Hurricane Ike

I just got up at 6:00 am on Saturday morning to check on Hurricane Ike and its impact on my folks in Texas.

It looks like they have been spared any nasty bits of this storm. Here is the Houston radar right now. It looks like Ike is smashing into Houston awfully hard. I would SO not want to be in downtown Houston right now.
See Victoria down there to the southwest? That's where my folks are.
They really were spared the brunt of the storm even though it looked pretty bad for them a couple of days ago.

I remained in constant phone contact with Mom and Dad. They are probably relieved that Ike bypassed them just so I would stop bugging them:


Bottom line: I'm really glad the hurricane bypassed my loved ones and that none of them had to deal with the ordeal of evacuating. Two days ago, it looked like they were facing a direct hit.

Evacuating for a hurricane is traumatic in itself.
All the highways are inundated and you never know when you're going to be faced with a five-hour roadblock, or worse.

You never know when or if you'll be able to fill up your car with gas.

I cannot imagine the trauma of doing this with little ones and/or pets.

Here's what really makes me angry. . .

These news reporters who plant themselves on beaches just before the hurricane arrives. They stand there in hurricane-force winds with torrential seas billowing against them and scream into the microphone to Anderson Cooper:

"Anderson, there are still residents who refuse to leave Galveston even though authorities have issued mandatory evacuation warnings!! These residents are taking their lives into their own hands!!! Anderson? Can you hear me??

And I want to scream: "Why the hell don't you set an example, you stupid idiot?"
Wouldn't they be a better reporter and set an example by reporting this from a safe distance?

Wouldn't it be more beneficial if they were in, say, Abilene Texas?

But no. They all want to get that "money shot" of reporting in the midst of a category 5 hurricane. . . All for money. . .

I'd much rather hear a reporter say,

"Anderson, the Texas coast is about to be totally annihilated so we heeded local warnings and remained an incredibly safe distance from certain disaster. . .All is well here. . . Back to you from Des Moines South Dakota! "

That's the kind of hurricane weather reporting we ought to be hearing!

In the meantime, send lots of emails to Anderson Cooper telling him to put a stop to all this nonsense.

Tell him I said so.

He can call me to verify that.