Alma Made It To Safe Harbor From Hurricane Ike

I got word from Alma, the Port Aransas songbird, that she made it to safety. She does not have access to a computer, yet. When she does she'll share the details of being an evacuee.

Matt Damon Opines About Sarah Palin

Hurricane Ike Has Arrived In Fort Worth

That's the view from my window this morning. We are not going to get a direct visit from Hurricane Ike here in Fort Worth. But his outskirts are already touching us.

I was swimming this morning about 8 and could see the clouds moving in the direction Ike was rotating. So, I assumed it was the outer edge of the hurricane.

After about 20 minutes of swimming it suddenly got a bit windy. And then with no pre-warning drips, a downpour started. Two hours later the rain has slowed, but the winds have picked up.

I believe it is several hours before the remains of Hurricane Ike get this far north. Watching TV a bit ago, Ike hasn't really totally moved out of Galveston and Houston yet.

It should be an interesting day.

Texas Headache Cure

I used to get headaches all the time. It impacted my ability to enjoy most anything. I was either worried I'd get a headache. Or I'd get a headache.

Going to any family thing was a guaranteed headache.

I recollect going to the Western Washington State Fair, knows as "The Puyallup", only once, without getting a headache.

I remember going to the Vancouver World's Fair back in 1986, twice, both times getting memorably horrible headaches. I remember one of them was so bad my eyes felt like they were bleeding and I got lost heading back to the border. If you've ever tried to find the U.S. border after midnight on the Canadian roads you know it's a living hell and could give you a headache if you didn't already have one.

I took my oldest nephews to Vegas the summer before I moved to Texas. The first 2 days I had a splitting headache.

The first 2 days of any road trip I would always get a splitting painful throbbing headache.

Even Chinese food used to give me a headache. But I think that was MSG caused, before that stuff ceased being used.

And then I moved to Texas. I did not get a headache on the first 2 days of the 6 day move to Texas.

I don't recollect having a headache the entire time I've been in Texas. But then my memory can be a bit faulty.

The only time I do remember a Texas-related headache was in early August of 2001 when I drove myself back to Washington. I had a headache by the time I was out of Texas. That first night, in Pueblo, Colorado, I thought my head was going to explode. When I woke up the next morning, the headache had not gone away. It stayed with me all that next day until the part of Wyoming where you enter Utah and you drop elevation thousands of feet into the Salt Lake basin. Suddenly I was headache free.

Was that headache related somehow to knowing I was heading to an event in Washington that involved the relatives and others? I don't know. I suspect not, because I saw the relatives and others up in Washington in the past month or so. And they provided plenty of headache material, but I did not get one, not a single headache. Painful memories. Yes. Headaches. No.

The only thing I can think of that has cured my chronic headaches is Texas. How Texas cured my chronic headaches, I have no idea. Being able to do stuff outside year around? The extended HOT weather? More BBQ? The water? Less exposure to toxic people? I don't know. But if I had to hazard a guess, I go with the last option. It's the only clear variable that I can discern.

All I know for sure is life is an awful lot nicer knowing I can now do just about anything, be stuck on a plane for 6 hours, be stuck with an annoying person for days, be up in Washington for a month and not get a headache.

It's a miracle. Thank you Texas. I'm forever grateful.

Incoming Goofy George From A Goofy Georgian

The Georgia Magnolia known as Lauri the Chippy sent me an amusing video that made me wonder how anyone can think Sarah Palin isn't qualified to be president if this goober was. For 8 years....

Help Cuba Recover From Hurricane Ike

I was appalled to read this morning that the U.S. offered the Cubans a paltry $100,000 to help with their Ike aftermath. And to send in some damage assessment teams.

The Cubans said no thanks to the money and that they had the damage assessment under control.

But the Cubans politely asked, would you pretty please lift the trade restrictions so that we can buy lumber and other building supplies? And if you could also pretty please sell us some food supplies, on credit, that would also be helpful.

Our benevolent government said no to the Cuban plea.

We've had Cuba under an embargo for decades now. To what purpose? The Soviet Union is gone. Cuba no longer has a communist patron. China is still, supposedly, communist, be we trade with them like maniacs. And China has nukes. And an awful lot of Chinese. Cuba is just a little island that drives around in American cars from the 50s.

Cuba poses no threat to America. America does pose a threat to Cuba.

