These are strange times. A REPUBLICAN president has led the charge for a government bail-out (uhhhh.........W-H-A-T-?-?-?-?) of greedy mortgage companies and even greedier mortgagees; we are fighting wars in two different countries and THREATEN to make war on more yet; the mortgage crisis has led to a general collapse of the economy and the whole thing has created a situation where the political party that institutionalized racism, the Democrats, has nominated an African-American candidate and it looks like he'll WIN!
Strange times!
If you're not religious, this is a good time to get to know Jesus, that's for sure! If I didn't know better, I'd say the four horsemen of the apocalypse are riding away with things about now and it won't be long before things get really rough around here!
Revelation 6
1I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" 2I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. 3When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" 4Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword. 5When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"
7When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" 8I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth."
Hmmmm......war, soaring food prices and failing economies, and extensive death tolls from war, famine, and disease......
Sounds like 2008, actually!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Our government is out of control!
Read "WE are out of control!"
We ARE the government, after all!
The whole Rita, Katrina, Ike, Gustav, Jorge, Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice clean-up, all by itself, is costing BILLIONS with a capital B.
When did it become part of the purview of the federal government to pay for housing and lost wages and food and Lord knows what else after a hurricane? I mean, I know HOW we got here (unsolicited whining from every liberal corner!), but when, Constitutionally speaking, did the federal government usurp the authority of the states to deal with local catastrophe?
That's what I thought.
Now, the government tells us that it's bailing out the institutions who lent the money to the deadbeats who bought WAY more house than they could ever afford and expected (I guess) the government to pick up the tab when the market stabilized to a place it probably should have been all along. Greedy lenders loaning money to greedy borrowers equals OOL (Out Of Luck!) if you ask me! I know why they're doing it, and it has nothing to do with stabilizing the markets or whatever else GWB said in his speech last night.
It's an election year.
End of story.
Here's the lesson to be taken from all of this. The government tells lending institutions who they can and cannot lend money to via regulation (you know, all of those equal opportunity lending regs that drive all of us crazy!) and then recoil in horror when those same institutions cannot make money that way and turn to less than favorable loans to people who DO qualify.
The systems broken and will never be fixed until the government gets out of the equation and allows banking institutions to loan money to whoever they like AND deny whoever they like! In other words, let the bankers do what they're trained to do and get back to governing!
We ARE the government, after all!
The whole Rita, Katrina, Ike, Gustav, Jorge, Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice clean-up, all by itself, is costing BILLIONS with a capital B.
When did it become part of the purview of the federal government to pay for housing and lost wages and food and Lord knows what else after a hurricane? I mean, I know HOW we got here (unsolicited whining from every liberal corner!), but when, Constitutionally speaking, did the federal government usurp the authority of the states to deal with local catastrophe?
That's what I thought.
Now, the government tells us that it's bailing out the institutions who lent the money to the deadbeats who bought WAY more house than they could ever afford and expected (I guess) the government to pick up the tab when the market stabilized to a place it probably should have been all along. Greedy lenders loaning money to greedy borrowers equals OOL (Out Of Luck!) if you ask me! I know why they're doing it, and it has nothing to do with stabilizing the markets or whatever else GWB said in his speech last night.
It's an election year.
End of story.
Here's the lesson to be taken from all of this. The government tells lending institutions who they can and cannot lend money to via regulation (you know, all of those equal opportunity lending regs that drive all of us crazy!) and then recoil in horror when those same institutions cannot make money that way and turn to less than favorable loans to people who DO qualify.
The systems broken and will never be fixed until the government gets out of the equation and allows banking institutions to loan money to whoever they like AND deny whoever they like! In other words, let the bankers do what they're trained to do and get back to governing!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
This just in....
...a candle, left burning while you sleep, MAY burn your house down!
MDB and I watched the news last night and were left quite perplexed. Apparently, a young woman, who, like many in Houston these days had no power, fell asleep after lighting some candles and awoke to the sound of fire engines and roaring flames!
