An Attitude of Gratitude after Hurricane Ike

A week ago, Hurricane Ike was bearing down on the Texas Coast. Satellite images showed a tempest larger than the State of Texas...in fact, Ike was as large as the entire Gulf of Mexico (approx. 615,000 square miles). It was the size (about 70% larger than "average") of Ike rather than it's strength that created a situation ripe for dangerous waves and flooding in low lying areas.

Friends living in the area were evacuating and protecting their property to weather the storm. And I'm grateful to report that all of them survived with repairable damage, although most are still without electricity. Sadly, a relative of one friend lost her home due to a large tree falling into it, but she survived because she was riding out the storm with a neighbor.

I'm grateful for the "cool" front that blew into Texas alleviating the humidity and heat for those surviving without electricity.

I'm grateful for all of the first responders who have worked tirelessly to rescue and assist others, cleaning debris, repairing power lines and infrastructure while their own homes and families struggled to overcome without them.

I'm grateful that lives were saved because so many people evacuated.

I'm grateful for the Houston area media that kept live feeds going 24 hours a day so folks in the area and around the world could see what was happening, as it happened. And they continue to chronicle the aftermath, reporting on what is being done and where help is still needed.

I'm also grateful for all the memories I have of visits to Galveston Island over the years. The first time my son dipped his toes into the Sea was in the waters off Galveston Beach.

And just last October we went shelling underneath the pilings of Murdoch's Bath House and the Balinese Room....so much history now washed away by the maelstrom.

Deep in the South of Texas

not so long ago,
there on a crowded island
in the Gulf of Mexico.
It didn't take too much money,
man, but it sure was nice.
You could dance all night if you felt all right,

drinking whiskey and throwing dice.
And everybody knows
it was hard to leave.
And everybody knows
it was down at the Balinese.

~ZZ Top, "Balinese" from Fandango

And lest we not forget, the Memorial to those lost in the Great Storm of 1900 withstood the crashing waves of Hurricane Ike; again representing strength in survival.