Still no power almost two weeks out. Hurricane Ike packed a wallop creating a 400-mile swath of turmoil early on the morning of September 13, 2008. Southeast Texas took it on the chin and Galveston Island is down for the count, I'm afraid.
I'm mentally fatigued and physically drained and don't understand the folks who vowed to ride this thing out. Most of Houston was not required to evacute as the city was expecting only 80-mile an hour winds. (ONLY!)
Rule of thumb hereabouts is "run from water; hunker down with wind." And hunker down we did (with a case of wine.)
Those who didn't run were battered by a storm surge not seen since the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. While deaths were minimized due to the mandatory evacuation, approximately 10,000 residents chose to stay risking not only their lives, but also the lives of first responders.
The Downtown Houston Business District was closed for an unprecedented nine days, which is why I only now have Internet access (and I'm able to post.) It's amazing I haven't experienced any symptoms of electronic withdrawal. We'll be lucky to have power by the 25th.
A word to the wise: Everything. Runs. On. Electricity. ATMs, gas stations, water pumping stations, intersection lights, Internet providers. Everything.
How long can you live without power? It's an interesting question to contemplate with winter waiting in the wings.