What part of "sleeping while candles are burning" did you not understand as hazardous?
What was really troubling was the reaction of relatives who were interviewed.
"Well, she didn't have any power, so she lit some candles to see and, next thing you know, her house was gone! If she'd have had power, this never would have happened!"
Newsflash! Everyone in Houston is burning their own house down because they don't have power!
Uhhhh....no they're not!
I guess the part that troubled me more than anything was the tone of the comment about not having power. The young woman, who, based upon her comments, was obviously not the brightest crayon in the box, expressed surprise and out-and-out shock over the concept that an open flame near combustibles might be a problem. The tone from her grandmother, though, was a bit more irritating. I know I'm just reading into her comments, but it was almost as though she was saying her g-daughter was being discriminated against by the power company because she was African-American.
Let's don't go there, grandma!
If we pull the race card on a hurricane, what's left? Let me guess....large weather systems are racist? God sends hurricanes only to harm black people? Nobody who was white or Hispanic lost power? Only black folks were affected, is that right?
Let's don't go there, grandma!
Let's take a deep breath, think about what you're saying, and reason through this, shall we? Millions of people here and elsewhere were affected by Ike and I'd venture to say that a number far below a majority of them were AA. so...
let's don't go there, grandma!
Ike struck homes representing every race, creed, language, and color. This was not some re-enactment of the Passover where people with "Ike-Away" painted above their doors were spared (although some actually tried it! How many "Take a hike, Ike!" signs were emblazoned across plywood window coverings?). So, before you start crying that it was the lack of power that burned down your granddaughter's home, why don't you try asking her whether or not she knew that an open flame might propagate into one much larger if left alone long enough! While you're at it, ask her WHY NOT if she answers "NO" and offer to send her to the volunteer fire academy if she's really that ignorant about fire and what causes it!
Sheesh!
MDB and I watched the news last night and were left quite perplexed. Apparently, a young woman, who, like many in Houston these days had no power, fell asleep after lighting some candles and awoke to the sound of fire engines and roaring flames!
What part of "sleeping while candles are burning" did you not understand as hazardous?
What was really troubling was the reaction of relatives who were interviewed.
"Well, she didn't have any power, so she lit some candles to see and, next thing you know, her house was gone! If she'd have had power, this never would have happened!"
Newsflash! Everyone in Houston is burning their own house down because they don't have power!
Uhhhh....no they're not!
I guess the part that troubled me more than anything was the tone of the comment about not having power. The young woman, who, based upon her comments, was obviously not the brightest crayon in the box, expressed surprise and out-and-out shock over the concept that an open flame near combustibles might be a problem. The tone from her grandmother, though, was a bit more irritating. I know I'm just reading into her comments, but it was almost as though she was saying her g-daughter was being discriminated against by the power company because she was African-American.
Let's don't go there, grandma!
If we pull the race card on a hurricane, what's left? Let me guess....large weather systems are racist? God sends hurricanes only to harm black people? Nobody who was white or Hispanic lost power? Only black folks were affected, is that right?
Let's don't go there, grandma!
Let's take a deep breath, think about what you're saying, and reason through this, shall we? Millions of people here and elsewhere were affected by Ike and I'd venture to say that a number far below a majority of them were AA. so...
let's don't go there, grandma!
Ike struck homes representing every race, creed, language, and color. This was not some re-enactment of the Passover where people with "Ike-Away" painted above their doors were spared (although some actually tried it! How many "Take a hike, Ike!" signs were emblazoned across plywood window coverings?). So, before you start crying that it was the lack of power that burned down your granddaughter's home, why don't you try asking her whether or not she knew that an open flame might propagate into one much larger if left alone long enough! While you're at it, ask her WHY NOT if she answers "NO" and offer to send her to the volunteer fire academy if she's really that ignorant about fire and what causes it!
Sheesh!
I'm S-H-O-C-K-E-D-!-!-!-!
According to the headline on Yahoo.com, Clay Aiken admitted in a recent article that he is gay.
