Just for the record, I'm not a Baptist. I'm working with them beause they run the Special Needs Shelters:
Texas Baptists mobilize to meet Hurricane Ike Contributed by John Hall, BGCT Communications; Published: September 11, 2008
As Hurricane Ike took aim at the Texas coast, Texas Baptists began mobilizing to meet the needs of people who might evacuate South Texas. At the request of the state, Baptist Child & Family Services opened shelters in the San Antonio area that can serve several thousand evacuees with special needs, such as basic medical care, support or attention. After sheltering about 300 medical special-needs evacuees from Hurricane Gustav, Baptist Child & Family Services personnel had little down time. Staff moved to a 24-hour operation mode to prepare for Hurricane Ike.
Twenty churches prepared to shelter evacuees at the request of BCFS. Corpus Christi officials called for the evacuation of all special-needs individuals from the area. Officials ordered the mandatory evacuation of one ZIP code in Galveston-area Brazoria County. Some parts of Houston also were being evacuated.
Texas Baptist Men activated five teams. The East Texas-Smith Baptist Association Unit will serve in Bryan; the Bluebonnet Baptist Association Unit is serving in San Antonio and will be joined by the State Unit; the East Texas-Gregg Baptist Association Unit will serve in Longview; and another team of volunteers from around the state will serve in Laredo. In all, TBM was asked to prepare about 46,000 meals a day. Eight TBM shower units also are serving.
"Right now, things are going really well," Joe Detterman, who is helping coordinate TBM disaster relief work, said. "We've had good response from our teams.
Baptist Child & Family Services and Texas Baptist Men both were active when Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana recently. BCFS housed nearly 300 people with special needs. "BCFS was given the role of caring for medical special needs evacuees in Texas because of our experience in caring for society's most vulnerable," BCFS spokesperson Haley Smith said. "We view this as just another opportunity to impact the world the world for Christ. We are so thankful for our partner churches who serve as shelters and make it possible for us to take on this role."
TBM provided nearly 25,000 meals for evacuees in Bryan, Lufkin, Marshall and Longview. An East Texas Baptist University gym was transformed into an 80-bed mobile hospital by the federal government. "Our university was pleased to host this operation,"; ETBU President Bob Riley said. "It gave our staff and students an opportunity to be a servant to our fellowman. Our staff rose to the occasion to assist these people in need. As a Christian university, we are pleased to help out."
To support Texas Baptist disaster relief, visit www.bgct.org or www.texasbaptistmen.org . Checks marked "Disaster relief" also can be sent to Texas Baptist Men, 5351 Catron, Dallas 75227 or BGCT, P.O. Box 159007, Dallas 75315-9007.
As of Friday morning the BCFS is operating 15 Special Needs Shelters in San Antonio. "Special Needs" means anyone who needs more than a regualar shelter can proide -- medical, psychological, or otherwise. Evacuees are bussed into the former kelly Air Force Base (now called kelly City-Base) and sorted according to their needs. Pets are sent to a kennel, an families are kept toether as much as possible. Common-law families are the only instances I've seen so far where family members are separated; so it seems to pay to be married, and be able to prove it.
Compared to my regular job in the hospital, it's astonishingly easy work, but the time factor is what wears you down. I've worked 15 of the last 16 days before I took Friday off for sheer exhaustion. That's 12+ hour days; some of which were 16+ hour days.
"Volunteer Burn-Out" seems to be a common problem. The first week we saw a many as twenty volunteers a da signed up for shifts at the shelter, just in the Nursing Department. Friday morning when i left there were only five -- barely enough to cover the evacuees.
This weekend looks slightly bleaker. I'd be there if Ii wasn't already scheduled at the hospital. I'll be back Tuesday.
Right now they're talking about consolidating some of the shelters and closing the rest, but ours will probably stay open because of the range of services we provide. Very likely we'll be open through October.
When I was in High School, some of the guys used to play a game called "Flinch." The idea was to punch your friend/victim on the arm as hard as you could; then do it agin, but pull your punch short so that you didn't actually hit them. If your friend/victim flinched when you struck, you got to hit them harder. If they didn't they got to hit you.
Adolescence and hormones breed idiocy; I know, I know . . .
Hurricne Ike is a Classic case of "Playing Flinch." Ike was aimed at the Corpus Christi to Victoria Texas areas, but 24 hours before landfall (when the shelters were crammed with Corpus Christi evacuees) the storm turned away and headed for the Houston/Galveston area instead. Consequently the shelters, still jammed with Corpus Christi evacuees, are still accepting Houston/Galveston evacuees because there's not enough vehicles to send the Corpus Christi people home.
