After Katrina we had to wait for the Air Force to send a combat engineering team to a base in Mississippi before we could send the things we collected, because the military engineers were the ones who cleared the entire route. One guy said that for a while they were at walking pace as the people with chain saws were removing trees from the road right in front of the convoy, and a couple of times they weren’t sure that they wouldn’t need to have a combat bridge airdropped to them. Fortunately the scout chopper was able to locate standing bridges.

Air conditioning and communications – it’s tough to be without them down here.

I also know it isn’t easy and you have much to do. Good luck, and I wish I could help out, as I am sure many here do.

Welcome back to the Web.

The power went on here about a half hour ago. I was sitting in the front door of my apartment and glanced toward the kitchen. Seeing a light on the inside of the open fridge door (empty; all the food died yesterday at the latest), I thought, oh crap, I left a flashlight on. Then I thought, that’s too bright for a flashlight; the sun must be shining in the window at that point. But it was too bright and the wrong color light for the sun. Yep, the fridge was back on, trying to cool all outdoors.

The IWS was really bad. Today I went out looking for a computer and a connection (and a few necessary things)… no luck. The drive was the most dangerous thing I’ve personally encountered since the storm, thanks to dead traffic signals and unsurprisingly crazy Houston drivers.

Thanks, Bryan, for helping to let people know we were all safe. I’ll write up the whole thing in a couple of hours on the YDD. I’m glad y’all didn’t get hit with this, but I admit I’m sorry anyone had to suffer it. I look at pics of those coastal towns we go to for recreation, and it just makes me cry.

the dog’s formerly early morning walk today was an early morning mad dash instead — yay! somebody turned the ac back on!