Boy, you could knock me over with a feather!
I mean, who would have ever thought? I see quack, waddle....I think duck! I see dark clouds, lightning, high winds....I think thunderstorm! I hear Clay Aiken speak, watch his mannerisms, see him perform....I think GAY!!!
Imagine my surprise when all of the indicators proved to be correct!
Well, so much for that. Let's get on with the real reason for this blog: euphemisms.
We're eaten up with them in this day and age. "Homosexual," "queer," "fruitcake," etc., were apparently inappropriate, so we came up with "gay," which, BTW, used to mean "happy."
Who are they trying to convince?
I mean, I'm a live and let live kind of guy, but don't coin yourself "happy" if your lifestyle choices cause acrimony and heartache at every turn. Has any parent ever found out that their son or daughter was homosexual and jumped for joy? How many parents, friends of family, or relatives throw a party at that announcement?
That's what I thought.
And "gay" isn't the only one. Mentally challenged people are now "exceptional." Fat people are now "Plus sized." A bum is now "homeless." A prostitute is now a "call girl" or a "lady of the evening." I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Who's trying to fool who, and what's the purpose? Is a duck offended if I call it a duck? Would "aquatic waterfowl" be more appropriate?
If you don't like your circumstance, do something to change it! Don't call yourself something else to make it seem less offensive!
The only person you're fooling in the long run is yourself!
Boy, you could knock me over with a feather!
I mean, who would have ever thought? I see quack, waddle....I think duck! I see dark clouds, lightning, high winds....I think thunderstorm! I hear Clay Aiken speak, watch his mannerisms, see him perform....I think GAY!!!
Imagine my surprise when all of the indicators proved to be correct!
Well, so much for that. Let's get on with the real reason for this blog: euphemisms.
We're eaten up with them in this day and age. "Homosexual," "queer," "fruitcake," etc., were apparently inappropriate, so we came up with "gay," which, BTW, used to mean "happy."
Who are they trying to convince?
I mean, I'm a live and let live kind of guy, but don't coin yourself "happy" if your lifestyle choices cause acrimony and heartache at every turn. Has any parent ever found out that their son or daughter was homosexual and jumped for joy? How many parents, friends of family, or relatives throw a party at that announcement?
That's what I thought.
And "gay" isn't the only one. Mentally challenged people are now "exceptional." Fat people are now "Plus sized." A bum is now "homeless." A prostitute is now a "call girl" or a "lady of the evening." I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Who's trying to fool who, and what's the purpose? Is a duck offended if I call it a duck? Would "aquatic waterfowl" be more appropriate?
If you don't like your circumstance, do something to change it! Don't call yourself something else to make it seem less offensive!
The only person you're fooling in the long run is yourself!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Buzzards
Having been off from work for nearly two weeks, I've noticed a few things as I work outside repairing storm damage from Ike.
First, it seems that many, if not all of the people who've suffered damage to their homes are waiting for insurance adjusters before they start with any repairs.
For their sake, I hope it doesn't rain any time soon!
I've spent the majority of the last couple of days up on the roof replacing damaged shingles. It may not look all that great, but the roof will not leak when it rains. As far as I'm concerned, that's 9/10 of the battle!
Second, I've noticed an inordinate number of folks out "trolling" for junk. They're cruising slowly up and down the street carefully eyeballing everyone's stack of garbage, stopping to pick out this item or that item. How can you tell? They've got a trunk full of yard umbrellas, bar-b-cue pits, twisted steel poles, and other assorted stuff that got damaged by the storm.
I know that one man's junk is another's treasure, but tell me a few things, will you, Mr. Junk? How is it that you have time to troll around looking for trash all day? Is scrap metal your hobby or your livelihood? If it's the latter, get a trailer so you look a little more professional, will you? If it's the former, school is starting back up soon, you'd better hurry! Next, pile things back up neatly, will you? I know that twisted pool ladder is really valuable and all, but someone is trying REALLY hard to get things back to normal and they really don't need to re-stack all of that garbage that they already stacked up neatly once before. Finally, stop and ASK someone before you just grab stuff and drive off, will you? People have been laying stuff out to dry and the LAST thing anyone needs is for their stuff to dry out and then drive off!
