Houston update

Dudester,

Bad, yes, but trust me, it WASN'T as bad as it gets!

Dudester, you are lucky! Appears that you also have your internet connection. You won't miss a single episode of the TUSCL Hall of Flame Show.

Please, a moment of peace for those who did not survive Ike.

OK, enough of that, now get your flamethrowers. Assume the position.

Congrats on your power. Glad the storm was only a cat 2 or low 3 and didn't cause a lot more damage.

The bad news I heard today is that hundreds of homes in Galveston were wiped out and I heard up to 400 people might have been staying in those homes. Just something I heard, hopefully that is exagerated and they evacuated. However I don't know if the officials will know for some time.

4 weeks to be away from home is a long time when you don't have a plan or expenses for that saved up. Yet in hurricane prone areas along the coast, I believe residents should have an emergency plan instead of relying on the government. As typical, the national news showed a woman complaining that FEMA and our government should be taking care of them and it wasn't even 3 days since the hurricane passed. I once lived 100 miles from the coast and we were told, we were on our own and we believed it and prepared to tough it out. We would have been thankful for any government help. I'm not saying everyone is of the opinion that the government should be taking care of them but it seems the media always seems to find someone like that.

casualguy,

You are correct. When one lives in any area prone to anything, it is up to the individual to be prepared. We do not live in a nanny state, but many are sure trying to make that so. Other than getting back utility services, take care of yourself. Having lived in a hurricane zone my entire life and having been through one of only three "5's" to hit the US, I know what to expect. The news media is often a problem. They go into hysterics when there may still be little chance of a storm hitting an area. When little or nothing happens, newbies to the area think, "Well, that wasn't so bad." Next time a real one hits, they just may not be ready.

One thing I found interesting about that 5 storm, one of the first places to reopen, WITH AC, was a bar. Sure made some money there. And it wasn't all that long before one of the local clubs reopend. Got to have our priorities straight.

In 2001, when Tropical Storm Allison dealt Houston a terrible blow (30 inches of rain in one night) people cleaned up and went back to work. Days after the storm hit, the Japanese Ambassador to the US vistited Houston. He saw people cleaning up without complaining and he joked that the people of Houston are like the people of Tokyo (every four to five years, Godzilla shows up to party and makes a mess out of things).

So far, the biggest complainers have been the media and the Katrina transplants-who once again have their hand out. Over 95 percent of people who waited in line for gas, food, ice, or water, did so patiently. Some waiting in line pitched in to not only speed up the process, but to show the true strength of Texas culture. Texans are problemsolvers, and not complainers-waiting on the government for EVERYTHING.

Dudester,

When andrew hit in 1992, people who were getting 3 squares a day, shelter, medical, clothing, and whatever they needed for FREE, they bitched because they didn't have enough privacy. What did they have before, not much! It was FREE to them, but certainly not to taxpayers. I took two things, help from the 82nd Airborne cutting up very large palm trees that our chain saws couldn't handle, and one meal from the Red Cross, since they came by the house while I was outside trying to put everything back together, and insisted I take something. Everyone in my area took care of themselves and each other.

Now if the Red Cross would bring around a mobile SC, that would really help improve moral!

I'd love to hear from Galveston ... anything from Galveston ... :(

As a New Orleanian, I have to say, I render my deepest sympathies. If you get anything like we got after Katrina, there will be an influx of males with cash ... and the attendant people (hint hint) who wish to avail themselves of that cash.