I think it's time to be good neighbors and even though we don't like our neighbor's way of doing things, they are still our neighbors. And they need help. And if we help our neighbors it is more likely we'll get them to think of us more kindly and be more open to our suggestions as to how they run their house, than if we treat them like the bad neighbors from hell.

Yes, I know the anti-Castro Cuban-Americans in Florida would go all ballistic if the U.S. suddenly adopted a more enlightened policy towards our communist neighbor.

But. It's the right thing to do. Any country that gave us Ricky Ricardo, I want to be friends with.

Below is video of what Cuba just went through with Hurricane Ike. I wonder if Cuba will offer to send in a damage assessment team tomorow to Texas? And $100,000.

Hurricane Ike Hitting Galveston Hard

That's the view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony at about 3 pm here in Fort Worth. While watching the news about Hurricane Ike while I had lunch I heard a Fort Worth weather guy say the clouds we are seeing are Ike related, pushed ahead of the storm.

Twelve hours before Ike is expected to hit Galveston the storm surge is so strong and the waves so big that they are already over the seawall. And I was surprised to see Geraldo Rivera knocked down, so early into the storm, into what he described as very dirty water. Emergency workers helped Geraldo get upright. He assured them he was okay.

I've been to Galveston once. Loved it. But I was surprised to see so many structures built out over the water. I assumed, even though some of them looked a bit rickety, that they were built to withstand a hurricane. As usual, I was wrong.

Even before Hurricane Ike has officially arrived in Galveston damage is already being done. The pier to the fishing pier/beer bar you see in the photo has already been wiped out. Or so it appeared from what I was being shown on FOX NEWS.

I thought the seawall was supposed to protect Galveston from a repeat of the hurricane disaster of 1900. Maybe it will. But it doesn't look good with water already surging over the wall. That's the Galveston seawall on the right.

To see photos from my one and only trip to Galveston and some of the other structures built out over the water and now in danger, go here.

Hurricane Ike 11:22 AM CDT Weather Service North Texas Update

It's 1pm. It's getting a bit cloudy and windy. I've no idea if it is Hurricane Ike related. That map on the left shows the latest National Weather Service prediction of the areas of Texas that Ike will be felt.

The red zone is the Hurricane Advisory zone, the yellow is Non-Participatory zone, whatever that means. Dark green is a Flood Warning zone, light green means a Flood Watch.

Dallas/Fort Worth is in the red Hurricane Advisory zone. I've never been in a Hurricane Advisory zone before, that I know of.

Here's the latest Hurricane Ike warning from the National Weather Service....

TROPICAL STORM WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO 1 AM CDT SUNDAY UNTIL 5:45PM CDT

Hurricane Ike Local Statement... Corrected National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 1124 AM CDT Fri Sep 12 2008

Tropical Storm Wind Warning In Effect From 6 AM Saturday To 1 AM CDT Sunday...

... New Information...

Tropical Storm Wind Warning Issued For Areas Along And East Of A Bowie To Gatesville Line.

... Watches/Warnings...

A Flash Flood Watch Is In Effect Along And East Of Interstate 35 For Saturday And Sunday.

... Precautionary/Preparedness Actions...

Due To The Windy Conditions Expected... Light-Weight Objects Such As Trash Cans And Lawn Chairs Should Be Secured... As They Can Easily Become Projectiles In High Winds. Power Outages May Be Possible... So Have Flashlights... Batteries... A Full Tank Of Gas... Cash... Bottled Water And Non-Perishable Foods On Hand Just In Case.

... Winds...

Sustained Winds From 35 To 45 Mph With Gusts To 55 Mph Will Be Possible Saturday. ... Inland Flooding... Storm Total Amounts Will Range From 1 To 2 Inches Outside Of The Watch Area... With 2 To 4 Inches Possible Within The Flash Flood Watch.

Mount Rainier National Park

Yesterday I finally got around to webpaging my August 11 trip to Mount Rainier National Park where for the first time in my life, after many visits, I actually got to see The Mountain up close.

I'd blogged about this late last month after I got safely back here to Texas and had gotten around to making a video. That video and the blogging discusses my near death experience at Mount Rainier that day.

Go here to see yesterday's new webpage with new photos of Mount Rainier National Park.