Here's a reall business opportunity! If you have a chain saw, a trailer, and a hydraulic log splitter, you have an UNLIMITED supply of firewood piled up on every street in town and no one, and I mean NO ONE, would mind even a little bit if you drove up and removed their stack of THAT at your leisure!
School starts back up for teachers and administrators on Thursday! That means, of course, that I won't be around to guard the trash piles so, Mr. Junk, PLEASE be kind to my neighbors!
First, it seems that many, if not all of the people who've suffered damage to their homes are waiting for insurance adjusters before they start with any repairs.
For their sake, I hope it doesn't rain any time soon!
I've spent the majority of the last couple of days up on the roof replacing damaged shingles. It may not look all that great, but the roof will not leak when it rains. As far as I'm concerned, that's 9/10 of the battle!
Second, I've noticed an inordinate number of folks out "trolling" for junk. They're cruising slowly up and down the street carefully eyeballing everyone's stack of garbage, stopping to pick out this item or that item. How can you tell? They've got a trunk full of yard umbrellas, bar-b-cue pits, twisted steel poles, and other assorted stuff that got damaged by the storm.
I know that one man's junk is another's treasure, but tell me a few things, will you, Mr. Junk? How is it that you have time to troll around looking for trash all day? Is scrap metal your hobby or your livelihood? If it's the latter, get a trailer so you look a little more professional, will you? If it's the former, school is starting back up soon, you'd better hurry! Next, pile things back up neatly, will you? I know that twisted pool ladder is really valuable and all, but someone is trying REALLY hard to get things back to normal and they really don't need to re-stack all of that garbage that they already stacked up neatly once before. Finally, stop and ASK someone before you just grab stuff and drive off, will you? People have been laying stuff out to dry and the LAST thing anyone needs is for their stuff to dry out and then drive off!
Here's a reall business opportunity! If you have a chain saw, a trailer, and a hydraulic log splitter, you have an UNLIMITED supply of firewood piled up on every street in town and no one, and I mean NO ONE, would mind even a little bit if you drove up and removed their stack of THAT at your leisure!
School starts back up for teachers and administrators on Thursday! That means, of course, that I won't be around to guard the trash piles so, Mr. Junk, PLEASE be kind to my neighbors!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Whining
Hello, good blog-reading peoples!
Please read MDB's blog about this same topic! It's E-P-I-C!!!!!
For those of you who a) cannot read this typing; (b) are too stupid to fend for yourselves; (c) have a combination of one or the other; (d) have been socialized into the "gimme gimme, something for nothing" society of today.....listen up!
NO ONE OWES YOU A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G!!!!!!! If you're looking to FEMA to make you wealthy or bail you out because you had no insurance, no job, no prospects, no family or whatever........GET OVER YOURSELVES!!!!
Sorry.....but I'm totally sick and tired of listening to the complaining and whining about what FEMA is doing, has done, had NOT done, or whatever. This is TEXAS!!!! We get up in the morning, go to work, and do what we can to solve our own problems! If you're looking to the government for a handout, you're in the wrong place! Go back to Louisiana or wherever it is you came from! We're pretty self-reliant around here and we don't need and don't WANT some pointy-headed bureaucrat telling us what we can and cannot do!
Another aspect of that: Who twisted your arm and forced you to live here? Perhaps this comes as a huge surprise, but living on the Gulf Coast brings with it the hazard of potential hurricanes from time to time! If you're going to live here, you have to accept that possibility, just like you have to come to realize that living on the west coast brings with it the potential for wild fires and earthquakes, living in the midwest exposes you to the possibility of tornados, residing in New England bring the potential for "Noreasters," large river valleys (Mississippi and Ohio, mostly) the possibility of flooding in the spring, etc. Let's face it; just living (period) is not a hazard-free proposition! You choose where you live and face the consequences of your decision! You take the good with the bad and move on!
