Nobody Panic

I feel very lucky right now. Our house is fine. Other than a large branch from the tree in our yard and little water that came in the house, we have no damage. None. Despite the 110 mile per hour winds that we know must have come through our neighborhood and the fact that the eye passed over our little house, everything is fine. M went to Clear Lake today with our fellow evacuee, Tom, and assessed the damage. This was the first thing M saw as he walked in the back yard:




The chimney was there. We were expecting to see it in the yard.



We were very worried about our large maple tree and it did suffer some damage. A large branch on the top snapped off and fell down through the tree. Luckily, it fell in between the back of our house and the back of our neighbor's house. This was is a really large branch and would have done substantial damage if it hit the roof.





My office is ok:



The favorite hangout of many space center employees is ok:



M even found a really pissed off cicada who was probably wondering what the hell happened.



Others we know were not as lucky. One friend, who was not in an evacuation zone, had part of his roof collapse while he was in the house with his family. My friend Dom, who is my cooking blog partner, stayed behind. He is a volunteer fireman on the side and stayed in Seabrook, which you probably saw on the news. His house has two or three feet of water in it, but he hasn't even been there yet because he is rescuing people who are trapped. He always puts others first.

People have started going home, but there is no gas, no power, and the temperature is not forgiving. The aftermath is the real misery. My deepest sympathies go out to the people who have had damage in their homes, or who have to return to their homes because they don't have a long-term evacuation possibility. I want to go back, but without a/c I can't possibly bring Luke. It's fine here at my parents, though. Since we are on the same grid as the space center, I am hoping that we will have power again soon. I have a feeling we will be helping our less fortunate friends with their clean-up.

Obviously, the Houston walkers for the Liz Goodman Logelin 5k are going to change their location. Kemah is under water and will likely stay that way for a while. If you have power and can read this, please gather who you can and walk where you are. There has been a paypal account set up for optional donations, so check Matt's blog in the next few days for the details.

Thank you so much for all of your kind comments. Please keep your good thoughts and prayers coming for those who will be rebuilding. Now I am going to think about how lucky I am.