Unlike here in Texas, when you are at Mount Rainier you don't have to worry about incoming hurricanes. You just need to concern yourself with possibly exploding volcanoes and know the Volcano Eruption Escape Routes. Make sure you don't escape to a saltwater beach. If a volcano erupts there could be an incoming Tsunami. If you are at a beach, make note of the Tsunami Escape Routes. You'll see the signs posted. Just like they are for the Volcano Eruption Escape Routes.

Friday Morning Hurricane Ike Update From Alma In Port Aransas

Hurricane Ike is expected to hit land by late today or early Saturday morning. We are expected to have heavy winds and rain here in the D/FW zone by around noon.

Meanwhile, this morning I got a fresh update from Alma down in Port Aransas on the Texas Gulf Coast, on her preparations to deal with the incoming storm surge.

Alma's email.....

Hey there friends....

I just woke up. I was watching Lettermen interview Jessica Simpson (I like her. I don't care for her singing, but I think she gets a bad rap) when they cut in with an update. They scared me pretty good with this storm surge talk. So, there I was in the middle of the night putting my XP desktop and PA in the car and rearranging the clothes already in there from doing laundry yesterday. It was hard to fall asleep as my brain wouldn't stop and part of me is in fear for my life and part of me is in denial. YOU try to sleep with that in your brain!

I didn't sleep well. This morning at 8am, I woke up. I feel like crap. Tired. Sick. I need caffiene. I walked outside to see who was gone. All my neighbors are still here, probably sleeping soundly. I called a Stripes store to see which, if any were open. Someone answered! I thought everyone would be closed and gone. She calmly explained to me (like I was retarded) that the storm is not hitting here. They will have some high tides and dinky tropical storm winds but we are OK. We get tropical storm winds with just a normal thunderstorm. And folks, we do. The thunderstorms here sound like the end of the world. I've been thru some on North Beach (on the north side of the Harbor Bridge where I usta live) where we got 14 inches of rain and I had to wade to my car in knee deep water after a "thunderstorm". I will be heading there to a Stripes to get a much needed Vanilla Frappacino (my big weakness and indulgence - and substitute for booze) so I can think and wake up and get on with my preparations.

I don't want to be sitting here alone with my boyz freaking out in fear as the storm howls and I breath in uncertainty whether this little shack will hold up or not. I wish I could be as cavalier as my neighbors, but I just cain't.

Things I'm taking -

Papers like my birth certificate
My songbooks
the PA
my XP desktop and printer
Data CDs with valuable information
My guitar
My boyz (I can't find Selena)
Clothes
The Cheese and Meat in my ice chest (I will add water and maybe a coupla Fraps, a coupla burritos))
My laptop
Dog Crate and the Sherpa for Papi Chulo (he'll probably be in my lap, he scares easy because he's so tiny)
My backpack (already has stuff like driver's license, my Disaster Card so I can get back into town)
A bit of dog food
And that's about it....

I will unplug eveything. Turn off the AC. Leave the TV. Tape shut all the rubbermaid containers filled with stuff. Shower and pack the bathroom stuff. Turn off all the lights. Put Gorilla tape along the lower half of the windows (OK..that's just to make me feel better). Our drains on Oleander drain to the Bay, so conversely, I think water will be pushed back up those drains as the path of least resistence to the sea and flood us that way - that's just my thinking. The "locals" are not leaving the Island. I feel like I'm overreacting but I'm scared. I told my sister I will be outa here by 2pm. I will try to take the Ferry if they are still going. It's the fastest way to the mainland. I feel the irritable bowel kicking in. My boys are blessedly calm and sleeping right now. They normally sleep when I am at work and this is when i am normally at work I haven't seen anything on TV yet and I'm glad. Sometimes I think they like to scare us. Why are the Island people so damn calm?

I will bring everything in from the outside and stack it on top of the containers. My porch will be bare bones. This is the porch with the heavenly seabreeze. I never did get to sit out there and chill with a beer.

I have been living here since 05-27-08. Almost 4 months. I drove by Sips and they are all boarded up. Oceans of Seafood is boarded up across the street. Sips is right on the Marina. Maybe 100 feet from water. I will drive down Beach Street right after my Frap and see where the sea is now. I promise I will not set a tire on wet sand.

Well, that's all I can think of at this time. I won't write again until I am on the mainland at my sister's. I have to unplug everything and pack up the modem, etc.

I feel very nervous and still can't quite believe this is happening tho I've been writing about it for a coupla days now.

More later cuz this ain't over.

love,
alma