Inside Ike

Shortly after my last post from Houston last Saturday we lost power. It was around midnight, so Mom and I got out our flashlights and lit a few candles. After a while we clicked on the battery powered television and continued to watch the eye of Hurricane Ike make landfall on Galveston island sixty miles south east of us.

Throughout the night we would look out the windows at the dancing trees and listen to the wind make the chimney hoot like a giant Coke bottle. Every so often the weather stripping beneath the back door would vibrate as the air was sucked out of the house. It made a startling reedy sound like a bass clarinet.

By three or four in the morning the winds were at their peak. I ventured onto the front and back porches and was struck by the loudness of the wind. But it was the sky that surprised me the most. The ever-present dull amber glow of the Houston sky was intermittently splashed by bursts of intense a blue-white light characteristic of electric arcs and exploding transformers. I paused to say dude, then went back inside.

By 5:30 AM the worst seemed to be passed, and we went to bed grateful that no serious damage had been done to the house. When we woke up the next day and took a look around the neighborhood, we glimpsed the damage others experienced.

But that's tomorrow's post.

From the Event Horrizon (the leading edge of Ike)

I drove to Houston today and it seemed like Christmas. It seems that much of this part of Texas has taken off from work to prepare for Hurricane Ike. The inbound roads were nearly empty, perhaps one car every mile or so. The outbound roads were full, but not gridlocked.

That's why it seemed like Christmas. It was apparent that most of the businesses and restaurants were closed, and the lack of traffic and day-to-day activity is only like this on major holidays.

The power has gone on and off about a half a dozen times so far. The eye has still not made landfall, and we haven't even seen any rain yet. But the winds have been gusty (between 40-55 mph so far) and the trees have been falling across power lines somewhere, presumably. Here at Mom's house, we have a bunch of candles and flashlights, fresh batteries for a little TV/radio, and a bath tub full of water.

We went driving around during one of the more prolonged power outages of an hour or so. People by the dozens were outside throwing footballs, playing cards, or sitting in plastic chairs. It seems everyone was just waiting for the storm, and when the power is out you might as well go outside. It was a bit like a big party. Mom and I went by my father and step mother's house (two blocks away) and went in to visit for a while. It was good to see them, since I have not seen them since we got back from Honduras.

Since the storm is supposed to be at its worst overnight, we plan to stay up pretty late. In preparation, we took a nap this afternoon. As usual, when I travel I bring my CPAP machine to help me with my sleep apnea. It fits with straps over my face and blows a Constant Positive Air Pressure in my nose as I sleep. Sound bothersome? Not really. You get used to it. Anyway, when the power goes off while you're sleeping with it, it's as if someone suddenly put a pillow over your face. You wake up quickly!

More later, as long as the power stays on...

Heading to H-town (H is for Hurricane)

It looks like our buddy Hurricane Ike, or "HI" as I like to call him, is heading directly for Galveston and Houston in an apparent effort to drive up the price of oil. I have been watching the news and looking at satellite images; it promises to be a pretty big storm. Yet, after the massive gridlock evacuation attempt before Hurricane Rita, the authorities in Houston are recommending people not evacuate.

So, after speaking to my mother today, I decided to go down to Houston and ride the storm out with her! I asked a couple of other professors to cover my classes, and after driving through rivers in Honduras I'm brimming with over-confidence in my ability to drive in high water (in a minivan?). I'm getting my camping lantern and borrowing Jono's LED headlamp. I'm filling the ice chest with ice which is in short supply in H-town. I'm grabbing the floaty noodles and rubber torpedoes. And I'm putting fresh batteries... in my camera!

Does this sound crazy to you? Am I nuts?

Or am I just desperate for blog fodder?? Check back soon to find out...

Any Way the Wind Blows

Looks like hurricane Ike may be headed to Houston. This is alarming since I have family there. My mother, in fact, was scheduled to come visit us this weekend, but has decided to stay home and monitor her house and cats. I doubt she will receive anything worse than a broken window or a few missing shingles, but we'll see. My father, step-mother, and several in-laws and friends also live there, so I will be watching the storm carefully.

I haven't been able to blog as frequently as I had been, because since I've been back in the states, I have been so busy with school, kids, scouts, the house, and lifegroup, that I am wiped. Also, after Honduras, my life in Central Texas seems a little tame...

The Shack - loved it

I finished reading "The Shack" today. Wow, it was powerful. I loved it. It was deep, and moving, and funny, and comforting. It made me long to know God in a deeper way. Here is my version of a "back cover" review.

A father, after loosing his little girl horribly and tragically, lives for years with pain and bitterness. On the three year anniversary of her disappearance and murder, he returns to the scene of the crime after receiving a mysterious note in his mailbox. Is the note a prank? Is it from the killer, still at large? Is it from God?

He goes there alone, to the isolated shack in the Oregon wilderness, to find out who sent him the note. He intends to confront his daughter's killer with a borrowed pistol, or if the note is indeed from God, to accuse him of passivity and demand answers for his pain. What he finds is the last thing he expected. God is there, but he is a "large beaming African-American woman" who smells like flowers and loves to cook.

If you read it or have read it, I would love to know what you think or thought.