 I will be with you
00:51:22.180 amen
00:51:25.180 that is
00:51:26.560 look
00:51:27.200 you just asked
00:51:28.260 folks to pray
00:51:29.060 let me just
00:51:30.220 underscore that
00:51:32.280 for the moms
00:51:33.040 and dads
00:51:33.680 who have
00:51:34.260 a yearning
00:51:36.080 gaping hole
00:51:37.120 in their heart
00:51:37.780 I think
00:51:38.960 there is no
00:51:39.480 pain
00:51:39.780 no agony
00:51:40.420 like losing
00:51:41.360 a child
00:51:41.940 and nothing
00:51:44.160 will ever fill
00:51:44.960 that hole
00:51:45.460 that pain
00:51:46.000 will never
00:51:46.380 go away
00:51:46.980 but they need
00:51:48.920 love
00:51:49.240 they need
00:51:49.680 support
00:51:50.180 they need
00:51:50.700 friends
00:51:51.160 they need
00:51:51.520 families
00:51:52.040 to hug
00:51:54.100 them
00:51:54.400 to hold
00:51:54.980 them tight
00:51:55.640 to just
00:51:56.080 give them
00:51:56.440 a shoulder
00:51:56.880 to cry
00:51:57.420 on
00:51:57.720 and to
00:51:58.840 hold them
00:51:59.340 up
00:51:59.560 and I gotta
00:52:00.040 tell you
00:52:00.380 this is a
00:52:00.920 time
00:52:01.320 for the
00:52:02.520 church
00:52:02.820 one of the
00:52:03.320 reasons
00:52:03.780 Texas
00:52:04.240 I think
00:52:04.760 we are
00:52:05.560 so resilient
00:52:06.500 when facing
00:52:07.320 natural disasters
00:52:08.340 is because
00:52:08.980 the church
00:52:09.940 is strong
00:52:10.420 in Texas
00:52:10.920 and you
00:52:11.280 see
00:52:11.820 you see
00:52:12.800 churches
00:52:13.200 step
00:52:13.460 I started
00:52:14.100 the day
00:52:14.400 actually
00:52:14.660 by visiting
00:52:15.420 with a
00:52:15.780 number
00:52:15.940 of chaplains
00:52:16.580 who
00:52:16.780 look
00:52:17.960 you want
00:52:18.360 to talk
00:52:18.680 about
00:52:18.920 it was
00:52:19.280 brutal
00:52:19.720 on the
00:52:20.060 chaplains
00:52:20.500 when you're
00:52:20.900 dealing
00:52:21.140 with moms
00:52:21.600 and dads
00:52:22.020 who've
00:52:22.280 lost
00:52:22.580 their kids
00:52:23.160 and they're
00:52:23.440 just
00:52:23.740 weeping
00:52:24.920 even a
00:52:27.100 chaplain
00:52:27.520 a man
00:52:28.520 or woman
00:52:28.780 of strong
00:52:29.220 faith
00:52:29.600 I mean
00:52:29.880 it rips
00:52:30.480 your heart
00:52:31.100 out
00:52:31.460 to be
00:52:32.820 with a
00:52:33.120 parent
00:52:33.400 who's
00:52:33.660 lost
00:52:34.000 a 7 or
00:52:34.540 8 year
00:52:34.840 old
00:52:35.020 daughter
00:52:35.380 and
00:52:36.400 right down
00:52:39.040 from the
00:52:39.880 hunt store
00:52:40.540 there was
00:52:41.580 a church
00:52:41.960 that had
00:52:42.240 a big
00:52:42.560 sign
00:52:43.120 free
00:52:44.820 barbecue
00:52:45.320 lunch and
00:52:45.900 dinner
00:52:46.160 all are
00:52:46.700 welcome
00:52:47.060 and that's
00:52:47.740 what the
00:52:48.040 church
00:52:48.260 should be
00:52:48.580 doing
00:52:48.860 is helping
00:52:49.420 and clothing
00:52:50.480 and comforting
00:52:51.260 and taking
00:52:51.780 care of the
00:52:52.380 needy
00:52:52.680 and the
00:52:52.960 church
00:52:53.640 should always
00:52:54.200 be doing
00:52:54.720 that
00:52:55.060 but especially
00:52:56.660 in time
00:52:57.340 of crisis
00:52:58.100 and I want
00:53:00.600 to close
00:53:01.160 this pod
00:53:02.020 today Ben
00:53:02.580 was something
00:53:03.900 I saw
00:53:04.360 on the
00:53:04.580 internet
00:53:04.860 and it's
00:53:05.240 a video
00:53:05.680 that was
00:53:06.900 recorded
