Homecoming.

I am off to a Homecoming Football game. After talking to several friends and asking them what they thought about Bennett's comments and none of them having any idea of what I was talking about, I realized that we, in this weird world of politics, are the only ones who care about such things. In other words, NO ONE REALLY CARES.

There is a world out there. One with football games, movies, parks, and picnics. I suggest we stop arguing and get to it. Life, I mean.

Let's Talk About Race.

The whole thing with Bill Bennet got me to thinking that we really don't talk about race and how it affects us in today's society. I grew up around racist and prejudice people. The difference in the two were this. The racists were the ones who hated blacks and felt better thinking they were superior to them. The prejudice people (many in family included) did not hate blacks, but felt uncomfortable around them.

The difference in my childhood and my children's in that regard is night and day. I grew up hearing n**ger jokes. My children never even heard that word until they heard it in a rap song in their early teens. My youngest didn't even know the word black. A few years ago he was trying to describe a black child he knew to me and said, 'you know, he was chocolate."

It is a shame that integration (which was vital) began as the welfare state set in as well. Sometimes I feel that as a child growing up, I witnessed the doors of opportunity open up to blacks, just as the welfare state tore down the dignity of their family.

My best friend in the 5th grade was black. We never got to play at each other's house though. It just wasn't done. My daughter never thought twice about having a friend over that was black. We have come so far in so many ways and yet we have so far to go in others.

When I was young, no one I knew ever thought that a black women would be Secretary of State in our lifetime. No one thought a black man would be Secretary of Education. With education, the sky is the limit. But therein lies the problem. How do we educate children mired in a neighborhood of drugs and violence? How do we teach discipline if there is no Father to show a son his way? Or to give a daughter the confidence she needs?

With 70% or more of black children born into single mother homes, these children face hardship and poverty before they even take their first breath. This is a cycle that must be stopped. This is the root of the problem. Not only with blacks, of course. All races must learn to bring children into this world responsibly.

How do we break this cycle? I think I know. I will share that in a moment. I do know this though. It breaks my heart to see that race is used to divide us at every turn. Liberals use race to make sure they secure the votes of blacks. But in insisting on making blacks believe that they are victims of racism and having them think the President of the United States hates them (as Kanye West tells us), only causes distrust and resentment against others under a false pretense.

Are there racists? Sure. There will always be people of hate. But the majority of us, I believe, think that it is a person's character and nobility that matters, not the pigment of the skin.

Bill Cosby took a lot of heat a while back for stating the truth. Telling parents to discipline their children. To make them stop cursing and learn to speak well. Telling them to make sure their kids got an education and to not them dress or act like thugs. to stop letting their kids look up to rap stars/gangsters. To be the role model themseleves. It's hard to face the truth sometimes. Because we then have to face our mistakes.

The answer is simple really. It's all about the family. Children, of all colors, need structure. They NEED a Mom and a Dad. They need love and nuturing. They need someone to wake them up, fix them breakfast, and make sure they get to school. They need parents who care.

Liberals may not believe it, but marriage and parenting is at the heart of all the problems the black community faces, and increasingly in the white community as well. We have to face the fact that we were wrong as a society when we said that a single mom could do just as well as a married couple in raising a child. Every single mom will tell you that it is a hard road and when you add low income into it, it becomes a nightmare.

Fathers have got to start marrying their children's mothers and STAY MARRIED. This is the answer. And all the things we do for our kids will follow from that. Parents work together to ensure a good education, a good life at home. They monitor what the kids watch on TV and who they hang out with and what they do.

We as a society can pour all the money we want into schools, midnight basketball, after school programs, anti-drug programs, affirmative action, ect.., but it won't make a damn bit of difference if the family structure is missing.

This the truth we must face.

The Left's Smear of The Day. Nice Try.

From the Desk of William J. Bennett

September 30, 2005

"On Wednesday, a caller to my radio show proposed the idea that one good argument for the pro-life position would be that if we didn't have abortions, Social Security would be solvent. I stated my doubts about such a thesis, as well as my opposition to such a form of argument (the audio of the call is available at my Website: bennettmornings.com).

"I then stated that such extrapolations of this argument can cut both ways, and cited the current bestseller, Freakonomics, which discusses the authors' thesis that abortion reduces crime.