Oh, and BTW, New Orleans, if you choose to enjoy the "Big Easy" lifestyle, you have to know that living below sea level has "disaster" written all over it! So don't bring your whining around here when your basin fills up and there's no place for the water to go! You knew (or should have known) that it would happen eventually! Get over it!
Meanwhile, I appreciate all of the efforts of everyone who's been trying very hard to restore our power, water, etc. However....I, and many of my close friends here in our neighborhood, had generators and gasoline to provide our own power as we waited in the interim. We don't want, and we don't NEED, the Federal government to bail us out!
Bottom line.....S-T-O-P W-H-I-N-I-N-G!!!!!!! You whiners and "Oh, woe is me" types need to look around and thank God that this storm wasn't worse than it was! Did anyone see what happened to Galveston, Chystal Beach, or Bolivar? Now, can you imagine what it would have been like if this had been a Cat 3, 4, or 5 storm? OMG! It would have been SO much worse! So thank God that you have all of your fingers and toes, that you're moving air in and out, and you have whatever it is you've been left with; it could have been much, MUCH worse!
Please read MDB's blog about this same topic! It's E-P-I-C!!!!!
For those of you who a) cannot read this typing; (b) are too stupid to fend for yourselves; (c) have a combination of one or the other; (d) have been socialized into the "gimme gimme, something for nothing" society of today.....listen up!
NO ONE OWES YOU A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G!!!!!!! If you're looking to FEMA to make you wealthy or bail you out because you had no insurance, no job, no prospects, no family or whatever........GET OVER YOURSELVES!!!!
Sorry.....but I'm totally sick and tired of listening to the complaining and whining about what FEMA is doing, has done, had NOT done, or whatever. This is TEXAS!!!! We get up in the morning, go to work, and do what we can to solve our own problems! If you're looking to the government for a handout, you're in the wrong place! Go back to Louisiana or wherever it is you came from! We're pretty self-reliant around here and we don't need and don't WANT some pointy-headed bureaucrat telling us what we can and cannot do!
Another aspect of that: Who twisted your arm and forced you to live here? Perhaps this comes as a huge surprise, but living on the Gulf Coast brings with it the hazard of potential hurricanes from time to time! If you're going to live here, you have to accept that possibility, just like you have to come to realize that living on the west coast brings with it the potential for wild fires and earthquakes, living in the midwest exposes you to the possibility of tornados, residing in New England bring the potential for "Noreasters," large river valleys (Mississippi and Ohio, mostly) the possibility of flooding in the spring, etc. Let's face it; just living (period) is not a hazard-free proposition! You choose where you live and face the consequences of your decision! You take the good with the bad and move on!
Oh, and BTW, New Orleans, if you choose to enjoy the "Big Easy" lifestyle, you have to know that living below sea level has "disaster" written all over it! So don't bring your whining around here when your basin fills up and there's no place for the water to go! You knew (or should have known) that it would happen eventually! Get over it!
Meanwhile, I appreciate all of the efforts of everyone who's been trying very hard to restore our power, water, etc. However....I, and many of my close friends here in our neighborhood, had generators and gasoline to provide our own power as we waited in the interim. We don't want, and we don't NEED, the Federal government to bail us out!
Bottom line.....S-T-O-P W-H-I-N-I-N-G!!!!!!! You whiners and "Oh, woe is me" types need to look around and thank God that this storm wasn't worse than it was! Did anyone see what happened to Galveston, Chystal Beach, or Bolivar? Now, can you imagine what it would have been like if this had been a Cat 3, 4, or 5 storm? OMG! It would have been SO much worse! So thank God that you have all of your fingers and toes, that you're moving air in and out, and you have whatever it is you've been left with; it could have been much, MUCH worse!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Greetings from "I-ville!"