This is not a FEMA problem. It's just that nobody has every imagined trying to evacuate three major urban areas at the same time. FEMA has done yeoman's work anticipating evauating for a single major hurricane. The ambulances that evacuated some of our guests came from Stockton California and Eureka Oregon.
So I'm working my butt off here. This is my seventh shift in a row; my tenth in eleven days. I' working 16 hours tonight because we're starting to run out of volunteers.
Ike decided to turn slightly north last night, which is not a good thing. While San Antonio is now out of the path of the storm, Houston is now in the crosshairs. Since the Corpus Christi coast (several hundred miles to the south) has alrady been evacuated, this presents a problem. Wher DO you send the Houston refugees now that the shelters are filling, and that you have less than 24 hours to do it in?
Actually, it now appears my old stomping grounds of Northwest Indiana may get more rain than I will. Heh.
Worked in a shelter last night with Corpus Christi refugees. While there was pitifully little to do, I did get to do some really good interviews with unsettled peaople, and solve a few sticky problems. Baptist Child and Family Services (BCFS) an Angel Staffing did their usual fantastic job, and FEMA continues to really impress me with their organization and initiative.
Really!
Nurses; Doing the paperwork that sends normal human beings into a death-like coma from sheer boredom.
Meanwhile, the countdown continues. More as it happens (or doesn't.) Im scheduled to work the shelter again Sunday, but that may be academic.
Went out yesterday to get a few cases of water, just in case (pardon the pun.) I needn't have bothered. I go the last three cases of water in San Antonio, and had to go to three separate Wal-Marts to do it. People were stocking up on everything, and i do mean everything.
This is a typical San Antonio Sunrise; clear, bright, and gorgeous.
This is this morning's sunrise. It looks a lot like tornado weather in the Great Plains. The depression west of us in the Sonorra desert is meeting the feeder bands of Ike, with turbulent, ugly atmospheric consequences.
The Texas DOT activated the Evacuation plan along I-37 this morning at 7:00am. That means that all lanes from the coast at Corpus Christi to almost San Antonio (Pleasanton, to be exact) are running northward. While this helps ease the evacuation of the coast, this comes with small problem.
Current projection now have Ike veering northward away from Corpus Christi (which has a mandatory evacuation order in place) towards Houston (which has not begun to evacuate yet.) Add to this that Houston is a much larger Metro area with many more people than Corus Christi, and you now have the gargantuan task to stopping the Corpus evacuation in mid-flight, reversing that, and evacuating a much larger metro area -- all at the same time.
This could get really ugly really fast -- especially considering the northward turn of Ike is by no means certain. What if this turn is just a feint -- ad the storm re-turns to Corpus. Imgine the possibility for sheer chaos.
I'm really glad I'm not Governor Perry right now.
I have to say the state has respond magnificently to these one-after-another crises. Eacuation centers have been set up and, rather than simply shunting people willy-nilly into any available shelter, they are sorted by their needs into appropriate shelters. Care is taken to record each evacuee and attend to their medical o personal needs. FEMAis paying the volunteers this time, in order to guarantee they will show up, as well as to instill some continuity of care with staffing. Angel Staffing of San Antonio is managing the schedules of evacuees, and Baptist Child and Family Services is ensuring every evacuee gets what they need to make the time away from home bearable, if not completely comfortable.
We'll all live through this. We may not be comfortable, but we'll survive.
Here He Comes; Scheduled to pass about 30 miles east of San Antonio Saturday Morning with 150 mph winds.
Texas Begins Evacuating as Hurricane Ike Emerges Into Gulf Wednesday, September 10, 2008
McALLEN, Texas — Some Texas residents who have special medical needs in the Corpus Christi area were being told to evacuate in advance of Hurricane Ike as it steams into the Gulf of Mexico.
To help these residents who need to get out of harm's way, Nueces County expected to set up two intake areas on Wednesday at 10 a.m. to take residents by bus to San Antonio. Meanwhile, Lt. Rhonda Lawson with the Texas Department of Public Safety in Corpus Christi said plans were in place to open up the evacuation route on Interstate 37 beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Texas emergency officials were taking no chances with the lives of its medically fragile citizens. Forecasters said Ike could hit on Saturday morning just about anywhere along the Texas coast, with the most likely spot close to the Corpus Christi area.
