SurvivIke.

It was quite an anxious Friday and Saturday.

My family and I prepared and braced to greet the arrival of hurricane Ike. Our area called for a mandatory evacuation only for low lying and mobile home residents. I have bum foot after recent foot surgery. Yes, I know- I picked a real good time for this. We were under curfew since yesterday morning and it continues today. We are getting a bit stir crazy, though I must admit that I haven't been at home this many consecutive hours since I broke my hip.

Our power remained on until about 1 am. Nothing left to do but try to sleep and listen to radio reports of how others were weathering the storm. Those moments were a bit anxious and sleep did not come easy as I wondered what we were in for. Houston and Southeast Texas got it far worse than we did and are in our prayers.

Calcasieu Parish did get some wind and rain, but by far, flooding is the issue. Lake Charles mayor Randy Roach put it well when he was asked to compare hurricanes Rita and Ike. He said that while Rita was destructive with some flooding, Ike brought flooding with some destruction. Places have flooded where people don't remember ever seeing floods before. Many people have had to be evacuated today by emergency personnel. Because of the false alarm with hurricane Gustave, a lack of funds for many to evacuate again, and also due to the mandatory evacuation applying only to low lying areas and mobile homes, many chose to stay home. It was bad, but we have seen worse.

As the wind is dying down, and my power is restored, I can't express enough my gratitude for these blessings and pray for the folks so deeply impacted in Texas and others in the path of the storm.

An old friend, "Ol' Roy," (the man- not the dog) sent me this the other day. I enjoyed it so much I felt is was worth passing on.

He sent it with the disclaimer that he didn't write it- he was just the messenger. But you know, messengers don't have to tell everything they know!

I won't.

Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season Is Like Christmas

Number Ten:
Decorating the house (with plywood).

Number Nine:
Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since last season.

Number Eight:
Last minute shopping in crowded stores.

Number Seven:
Regular TV shows pre-empted for 'Specials'.

Number Six:
Family coming to stay with you.

Number Five:
Family and friends from out of state calling you.

Number Four:
Buying food you don't normally buy . . . and in large quantities.

Number Three:
Days off from work.

Number Two:
Candles.

And the Number One reason Hurricane Season is like Christmas:
At some point you're probably going to have a tree in your house!