"Then, putting my philosophy professor's hat on, I went on to reveal the limitations of such arguments by showing the absurdity in another such argument, along the same lines. I entertained what law school professors call 'the Socratic method' and what I would hope good social science professors still use in their seminars. In so doing, I suggested a hypothetical analogy while at the same time saying the proposition I was using about blacks and abortion was 'impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible,' just to ensure those who would have any doubt about what they were hearing, or for those who tuned in to the middle of the conversation.

"The issues of crime and race have been on many people's minds, and tongues, for the past month or so--in light of the situation in New Orleans; and the issues of race, crime, and abortion are well aired and ventilated in articles, the academy, the think tank community, and public policy. Indeed the whole issue of crime and race is not new in social science, nor popular literature. One of the authors of Freakonomics, himself, had an extended exchange on the discussion of these issues on the Internet some years back--which was also much debated in the think tank community in Washington.

"A thought experiment about public policy, on national radio, should not have received the condemnations it has. Anyone paying attention to this debate should be offended by those who have selectively quoted me, distorted my meaning, and taken out of context the dialogue I engaged in this week. Such distortions from 'leaders' of organizations and parties is a disgrace not only to the organizations and institutions they serve, but to the First Amendment.

"In sum, let me reiterate what I had hoped my long career had already established: that I renounce all forms of bigotry--and that my record in trying to provide opportunities for, as well as save the lives of, minorities in this country stands up just fine."

via NRO

The very notion that Bill Bennet would say something racist is absurd to begin with. Is there no end to the left's smearing and twisting of people's words???? Just because it makes them feel better to believe that rightwingers are bigoted, doesn't make it true. Because it simply isn't. What is bigoted, imo, is to try and smear a person's good name using race just to further your political agenda. It's shameful.

So...You Want To Be A Star?

Well, it all makes sense now. We wondered why Travis County prosecutor Ronnie Earle was going after Tom Delay on such flimsy evidence. Now we know that Texas filmmakers have spent the last 2 years following around Earle for a reality film called the "Big Buy." I guess Earle needed a big gun to try and bring down to make the film "sizzle."

So this is all about Earle wanting to be a reality show star. There is always another side to the story, isn't there? Good grief. Every time I try to give Democrats the benefit of the doubt, they turn around and show me what pigs they are.

I apologize to Tom Delay. There is NOTHING you could have done that would be as wrong as this display of self promotion and sleaze.
via Byron York NRO & JunkYardBlog

I think we need a bit of fun here.

An Aggie joke. Heh.

Such compassion for the hurricane victims!

Get your free abortions here!

I must admit. It's the first time I have EVER seen abortions offered for free. Hope the picture doesn't gross you out too much. Wait...yes I do. I hope it horrifies you actually.

The Democratic nominee hopefuls for 2008 have announced!!

Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and Barak Obama!!!!

Oh wait.......

Those are the Democrats who voted no to Judge Roberts confirmation.

Oh well, same thing.

Roberts Confirmed.

This must be a heady day forJohn Roberts. One minute no one knows your name and you are a Washington lawyer and the next day you are the CHIEF JUSTICE of the Supreme Court! Wow.

Let's hope and pray that Roberts does Rehnquist proud.

VICTORY!

In a wonderful victory for the families of the victims of 9-11 and against anti-Americanism, Governor Pataki of NY has banned the Freedom Center to be built at ground zero. The museum executives have abandoned plans to build the museum elsewhere (Yay!)

It was ridiculous to ever consider building anything but a memorial to the actual events of 9-11 and nothing else.

To read more about the leftists that supported the center and get an idea of what kind of "journey to freedom" might have been displayed at ground zero had this gone through, go here.

Tom Delay And Politics As Usual.

Tom Delay's recent indictment by a Texas grand jury for allegedly conspiring to violate a Texas ban on corporate campaign contributions has delighted Democrats. Delay has been a force to be reckoned with in Texas and Washington, no doubt. The man after Delay, Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle's has long been known in this state to go after his political enemies, Republican or Democrat.

I listened to Delay's response yesterday. I could not understand the different campaign donation laws enough to surmise if he actually did anything wrong. I suppose the courts will sort that out and if he did do something illegal, then he should be punished. He says, of course, that it is a witch hunt and this same guy went after Kaye Bailey Hutchinson years ago, and failed miserably there. I have never been a big fan of Delay. I know he has done a lot for the GOP in getting Repubicans elected, but there is just something about him that doesn't sit well with me. I have no real basis for it except my gut instinct about people.