00:53:07.500 in a bus
00:53:09.600 that was
00:53:11.120 driving
00:53:11.820 a bus
00:53:13.860 full of
00:53:14.280 campers
00:53:14.680 from
00:53:14.860 Cap Mystic
00:53:15.480 after this
00:53:16.380 flooding
00:53:17.460 and it's
00:53:19.260 a video
00:53:19.700 recording
00:53:20.380 and you
00:53:20.960 can watch
00:53:21.520 on X
00:53:22.460 there's a
00:53:23.140 video of
00:53:23.600 it's an
00:53:25.020 iPhone
00:53:25.400 that is
00:53:26.780 going along
00:53:28.060 and showing
00:53:28.880 the video
00:53:29.360 as they're
00:53:29.660 driving along
00:53:30.320 and you can
00:53:30.660 see the
00:53:30.940 wreckage
00:53:31.300 and the
00:53:31.520 wreckage
00:53:31.860 and everything
00:53:32.820 but the
00:53:34.440 girls are
00:53:35.040 singing hymns
00:53:35.980 and Mystic
00:53:36.760 is a
00:53:37.040 Christian
00:53:37.360 camp
00:53:37.840 and these
00:53:39.000 are girls
00:53:39.460 that have
00:53:39.820 just been
00:53:40.360 through hell
00:53:40.940 have been
00:53:41.300 terrified
00:53:41.800 have lost
00:53:42.860 friends
00:53:44.100 some of these
00:53:44.620 girls have
00:53:45.120 lost siblings
00:53:45.900 and I want
00:53:48.340 to close
00:53:48.780 this podcast
00:53:49.380 by just
00:53:49.980 listening
00:53:50.620 to the
00:53:52.480 voices of
00:53:53.100 these girls
00:53:53.580 sing
00:53:54.200 and I will
00:53:54.540 tell you
00:53:54.940 I have a
00:53:57.180 hard time
00:53:57.660 listening to
00:53:58.200 them singing
00:53:58.680 without
00:54:00.200 begging
00:54:00.560 tears
00:54:01.100 but I
00:54:02.520 want you
00:54:02.900 to hear
00:54:03.300 them
00:54:04.300 singing
00:54:04.540 these hymns
00:54:05.400 where you're
00:54:06.400 bound
00:54:06.880 I'll shout
00:54:08.020 it from
00:54:08.820 the
00:54:09.280 mountaintops
00:54:10.360 praise God
00:54:11.120 I want
00:54:11.940 my world
00:54:12.720 to know
00:54:13.360 the Lord
00:54:14.440 of love
00:54:15.140 has come
00:54:15.920 to me
00:54:16.700 I want
00:54:17.780 to pass
00:54:18.660 it on
00:54:19.660 I'll
00:54:20.440 shout it
00:54:21.300 from the
00:54:22.080 mountaintops
00:54:23.120 praise God
00:54:23.920 I want
00:54:24.620 my world
00:54:25.420 to know
00:54:26.040 the Lord
00:54:27.080 of love
00:54:27.840 has come
00:54:28.660 to me
00:54:29.400 I want
00:54:30.580 to pass
00:54:31.440 it on
00:54:32.400 oh my god
00:54:34.260 oh my god
00:54:34.820 oh my god
00:54:35.320 oh my god
00:54:35.820 oh my god
00:54:58.820 I want
00:55:00.360 to pass
00:55:01.120 to me
00:55:01.820 I want
00:55:03.740 to pass
00:55:04.240 all of
00:55:05.360 every
00:55:06.860 hand
00:55:08.280 it is
00:55:09.820 you
00:55:10.300 I
00:55:10.940 am
00:55:11.200 and
00:55:12.200 don't prepare
00:55:14.340 me
00:55:15.500 to be
00:55:16.700 a sanctuary
00:55:18.260 pure and
00:55:20.520 holy
00:55:21.460 tried and
00:55:23.520 true
00:55:24.460 with
00:55:25.840 Thanksgiving
00:55:27.180 I'll
00:55:28.760 be
00:55:29.180 a
00:55:29.640 living
00:55:30.720 sanctuary
00:55:32.600 for you
00:55:36.400 the
00:55:40.600 kingdom
00:55:41.180 of God
00:55:42.380 and
00:55:43.500 his
00:55:44.000 righteousness
00:55:45.220 and
00:55:47.940 all these
00:55:48.480 things
00:55:49.020 shall be
00:55:49.600 added
00:55:50.020 unto you
00:55:51.180 all
00:55:52.360 all
00:55:53.360 all
00:55:53.660 all
00:55:54.180 all
00:55:55.180 this is
00:56:12.460 an iHeart
00:56:12.940 podcast
00:56:13.520 guaranteed
00:56:15.060 human