Hurricane Rita update

I've been having a wonderful time in Banff, I drove out to Lake Louise yesterday, and took the scenic Bow Valley trail back. Today I went into Banff town centre (it's Canada, after all) and did some shopping. I think that Banff National Park has supplanted the Monterrey Peninsula as the most beautiful place I have ever been, and I've been on six continents.

I still don't know if anything happened to my house. I have a neighbor who I asked to give me a call if something bad happens in the neighborhood, but I don't want to bother them if there isn't anything big. I'm going to fly back tomorrow, getting in around 6:00 pm. I'm worried about the drive back from the airport, and whether we have power back at the house. My office will be closed again on Monday, but I've been away for nine days, now, and I'm ready to go home.

I have both homeowners and flood insurance, so everything I have should be covered. Worst case, I have some trees down. I don't think that most folks in Houston will have had any major problems, but I know some people in Beaumont/Port Arthur and western Louisiana. I hope everything is okay for them.

Everywhere has some threat from natural forces, whether it's earthquakes, tornadoes, blizzards, mudslides, flooding, tsunamis, volcanoes, or something else. Houston's threats are hurricanes and humidity. It's frustrating to me when everyone tries to put the blame on someone; local politicians, public service groups, FEMA, or even the President. Society demands a fall-guy for every disaster, man-made or natural. I doubt that any city would have done any better than New Orleans before Katrina revealed some of the weaknesses in our systems. Imagine a city like Los Angeles or Chicago trying to evacuate completely in a matter of a couple of days. Houston did a magnificent job, but clearly there are some problems to be corrected. I think people need to take charge of their own lives, and not expect the government to hold their hands. My brother left Thursday morning, gassed up before he left for Austin, and didn't have too much trouble getting there. The people who waited until the last minute, for whatever reason, were the ones who ran out of gas on the freeways. The down side of the near miss is that next time, less people will evacuate, especially if it's not directly headed for Houston, and that will be the one that causes all the destruction.

Late.