"For people designated as special medical needs who have a health condition that will require them to be out of harm's way ... we will assist them in boarding state furnished transportation and we'll assist them in getting to San Antonio," said Nueces County Judge Loyd Neal. He said the order is a voluntary evacuation. County officials have not ordered a full evacuation as they await updates on Hurricane Ike. The American Red Cross, San Antonio chapter, said in a statement that its mobile and fixed feeding trucks were being moved into place to help evacuees. Opening up I-37 should facilitate smoother traffic flow, Lawson said.
"It gives people an extra lane of travel and it starts in Corpus Christi and it goes through San Antonio. Normally you have two lanes of travel going northbound and this gives a third lane of travel. Our troopers will be out monitoring the flow traffic to make sure no one breaks down," said Lawson.
Along with state troopers, more than 35 Corpus Christi police officers will help guide traffic along I-37, said Police Chief Bryan Smith in Wednesday's edition of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Texas officials were encouraging residents in the path of Hurricane Ike to do three things — listen to what local officials say, monitor weather reports and gas up, now.
"We have a fuel team that is part of the state operation system in Austin," said Allison Castle, spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry. "They are helping to push fuel to hurricane areas. One of the lessons we learned from past hurricanes is we need to have fuel ready," she said. Castle said the fuel team was working with a "private fuel partner" to ensure adequate fuel would be available along hurricane affected areas.
Still, Castle said if local officials order an evacuation, "the number one thing for residents is make sure they have a full tank of gas and prescriptions."
As Hurricane Ike heads toward the state, Texas emergency officials were preparing to order 1 million people be evacuated from the impoverished Rio Grande Valley. Emergency planning officials were meeting all day Tuesday to decide if and when to announce a mandatory evacuation for coastal counties close to the Mexican border.
Authorities lined up nearly 1,000 buses in case they are needed to move out the many poor and elderly people who have no cars.
"We have sent a number of them (buses) to Bee County, that way, should the locals decide to evacuate we will be ready to assist," Castle said.
On Tuesday, Ike roared across Cuba, ravaging homes, killing at least four people and forcing 1.2 million to evacuate.
Early Wednesday, Ike had maximum sustained winds near 85 mph, but was expected to strengthen. The storm was centered about 125 miles north of Cuba's western tip and moving west-northwest near 8 mph. Perry declared 88 coastal counties disaster areas Monday to start the flow of state aid, and began preparing for an evacuation, lining up "buses rather than body bags."
The Dallas-Fort Worth area sheltered about 3,000 Hurricane Gustav evacuees last week and is prepared for up to about 20,000 people this time, said Steve Griggs, a county official. The downtown convention center would again serve as the main shelter.
Yes, yes -- I'm going to buy water. I'm also signed up already at one of the shelters.
Posting may be sporadic over the weekend. There's no guarantee of electricity in 135mph winds.
My cats, in the heat of passion as they chased each other at breakneck speed around the apartment, knocked my laptop to the floor and demolished the hard drive. I'll be engaged in the process of trying to recover the files today and tomorrow. And possibly to break the necks of the breakneck speeding cats. Possibly. (Probably not; they're my kittens.)
Posting may suffer slightly. I'll try not to let it comletel stop, but hang with me a day or two, and all will be back to pseudo-normal.
The federal government has really taken the bull by the horns in these Gustav preparations. Stung by criticism that "Bush doesn't Care" and theat "the federal government didn't do enough" to prepare for Katrina (and most of these allegations made by the same idiots who had "hurricane parties" in their homes, then cried for federal aid) -- the Bush Administration has given Homeland Security and FEMA a much freer hand in making sure Katrina is not repeated again.
The result of this "freer hand" policy is that people are not being "suggested" to leave -- they're being told to do so. Hospitals are being required to stockpile several weeks of supplies and evacuate all patients possible before the storm hits.
And FEMA is not taking "no" for an answer. Be carefuls what you wish for -- you might end up getting it. From CNN.com:
Hospitals use lessons from Katrina to prep for Gustav
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Three years after Hurricane Katrina taught New Orleans' medical community some painful lessons, hospitals here are trying to learn from past mistakes.
Only the sickest patients will remain at New Orleans' Tulane Medical Center after ambulances carry the rest to the airport. Evacuations began early Sunday as a long line of ambulances took patients to the airport. From there, they were flown to hospitals outside the zone threatened by Gustav.
During Katrina, 1,600 people sheltered at the Tulane hospital. This time, only 450 patients, staff and family members are expected to remain. Patients are allowed one family member to stay with them.
