"Honey Turn Your 6 Beam On"
This story has come up several times in the last couple of weeks -- guess it just needs to be told. All things considered, my family was inordinately blessed during Hurricane Ike. We were all able to gather here at our house and we good- naturedly "hunkered down" and rode out the storm -- everyone "first-timers" in a hurricane except for me! -- like coastal natives. When daylight broke the morning after we quickly assessed our damage was VERY superficial -- some shingles gone off of the new tool shed and a few sections of wood fencing downed. Most of our immediate neighbors fared pretty well but a few had considerable damage. When we finally emerged from our neighborhood we saw the damage was catastrophic in places and right next door or across the street NOTHING. That is the fickleness of extreme weather. The unifying factor at THAT point was the absence of electricity! We'd finally lost power in the wee hours of Saturday, September 12 during 110 mph sustain...