Sixty Hours

Ike passed through us early Saturday morning.Our power went off at 4:00 AM Saturday.It came back on at 4:00 PM Monday.We've lost some shingles and there's a crap-load of stuff that needs to be cleaned up but we're safe, my car is unharmed, and my apartment didn't sustain any damage.

We're damn, damn lucky.

It's scary as hell to be huddled on your living room floor (because there's a large window in your bedroom that makes you feel vulnerable) in the pitch-black listening to the wind howl by and stuff hit your windows and front door.

Fortunately JT had an old tape walkman that played AM and FM radio. We hooked up an old set of computer speakers to it and it has been our saving grace during the storm and afterwards.

The cold front that came through and dumped more rain on Saturday night/Sunday morning didn't help anything, either.

After two days stuck inside, I forced JT to ride with me around the block. Let me just say that
there's only so much you can learn about destruction from radio broadcasts. We kept assuming that since we live north of the island, we were spared from a lot of the damage. We were wrong. I've seen entire trees uprooted, large limbs spanning the width of roads, a roof caved in, and downed power poles. Now that the power's on, we're getting to see images from the hardest-hit areas.

Let me say again: we're damn, damn lucky.

When the power first went off, we joked about the first three things we'd do when it came back on. My list has changed several times since then. Here's what it is now: Make a huge-ass rum and coke, check my e-mail while watching t.v., and then take my first shower since Thursday night. I've got two out of three done -- am off to do the third now.

My heart goes out to the people who have lost their homes and to the few who have lost their lives. Now that I've had the chance to take care of my house and family, I'm ready to get out there and help. People are complaining about FEMA dropping the ball. Who needs FEMA? Texans can take care of Texans and we'll prove it. You'll see. We're already doing it.