"The lesson learned last time is, don't have lot of patients in your hospital unless it is absolutely necessary, and don't have too many staff," said Bob Lynch, the hospital's CEO. "A lot of planning, a lot of coordination has gone into the preparation for hurricanes after Katrina," Lynch said. "People really understand the need for being prepared down here." Lynch says his hospital prepared by bringing in a lot of supplies.
During Katrina, generators at some New Orleans hospitals were flooded after levees broke. Many hospitals didn't have enough fuel to run for more than a few days. Lynch said his downtown facility now has a generator system robust enough to power the entire building for three weeks, including the air conditioning. The generators are protected with a flood wall and a sump pump to remove any water that seeps in.
In 50 years, New Orleans Children's Hospital has locked its doors only once -- during Katrina. This time, the hospital plans to stay open regardless of what happens. Like Tulane, Children's has stockpiled three weeks' worth of supplies, food and fuel.
Eighty patients remain at New Orleans Children's Hospital, more than half of them in a critical care unit. Nurse Crystal Mayeaux says she will not leave them. "We are attached to all the babies here, she says. "They know us." Parents are allowed to stay with their children.
Tracy Bayley can't bear to tell her 4-year-old son Cameron about the hurricane that's on the way. The boy had open-heart surgery just 10 days ago.
"He knows there is a little storm coming, but as long as I am here, he's happy," she said.
And as I noted previously, they all appear to be flying to San Antonio. Lots of overtime for me!
By 5:oo pm Saturday the aircraft had started to arrive in San Antonio. The skies were alight with Medevac helicopters shuttling patients from the airport to hospitals all over the San Antonio area all night and all morning.
FEMA had learned her lessons well from Katrina. Plans had been laid well in advance for possible hurricane strike areas and how to evacuate them prior to landfall of any hurricane. When Hurricane Gustav first began to look like he would make landfall in the Gulf Coast, FEMA had already activated National Guard Units and Federalized aircraft under the Civilian Air Board to transport hospital patients from threatened areas to designated evacuation zones.
San Antonio is the Evacuation zone for Beaumont and Victoria, Texas. (An Air Force C-9 Nightingale medical evacuation plane flew overhead as I wrote that. It was followed by a C-130 cargo plane.)
By 7:00 pm last night three fully-loaded medical transport planes had arrived in San Antonio, evacuating Nursing Home residents and hospital patients. By 9:00 pm most of the Emergency Rooms in San Antonio were closed to admissions from the onslaught of admissions. At 11:00 pm my own hospital began to plan to block off the street in front of the hospital to put a a massive circus-sized tent to triage the evacuees expected for Sunday and Monday.
By 1:00 am almost all of the ER's in San Antonio were closed to new admissions. By 2:00 am FEMA had politely informed them that they were open for business, and to get to work. I admitted people to my little Med-Surg unit all night long until we were packed to the gills.
At 5:00 am Sunday (today) they began the "contra-flow" operations on select Interstate highways leading away from the coast. During Hurricane Katrina this meant that I-10 flowed two sides both pointing towards San Antonio from New Orleans all the way back here. I don't know if that means the same this time, but I doubt it. During Katrina it was more reactionary response, while Gustav's FEMA plan is carefully considered.
But there's a lot of damned cars on the road -- and they're not looking for a Labor Day cookout.
By noon Saturday even Mayor Ray "Chocolate City" Nagin of new Orleans had caught the FEMA fever, and ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city. Buses that had stood silent during Katrina were fueled and ready to move everyone and anyone out of the city, along with their family, friends, and pets. I watched the Homeland Security director Micheal Chertoff on Fox News last night lay out a very clear, thin line: Areas under mandatory evacuation are also as of now under curfew. Once the storm winds come up, there is no further possibility of evacuation.
And time is running out -- fast. Get out, and Get out Now.
Hotels are filling up fast in San Antone. Our church this morning had an almost overflow crowd -- easily twice the crowd from the last time we attended. The worshipers seemed happy to be there, and there was a lot of "Nice to Meet You!" greeting going on, but there was a distinct unease in the air. It was the unease of uncertainty of the future, and the hope of better days to come; but mixed in was a double shot of pragmatism from Katrina's fury.
It's an eerie feeling to know that those electronic highway signs advertising "Hurricane Shelter Directions" are talking to YOU.
The foreboding is not limited to the evacuees. Edouard's grand tour of Florida had the unexpected side effect of temporarily reversing the normally clockwise Gulf weather patterns, showering South Texas with a bounty of rain the last 10 days. The ground currently is almost saturated. Gustav could make that much, much worse very, very quickly.