Well......back from the brink comes good news!
As many of y'all know, MDB and I live in the portion of southeast Texas that was recently ravaged by Ike.
Thanks a lot, Ike.
The hurricane came ashore about 5 miles from our house and did quite a lot of damage here and there, but not much to speak of at Casa del MDB, praise God! Oh, we lost some shingles and had a couple of sections of fence blow over, but compared with the damages sustained in other parts of town, we got nothing at all to speak of!
My former house in Dickinson did about as well, so praise God for that as well!
Over there, all of the windows were spared; I lost NONE of the sheet metal from my patio cover or from the dog kennel, and I did not lose a single shingle!
My storage building was not so fortunate.
One of the neighbors trees fell on it; a 70' red oak. It landed full force on my neighbors storage building and turned it into a pile of scrap metal, but the upper branches fell on my building. In one spot, it merely punched a hole in the wooden decking (an easy enough repair), but in another area, it broke three rafters AND punched a hole in the decking, which means I'm going to have to take it all the way down to the rafters and replace the rafters, decking, roofing felt, and shingles on that side.
I praise God, though, because some people over there had more than one tree fall on their house rather than their unoccupied storage building and their houses are now uninhabitable; I was much more blessed than that!
The storm hit early Saturday, but we'd already hightailed it to the safety of Abilene late Thursday, so we were nowhere near to see it. The traffic was much better this time than the evacuation for Rita a few years ago. If it had not been, I don't think I'd ever think twice about leaving ever again! Anyway, we came back into town at around 4:00 on Sunday and saw widespread devastation, mostly in damaged roofs and fences and downed trees. Water did not appear to be a big issue on our side of the storm (another "thank God!" by the slimmest of margins, we wound up on the "clean" side when the opposite had been forecast for several days before!).
In any case, power outages were widespread as one might imagine. We only got power back on here a few moments ago.
"Don't it always seem as though, that you don't know what you got till its gone?"
Here's to all the folks out there who still have no power AND to everyone who's out there working hard to restore it. I wouldn't have that job for anything!
A few highlights from the evacuation:
*Police officers should allow traffic signals to do their jobs unless traffic is actually backing up because of it. We hit two major snags on the way out of town. The one in Rosenburg could have been avoided if signals had been allowed to do their jobs and the Police would have stayed out of it.
*One good idea they had there in Rosenburg; they put the signals on flashing yellow there on the main drag so that traffic would simple slow to caution and then advance. Sadly, the state of driver's education in this country is abysmal! People kept STOPPING on the flashing yellow instead of rolling through it at a slower pace! I got very frustrated at this little bit of stupidity, and MDB got frustrated with me as a result...........sorry!
*Another Rosenburg highlight; don't attempt to divert northbound traffic onto a southbound highway INTO the path of the storm! ANYBODY OUT THERE GOT A MAP???? Well, the Police directing traffic apparently didn't; they would NOT allow us to continue north on TX36 when we hit US59, so I whipped into a strip mall and then re-entered the northbound lanes from the other side of the intersection.
*The only other major snag was US290 in Brenham. You have to get onto 290 there to continue on 36, so we did so and promptly ran into the "Houston to Austin" traffic jam. If I'd have known that's what it was, I could have gotten into the left lane and gone straight on 36. I'll know better next time!
Another 'THANK GOD!!!!" Thank God for MDB's brother Wes and his darling bride for allowing us to evacuate to their place for three nights. It was a Godsend and we appreciate them a LOT!!!
By the way.....here comes another one. From the time the storm left town until now, the weather here has been SPECTACULAR!!! The nights have been unseasonably cool and the air's been really dry. What's so great about that? With no A/C, it has been a HUGE blessing to have such cool air in the house to sleep in!
All in all, it's been about as good as this sort of thing can be! Praise God!
As many of y'all know, MDB and I live in the portion of southeast Texas that was recently ravaged by Ike.
Thanks a lot, Ike.