If it turns out that this is a witch hunt, then it is time to put a stop to people who go after politicians for political reasons. It is this kind of thing that keeps good people out of politics. I don't know why anyone would want to go through this kind of thing for public service. I know I wouldn't.

There will be a backlash here. This seems to be the same scenario that happens over and over. The Democrats lash out in some way and the GOP can not just let them get away with it, so they lash back. It seems we are always on the defense. The attacks seem neverending. So expect the big fight back. I have read that we can look forward to probes into finance campaign contributions for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, Democratic Congressional Committee Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), Representative William Jefferson of Louisiana, and Senator Jon Corzine of New Jersey.

Oh what fun! What a colossal waste of time and money just to prove that "everybody does it" before the 2006 elections. Is it any wonder that so many people hate politics and feel it is useless to vote?

The NY Times failed final attempt to slam John Roberts.

The New York Times was forced to publish a correction where they claimed John Roberts authored a memorandum on libel law. Since you have to be registered to see it, here is the correction:

"Judge John G. Roberts Jr., nominated to be chief justice of the United States, was not the author of an unsigned memorandum on libel law that was the focus of an article published in The New York Times yesterday. The Times erroneously attributed it to him.

Bruce Fein, a Washington lawyer who was general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission in the Reagan administration, said yesterday that he wrote the memorandum, a caustic critique of New York Times v. Sullivan, the 1964 Supreme Court decision that revolutionized American libel law, and of the role played by the press in society."

Basically the Times made a big deal out of Roberts supposedly slamming the 1964 Supreme Court decision that revolutionized American libel law, and of the role played by the press in society. The article from yesterday said the following regarding the memo that the Times was falsely attributing to Roberts:

"The critique was vigorous, brilliantly written and informed by a deep hostility toward the press,"

The article went on to print Roberts written response on that specific case to Schumer where Roberts wrote that the law,"is a precedent of the court, and I would start with it in any case implicating this area of the law."

In quoting the memo (the one actually written by Fein) went on to say that the decision was "profoundly flawed." The Times also printed this excerpt from the memo:

"by crowning the media with virtual absolute immunity for falsely assailing public officials," the Sullivan ruling "obstructs the ability of the president and other public officials to recruit talented and loyal supporters."

The Times went on to interview different legal experts about their opinion of the memo who were astonished (of course!) at Roberts supposedly wanting to relax the law that allows the press to print what they wish about public officials, even if it later turns out to be false.

In a nutshell (to me anyway) The Times was having a fit thinking that Roberts would relax a law that wouldn't allow them to go with a story about public officials that was FALSE (but they didn't KNOW it was false at the time, of course). The law gives them immunity from being sued (by having to prove malice).

The Times was trying to do two things here. First make Roberts look like he was lying to Shumer about his belief in the law as precendent. Second, to send "chills" down the spine for those who believe so deeply in "freedom of the press." They were trying to strike a big blow before the vote, in other words. You know, give some Democrats a "reason" to vote no.

It is highly ironic that the very law that the Times was having a fit about FALSELY accuses Roberts of a memo he didn't actually write.

Excuse me?

We listen for hours while Michael Brown tears up Blanco and outlines her many mistakes during the Katrina disaster and then Blanco gets a chance to defend herself and tell her side.....and she doesn't. She says to the congressional committee that she was there to talk about "job creation." Then a Congressman commends her for it!!!

I have to agree with E.D. Hill ( who I adore btw) on Fox News this morning saying that it is like being a parent and having a child tell you that your other child stole money from your wallet and when you ask your other child about it she says, "no I didn't! But I don't want to talk about it further."

I suppose she hopes this will all go away, but when the media and the Democrats spend weeks bashing Bush and FEMA for everything bad that happens and then we find out that there were numerous huge mistakes made by Blanco, I think the public deserves some answers.

Plus, the more I hear about money being wasted and spent recklessly in Louisiana, I am more and more concerned with our tax dollars flowing into Louisiana. It is VITAL to have close oversight over this money.

Caption This! has some funny war protesting pics and captions. Check it out! If you don't laugh, you will cry. Laughing is better.

Protesting...Not as it seems.