I watched the thunderheads march northward towards Austin and Dallas last night, silhouetted by the dying setting sun. Their dark purple bases made them look almost royal, and dignified. None dared challenge their power, or right to do as they please to us mere mortals. Their pink tops caught the last light of the sunset, making them look like curious giraffes, peering towards the north.
Right now they scare the hell out of me, pretty or not.
(Sigh) . . . . It's Hurricane season in the Gulf, again. I may have mentioned this before, so if I have, bear with me. I once read somewhere that German U-boat commanders avoided the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea areas in World War II, despite the obvious strategic value of hitting the unprotected southern coast, was because the hurricane seasons were so violent in the late 30's and early 40's that U-boat skippers were terrified of surfacing in a hurricane and killing everyone aboard.
Looks like we're getting back into one of those violent cycles again.
Hurricane Gustav has had his way re-destroying the islands of Jamaica and Haiti that were previously destroyed earlier this season and last year, and the year beofre; but since they don't believe in building codes or governmental disaster assistance, the poverty-stricken residents are left to their own devices to try to rebuild their shattered lives. Again.
Fortunately for us, we have a lot more planning in place, and care what happens to our people, as evidenced by San Antonio's KSAT:
Perry Issues Disaster Declaration For Gustav 5,000 Guardsmen On Standby UPDATED: 2:10 pm CDT August 28, 2008
BEAUMONT, Texas -- Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration on Thursday for 61 counties as Texas prepares for a possible brush with Tropical Storm Gustav. Perry said that more than 5,000 guardsmen and other state resources are on standby in case the storm comes ashore along the Texas Coast.
Forecasters said that Gustav, which has winds approaching hurricane force, could make landfall Tuesday anywhere from Texas to the Florida Panhandle.
In Beaumont, some residents were already preparing by filling up their tanks and stocking their pantries. In Tyler, tourism officials say that most of the 2,200 hotel rooms in the East Texas city are full as Gulf Coast residents make plans to head north.
And then this popped up in my e-mail today (since I'm a nurse and a orevious Katrina volunteer, I get them first):
A N G E L V O L U N T E E R S N E E D E D
We are seeking Volunteers for San Antonio based shelters. Please contact us immediately to add you to our list in order to assist others seeking relief from Hurricane Gustav.
* * * * * *
If the State of Texas should declare this to be a Natural Disaster, we will be searching and reimbursing for assistance to deploy for approximately 7 days. We will provide you with a list of necessities you will be required to bring. All accomodations will be provided. If deployment is necessary we will be expected to depart Saturday.
Further details will follow as information becomes available.
This one is more than a little scary. We've had rain on-and-off for two weeks which is more a winter weather pattern than a summer one. As such, the ground is close to saturated already, and Hurricane Edouard's corkscrew path up and around Florida has reversed the normal clockwise weather pattern flow around the gulf coast, which will draw Gustav towards Texas like a magnet draws a compass needle.
I'm going to buy a couple of cases of water right now.
Eduoard made landfall about 4 hours earlier than estimated and as only a Tropical Storm instead of getting to hurricane status (thank goodness!); and despite the meteorological projection tracks that keep taking it towards Austin and the north Texas area, it seems determined to make a beeline towards San Antonio. I'm sure it will turn at some point eventually.
Meanwhile, I'm out buying water and flashlights later this morning.
Just in case, you understand. It would be silly to wait for lines to form like last time.
Meanwhile, it seems that a tornado hit Chicago last night; if not a good handful of microbursts. From CBS 2 Chicago:
Tornadic Storm Clears Wrigley Field, Brings Havoc
CHICAGO (CBS) ― A powerful storm led to tornado warnings in downtown Chicago, evacuated fans from the stands at Wrigley Field on Monday night, and left a path of damage and an atmosphere of panic. Storms continued throughout the night, and were not over Tuesday morning.
The skies were dark and treacherous for much of the game between the Cubs and the Houston Astros. The telecast of the game was interrupted for an Emergency Alert System broadcast announcing a tornado warning for areas west of Chicago. Soon afterward, rain interrupted the game.
As CBS 2's Mike Parker reports, at about 8:10 p.m., winds that seemed near gale force began raking the area and the air raid siren that stands sentinel outside Wrigley Field began howling, along with all the others in the city. A voice over the public address system ordered everyone to move into the stadium concourse.
"They told you to get out, down to the concourse, because of bad weather," said Ron Swanson. "A lot of games out here and I've never heard that before; I've never heard that boomer go out across the street." Several small children and more than a few adults were terrified.