The hurricane came ashore about 5 miles from our house and did quite a lot of damage here and there, but not much to speak of at Casa del MDB, praise God! Oh, we lost some shingles and had a couple of sections of fence blow over, but compared with the damages sustained in other parts of town, we got nothing at all to speak of!
My former house in Dickinson did about as well, so praise God for that as well!
Over there, all of the windows were spared; I lost NONE of the sheet metal from my patio cover or from the dog kennel, and I did not lose a single shingle!
My storage building was not so fortunate.
One of the neighbors trees fell on it; a 70' red oak. It landed full force on my neighbors storage building and turned it into a pile of scrap metal, but the upper branches fell on my building. In one spot, it merely punched a hole in the wooden decking (an easy enough repair), but in another area, it broke three rafters AND punched a hole in the decking, which means I'm going to have to take it all the way down to the rafters and replace the rafters, decking, roofing felt, and shingles on that side.
I praise God, though, because some people over there had more than one tree fall on their house rather than their unoccupied storage building and their houses are now uninhabitable; I was much more blessed than that!
The storm hit early Saturday, but we'd already hightailed it to the safety of Abilene late Thursday, so we were nowhere near to see it. The traffic was much better this time than the evacuation for Rita a few years ago. If it had not been, I don't think I'd ever think twice about leaving ever again! Anyway, we came back into town at around 4:00 on Sunday and saw widespread devastation, mostly in damaged roofs and fences and downed trees. Water did not appear to be a big issue on our side of the storm (another "thank God!" by the slimmest of margins, we wound up on the "clean" side when the opposite had been forecast for several days before!).
In any case, power outages were widespread as one might imagine. We only got power back on here a few moments ago.
"Don't it always seem as though, that you don't know what you got till its gone?"
Here's to all the folks out there who still have no power AND to everyone who's out there working hard to restore it. I wouldn't have that job for anything!
A few highlights from the evacuation:
*Police officers should allow traffic signals to do their jobs unless traffic is actually backing up because of it. We hit two major snags on the way out of town. The one in Rosenburg could have been avoided if signals had been allowed to do their jobs and the Police would have stayed out of it.
*One good idea they had there in Rosenburg; they put the signals on flashing yellow there on the main drag so that traffic would simple slow to caution and then advance. Sadly, the state of driver's education in this country is abysmal! People kept STOPPING on the flashing yellow instead of rolling through it at a slower pace! I got very frustrated at this little bit of stupidity, and MDB got frustrated with me as a result...........sorry!
*Another Rosenburg highlight; don't attempt to divert northbound traffic onto a southbound highway INTO the path of the storm! ANYBODY OUT THERE GOT A MAP???? Well, the Police directing traffic apparently didn't; they would NOT allow us to continue north on TX36 when we hit US59, so I whipped into a strip mall and then re-entered the northbound lanes from the other side of the intersection.
*The only other major snag was US290 in Brenham. You have to get onto 290 there to continue on 36, so we did so and promptly ran into the "Houston to Austin" traffic jam. If I'd have known that's what it was, I could have gotten into the left lane and gone straight on 36. I'll know better next time!
Another 'THANK GOD!!!!" Thank God for MDB's brother Wes and his darling bride for allowing us to evacuate to their place for three nights. It was a Godsend and we appreciate them a LOT!!!
By the way.....here comes another one. From the time the storm left town until now, the weather here has been SPECTACULAR!!! The nights have been unseasonably cool and the air's been really dry. What's so great about that? With no A/C, it has been a HUGE blessing to have such cool air in the house to sleep in!
All in all, it's been about as good as this sort of thing can be! Praise God!
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Update
Well, there is certainly no shortage of stuff to report about.....so let's get to it!
School started back up on 8-26, which means that football season is in high gear! Well.....sort of! Our numbers are down this year, so we probably don't have enough 7th graders to make an A and a B team and our 8th grade numbers aren't much better.
Ready or not, games start in a week!
