Ike

I've been a little mentally consumed with Hurricane Ike, since they are now predicting a direct hit on Galveston and Houston. I am praying that Ike will dissipate as it draws near to land - but as I've been watching the Houston news (online) there is already parts of Galveston under feet of water. I've been watching the aerial tour of Galveston and my heart is heavy for the TX Gulf Coast. Both Allyson and Lauren were born in Galveston, so there is a lot of sentimental attachment to that town for me. I also know that none of our friends are planning to evacuate (probably because when everyone evacuated during hurricane rita people got stuck in vehicles for 20+ hours) so my prayer is for their safety and that the winds drop below 80 mph (hurricane force) by the time they reach Alvin, Pearland and Friendswood. Just as concerning is the storm surge, which I pray doesn't reach as far inland as all the "hurricane storm surge models" predict they will. Our thoughts and prayers are constantly being lifted up for everyone down there.

Some Thoughts about 9-11 and Hurricane Ike

First off, Hurricane Ike is sitting in the gulf right now gaining some strength as it heads for the Texas Gulf Coast. I lived in Houston for 5 years and love the area. I am pretty nervous for all the friends we have in the area. To all the Bruner family friends in Pearland, Friendswood, Alvin, etc. we are praying for you and your homes. You are welcome to come up to the Rocky Mountains and hand out in ugly old Colorado if you want.

Second, today is 9-11 and I was remembering what this day was like 7 years ago.
- Amy's birthday is the 9th and I had bought her a plane ticket to Orlando to see her best friend. She was scheduled to fly home late Tuesday morning on Sep. 11.
- We lived in a huge house that we shared with Andrew and Aimee Jo Martin and Ryan Peters. I can't speak for Ryan, but I know Andrew and I didn't have class on Tuesdays, so we had stayed up past 5 AM that morning playing Playstation 2.
- I had taken 3 benadryl at 5 whatever in the morning - and that stuff knocks me out.
- Sometime around 8 AM, Andrew tried to wake me up, but that didn't work to well. Also, Amy's mom and some co-workers kept calling me to see if Amy was okay (I obviously didn't know what was going on, I just kept saying - "ya she's fine." hanging up and going back to sleep.) Amy called eventually to let me know she was fine and told me what had happened in New York.
- I'm pretty sure all we did the rest of the day was watch the news.
- Amy finally got to fly home about a week later!
- Such a crazy day, seeing both ends of the spectrum of what humans are capable of, the evil intentions of the terrorists and the heroism and valor of the NYFD and NYPD and various others sacrificing themselves for others.