The National Weather Service did not immediately confirm any tornado touchdowns. But it said trained spotters reported high-rotation winds in DeKalb and Kane counties in northeastern Illinois, where widespread tree and power line damage was reported. Winds clocked in at 70 mph.
Passengers at O'Hare International Airport were evacuated into the lower levels of the complex's buildings. All flights were temporarily halted, and travelers who had already boarded airplanes were taken off as the storm struck, then led to the lower levels as a precaution. "It was pretty cramped down there, the whole terminal was down there," said George Wickens, 50, of London, who was trying to travel to Florida with his family. "I don't think anything will be getting out of Chicago tonight." More than 350 flights were canceled at O'Hare Monday.
Planes were flying again Tuesday morning. One hundred flights were canceled at O'Hare, and minor delays were reported as of 11 a.m. At Midway Tuesday morning there were a few one-hour delays and some cancellations, according to Cunningham.
"The wind picked up and in probably five seconds it blew (my friend) into her husband," she said. "He grabbed her and pulled her inside and we all ran down the stairs. It was like dead still and then within five seconds, ten seconds we were all blown away."
"The lightning between the buildings was looking ominous," said Michaela Nelson, a 58-year-old singer from Barrington, brushing her dripping-wet hair at the station. "And then it just poured."
As of 10:30 a.m., 219,000 Commonwealth Edison customers are without electricity, the majority of whom are in the city and the southern suburbs, according to ComEd spokesman Jeff Burdick. A total of about 427,000 customers were affected since the storms started. The outages will likely take days to fix, Marquez said.
"At this point, we're still saying it's a multiple-day restoration. We're asking a lot of our customers to be patient as we work on clearing all the damage and restoring power," Marquez said. "We'll get a better idea as work goes throughout the day on the extent of damage, and then have a better idea on when the last customer will be restored."
In the Logan Square neighborhood, a man was left in critical condition after he was hit by a falling tree. He was near his home in the 2100 block of North Whipple Street when the tornado warning sirens sounded. High winds and lightning moved in and sent a tree crashing on top of him. On the Northwest Side, a huge tree was uprooted and tore up the sidewalk on top of the roots. The homeowner could not believe what happened, and suspected a tornado might have hit.
A total of 1,438 trees were toppled or damaged in the storm throughout the city. A total of 158 traffic signals were knocked out, 69 city light poles were damaged, and 112 wires to city light poles snapped, according to the city Department of Streets and Sanitation. There were also 212 blocks where all of the street lights were out, according to the department.
On the roadways at 1 a.m., a backed up sewer added to the problems on the inbound and outbound Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94) between 83rd and 87th Streets on the South Side, according to Illinois State Police District Chicago Sgt. Michelle Tufenkjian.
Well, the good thing about hurricanes is at least we get a little warning.
This one popped up during the day Sunday while I was sleeping off night shift at the hospital. When I went to bed, nothing -- but when ai woke up, full fledged Tropical Storm with winds approaching 30 mph. Today it's 45 mph sustained winds and headed straight for Houston Bay (and Galveston, which is an island, I might add) and thereafter cutting a swath between Austin to the north and San Antone to the south.
In other words, the closest any hurricane has come to us since we moved here six years ago.
I'm going out to buy bottled water and flashlights tonight.
Just to Prove my theory that "There's no such thing as a Criminal Genius", here comes proof from the Associated Press, via the Northwest Indiana Vidette-Times:
Holy hooligans! Phony 'Joker' arrested in Michigan Tuesday, July 29, 2008
THREE RIVERS, Mich. - Police in Michigan have arrested a man who they say tried to steal posters and other items related to the new Batman movie from a cinema lobby while dressed up as the Joker.
Detective Mike Mohney said Monday 20-year-old Spencer Taylor of Three Rivers has been booked for investigation of larceny and malicious destruction of property.
Taylor is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 5 in St. Joseph County District Court.
There is no telephone listing under his name in the Three Rivers area.
Mohney says officers who were dispatched early Sunday to the theater arrived to find employees restraining a man wearing a purple suit, a green wig and face paint in the style of Batman's nemesis in "The Dark Knight."
Words: Katharina von Schlegel, 1752. Music: Jean Sibelius, 1899.
Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change, He faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake To guide the future, as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart, And all is darkened in the vale of tears, Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart, Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears. Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay From His own fullness all He takes away.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on When we shall be forever with the Lord. When disappointment, grief and fear are gone, Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored. Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.
Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high; Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways, So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye. Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.