Somehow, we dodged another bullet. Gustov landed to the east of us, but not a direct hit upon precious New Orleans. It's time for a little straight talk about that place!
I'm not one of those "God's Vengeance" zealots, but I do believe that poor choices lead to poor consequences. New Orleans has reveled in its debauchery for a long time and it was that very "lawless" attitude that created such a group of needy people who somehow felt entitled to instant transportation, instant sustenance and instant shelter the last time a hurricane hit there. Let me tell you something; if you build a city below sea level, don't act surprised when it floods! If you failed to heed warnings and get out of Dodge when you had a chance, don't cry when you get trapped! If you have leaders who have never heard "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!", then you reap what you sew!
Props to NO this time; they apparently learned their lesson the last time! This time, they got people out and refused to listen to "No." They got tough on lawlessness. They made sure that there were enough police, National Guard, and other law enforcement there to handle whatever happened. Good job, NO!!
My very favorite time of the year is upon us; the beginning of the NFL football season! I have high hopes for my beloved Browns, of course, but the trepidation there is the extrememly horrible pre-season they had and all of the injuries they've incurred. Not only that, but their 10-6 season last year set them up for a really tough schedule this year, so a duplicate season will be much harder to come by!
I've learned something difficult the last year or so.
Be careful what you wish for!
The year before last, I had no honors classes, only one conference period every-other day, AND a group of losers who were grouped into a class called "Study Skills." Why a group like that, with absolutely no interest in study PERIOD were enrolled in that class, I have no idea, but there they were none-the-less!
Woo-boy!
Last year, I had the honors classes, two conference periods, and NO silly loser class to deal with. AWESOME!!!
This year, I've got the honors classes again, a relatively small class load, and a first year teacher to mentor! The extra training involved has me attending class every Saturday for the next six weeks, so I won't see MDB on a Saturday morning for quite a while.
Like I said, be careful what you wish for!
School started back up on 8-26, which means that football season is in high gear! Well.....sort of! Our numbers are down this year, so we probably don't have enough 7th graders to make an A and a B team and our 8th grade numbers aren't much better.
Ready or not, games start in a week!
Somehow, we dodged another bullet. Gustov landed to the east of us, but not a direct hit upon precious New Orleans. It's time for a little straight talk about that place!
I'm not one of those "God's Vengeance" zealots, but I do believe that poor choices lead to poor consequences. New Orleans has reveled in its debauchery for a long time and it was that very "lawless" attitude that created such a group of needy people who somehow felt entitled to instant transportation, instant sustenance and instant shelter the last time a hurricane hit there. Let me tell you something; if you build a city below sea level, don't act surprised when it floods! If you failed to heed warnings and get out of Dodge when you had a chance, don't cry when you get trapped! If you have leaders who have never heard "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!", then you reap what you sew!
Props to NO this time; they apparently learned their lesson the last time! This time, they got people out and refused to listen to "No." They got tough on lawlessness. They made sure that there were enough police, National Guard, and other law enforcement there to handle whatever happened. Good job, NO!!
My very favorite time of the year is upon us; the beginning of the NFL football season! I have high hopes for my beloved Browns, of course, but the trepidation there is the extrememly horrible pre-season they had and all of the injuries they've incurred. Not only that, but their 10-6 season last year set them up for a really tough schedule this year, so a duplicate season will be much harder to come by!
I've learned something difficult the last year or so.
Be careful what you wish for!
The year before last, I had no honors classes, only one conference period every-other day, AND a group of losers who were grouped into a class called "Study Skills." Why a group like that, with absolutely no interest in study PERIOD were enrolled in that class, I have no idea, but there they were none-the-less!
Woo-boy!
Last year, I had the honors classes, two conference periods, and NO silly loser class to deal with. AWESOME!!!
This year, I've got the honors classes again, a relatively small class load, and a first year teacher to mentor! The extra training involved has me attending class every Saturday for the next six weeks, so I won't see MDB on a Saturday morning for quite a while.
Like I said, be careful what you wish for!
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