As I related in my post below. the legitimate regular folk who are anti-war might want to rethink who they are protesting with. For example, I would never protest with the KKK no matter WHAT cause we professed to have the same belief in. It just wouldn't be worth it to me.
It seems the San Francisco Chronicle printed this first photo you see at an anti-war protest in San Francisco on Sept. 24th. It was cropped to show what seems to be simply a person of color protesting the war. But a blogger (zombietime) was also at this rally taking pictures and with his photos below we get a whole different story, now don't we? We see Palestinian flags and obscene placards. The next photo shows "the woman giving directions belongs to one of the Communist groups organizing the rally -- if her t-shirt is to be believed, since it depicts the flag of Communist Vietnam, which has been frequently displayed by such groups at protest rallies in the U.S. for decades."
It is disturbing and sickening enough that a supposedly legitimate newspaper would crop a picture to give a totally false picture of the person protesting, but equally disturbing is that left leaning people with heartfelt concerns over this war are letting these types join hands with them. h/t to Jill.

Former FEMA director Michael Brown in congressional probe.....

doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. The Democrats who didn't get exactly what they wanted (an independent commission, not a congressional panel) refused to participate. Representative William Jefferson from Louisiana being the only exception.

Brown told the committee:

"that state and local governments have the primary responsibility for responding to emergencies because FEMA does not have its own police force, firefighters or search and rescue equipment.
``Emergency management begins at the local level,'' Brown said. ``FEMA is a coordinating agency.'' via Bloomberg.com

Well, I'm finally glad we finally got THAT straight. He also said he just couldn't get Blanco and Nagin to get their act together. (another startling revelation!)

One interesting thing I noted however is that Brown said that there was no state FEMA director and that the last one must have not been replaced. When asked what happened to the last one, Brown replied, "he was indicted."

Which tells you just about all you need to know about Louisiana politics.

Everything You Wanted To Know About The War Protest in Washington D.C,......

...but were afraid to ask. I mean most of us think it was just a bunch of Americans protesting the war, right? Just ordinary men and women taking advantage of our right to protest in this country.

Think again.

The NY Times, and The Seattle Times. and The Washington Post all covered the protest. Yet none of them covered the fact that the groups that largely sponsored the rally, "The Answer Coalition" and "United for Peace and Justice," had questionable connections to say the least. As Christopher Hitchens tell us:

"International ANSWER," the group run by the "Worker's World" party and fronted by Ramsey Clark, which openly supports Kim Jong-il, Fidel Castro, Slobodan Milosevic, and the "resistance" in Afghanistan and Iraq, with Clark himself finding extra time to volunteer as attorney for the génocidaires in Rwanda. " In other words, asHitchensn puts it, International ANSWER is a front for "(depending on the day of the week) fascism, Stalinism, and jihadism."

Hitchens as this on United for Peace and Justice:

"The group self-lovingly calling itself "United for Peace and Justice" is by no means "narrow" in its "antiwar focus" but rather represents a very extended alliance between the Old and the New Left, some of it honorable and some of it redolent of the World Youth Congresses that used to bring credulous priests and fellow-traveling hacks together to discuss "peace" in East Berlin or Bucharest. Just to give you an example, from one who knows the sectarian makeup of the Left very well, I can tell you that the Worker's World Party—Ramsey Clark's core outfit—is the product of a split within the Trotskyist movement. These were the ones who felt that the Trotskyist majority, in 1956, was wrong to denounce the Russian invasion of Hungary. The WWP is the direct, lineal product of that depraved rump. If the "United for Peace and Justice" lot want to sink their differences with such riffraff and mount a joint demonstration, then they invite some principled political criticism on their own account."

Hitchens goes on to explain how these groups are not really anti-war as much as anti-this war.
Read the whole thing. I honestly don't know what we would do without Christopher Hitchens to guide us through international groups we are not familiar with. And believe me when I say I never thought I would ever say that.

The thing I want the left who read my blog to consider, is that THIS is the kind of people marching at Washington D.C., so you might want to watch the company you keep.

After the Storm......

Ok, I am trying to get up to speed here. Here are the most mind boggling things I have found so far:

rita (4.00 / 2)
i am watching cnn and it is 100 percent rita...even though it is a little wind and a little rain...it is bad, but there are other things going on in this country today...and in the world!!!!
by CindySheehan on Sat Sep 24th, 2005 at 06:29:15 PDT via LGF

Whaatttt???? I shake my head in wonder. Just a bit of wind and rain, that's all. GEEZE!!!! Did ya''ll see Cindy being happily (practically giddy, no lie) carried out by police from her protest? I guess she figured this way she was SURE to overtake the coverage of the 2 biggest hurricanes to hit th U.S. in recent history. I mean, come on...what's more important here???

