Do you believe in miracles?

(UPDATE, FEBRUARY 26, 2009:oops, I guess I shouldn't have deleted those pictures from photobucket, huh? But read anyway if you hadn't, the full meaning of this blog is in the story near the end)

I know I’ve talked a lot about Hurricane Ike but could you please indulge me one more time? To set up this story, I need to show you a few more pictures of the damage from the storm. Please read to the end. Thank you. Unless specified, all pictures are of Galveston.

Here’s the hurricane as it approaches. Yes, the house burned to the ground, no way to get to it. Besides, in all likelihood this house wouldn’t have survived anyway.




Here’s a shrimp boat in Louisiana that was tossed several feet across the highway.



A truck completely turned over and submerged.



A submerged cemetery.



Here’s a neighborhood in Clear Creek Channel, on the Bolivar Peninsula on Galveston Island, overcome by the gulf.



A road in Bridge High Island, Galveston, that was completely destroyed.



So much sand brought up by the storm that it entombed cars. This is in Gilchrist, another town on the Bolivar Peninsula.




And let’s not forget Winnie, Texas.



But the most astonishing is this picture of a barge that was lifted and tossed 6 miles from its berth in Port Arthur, Texas.



I’m showing you these to give you an idea (if you didn’t already have one) of the sheer force of the winds and power of Hurricane Ike. If it could do this to a truck, shrimp boat, town and even a barge, what could it do to a houseboat moored to a pier in a marina in Galveston?

A man went back to Galveston recently during the island’s look and leave period. Residents were allowed in for a short time during the day (the island is still locked down from dusk to dawn) to check on their homes and property. The car he rode in took him down into Galveston to the marina where his houseboat had been left. He could see other boats smashed up against the walls of nearby apartment houses or in parking lots, like this one.



As they entered the marina, he could also see that other boats were sunk, the tops barely showing above the water. His heart sunk the further they went into the marina. As they rounded a bend he couldn’t believe what he saw. Utter destruction surrounded him, and yet, there tied up to the pier, was his houseboat. Yes, no other boat around it. There was a little bit of water inside and the tarp was torn, but otherwise, his boat was fine. Everything was as he had left it on that Friday when Ike approached. His was the only boat to survive. He spent that day pumping out most of the water before he had to leave. Then the phone call to his father, his father’s phone call to me. You see, that man is my nephew and when we all had thought he had lost everything; he lost nothing except for his car. But you can get another car; you can never replace the sentimental things you own. And he lost none of it.


Yes, there are miracles.

Oh, the winner of Jill Shalvis' two Blazes Flashpoint and Flashback is

roll of drum .....

Brandy!!! You go girl!!

Thank you to everyone that entered. Thank you Yan! Please come back again. And Crystal - great to hear from you again.

See everyone on Wednesday.

My Husband made me wear a lifejacket inside our house

"My Husband made me wear a lifejacket inside our house. Thank God for that, or I wouldn't be here."




2,000 people now want off of Galveston Island, people that refused to evacuate before Hurricane Ike struck. 2,000 very lucky people. Ike was supposed to produce 50 foot waves, an event of such catostrophic proportions that those 2,000 people would have surely died. But they were saved by a miracle. At the last minute the mighty storm made a slight turn and as minute as that movement was it was enough to save their lives. Volunteers scoured the streets the next day, picking up frightened dogs and putting them in the back of pick-up trucks. Neighbors checked on neighbors, family inland worried for their loved ones. But even though Ike didn't produce the mortality rates that were expected, the utter destruction was what most experts predicted.




"I didn't consider my property beachfront property. Now it is."













I'm posting these pictures because I need for you to understand the destruction in Galveston alone, not to mention Houston (the 4th largest city in the U.S., will be closed down for days) and in Southwestern Louisiana, not to mention other parts of the Gulf coast. I need you to know this because I'm going to ask you to do something. The American Red Cross' General Fund is depleted. Hurricane's Gustav and Hanna, plus the tragic collision between a commuter train and a freighter in California, has bled them dry. Could you please, even just a little bit, consider giving to the Red Cross. Thank you.




Houston

American Red Cross

Spam got blown away

Sorry, but as I sat down tonight (this is Thursday evening you know) I really tried to be funny, but I couldn't do it. Not just because today was September 11, but the thought of being funny while my nephew works his way north and out of Ike's reach didn't seem right. Poor Dave. He'll lose everything - if he doesn't it will be a miracle. As I mentioned when Gustav was approaching, he lives on a houseboat in Galveston. A houseboat that he couldn't take out of the water and store somewhere. A houseboat that he had to leave moored at the dock, vulnerable to the furry of what is now a category 2 hurricane. We all know what will win that fight. And knowing Dave like I do, I doubt that he made enough money to carry insurance.

As for us, we're definitely getting rain this time. How much depends upon just where it lands, and how it turns once it does. From what I understand (and remember, another 24 hours until landfall, a lot can change) we'll either get severe storms, tropical storm winds, flooding and tornadoes OR we'll get severe storms (but not as much rain), strong winds and flooding.

And today, September 11. I get real contemplative on this day. I remember where I was, and I remember mother. Sometimes it's like it was yesterday, other times a distant memory.

Oh, the book. I drew names and the winner is Tori!!!!! I'll double check that address with you.

I'm going to leave you now with a little 9/11 tribute. Stay safe, stay well and if you do something interesting take notes - you know I live vicariously through you.