Next we have this:

"The New Orleans Times-Picayune on Monday described inflated body counts, unverified "rapes," and unconfirmed sniper attacks as among examples of "scores of myths about the dome and Convention Center treated as fact by evacuees, the media and even some of New Orleans' top officials."Indeed, Mayor C. Ray Nagin told a national television audience on "Oprah" three weeks ago of people "in that frickin' Superdome for five days watching dead bodies, watching hooligans killing people, raping people." via latimes.com

The overwhelming desire of the media to overplay and over dramatize a already hugely dramatic story was pathetic and all in the msm should be ashamed.

And then we have this:

Dan Rather whines about bloggers who unraveled the "memogate" story:

"There are other bloggers, and I'll go ahead and say it, that some of the quote, 'mainstream press' seemed to take, if not delight in our dilemma, uh, they picked up pretty quickly on those bloggers who were partisan politically affiliated and/or had ideological axe to grind with us," Rather said."And instead of saying, well they've raised these questions, for example, about the documents, are these questions true? Next thing I know, they were in mainstream newspapers, and away it went."

Let me get this straight. He is mad because MSM newspapers went with a PROVEN story of faked documents during a presidential election???? What is the world coming to?? via newsbusters

Next:

Remember when the Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper called Jefferson Parish, LA president Aaron Broussard's tearful outburst, shown September 4th on Meet the Press, "One of the defining media moments of all the hurricane [Katrina] coverage?" Remember how it turned out to be all an emotional lie? Just an easy way to make the government look bad and Bush look worse.

Crooks and Liars makes the argument that Russert re-interviewed Broussard and demanded the truth to appease the rightwing. Which is such a joke!! Like Russert would EVER do anything to appease the right. This guy gets out of bed every morning on the left side, if you know what I mean. He does do a better job than most left leaning journalists to report fairly though, which is why he was so ticked off about the Broussard lie.

Crooks and Liars thinks it is "insensitive" and "callous" to DARE to fact check during a catastrophe. PLEASE! When the left is doing everything in it's power to lay blame at Bush's feet instead of the local (Democrat) government, where most of the blame does lie, then your damn straight we are going to fact check it. Especially when it is deemed "The defining moment" of the the Hurricane.

Do I think this man just made a mistake in the emotional horror he was experiencing? Yes. Do I think he was using it for poltitical purposes? No. Do I think the leftwing media used it as such? You're damned right they did. And we just aren't going to let them get away with it anymore.

Let me tell you what went right in Hurricane Rita. When the local government said to get the hell out, WE DID. Do you not think there would have been massive amounts of injury and death if we hadn't? The lower half of Louisiana was practically empty, where most of the damage occurred. Galveston, where it was suppose to hit, was completely evacuated. To be fair, we did have Katrina to scare us into it. But it did prove that the local government is the one who is responsible for getting people prepared in an emergency and for first responders afterwards. Period. The people in Mississippi and Alabama seemed to understand that during Katrina.

To us bloggers, it hasn't been as much about placing blame, as it was defending reports that were clearly false and put out there for the sole purpose of making Bush look bad. I have never seen anything like it. I hope to never it see it again. But I know I will.

Head 'em up, and move 'em out....

We are heading home today. We will spending the night in Shreveport with family. We will be going the back roads down to Houston. I just pray we don't hit the traffic we did coming out. But there isn't much we can do about it. They will be letting the lower portion of Houston back in by Tuesday or Wednesday and no one wants to be in that either. We will keep our gas tank full as long as we can and hope for the best.

This really did turn out to be a blessing. I wasn't going to be able to see my family for a while. We are having Thanksgiving at my house with my husband's side of the family and we are going to Mexico for Christmas, so this was great to see everybody. And we did get to see a BUNCH of family and had a wonderful time (eating too much as usual!). Including my adorable new niece (my Godchild), who you saw pictures of back in June.

There really is a silver lining to every dark cloud. Wish us luck as we make our way back and I hope to be back blogging by Tuesday!

Just an evacuee blogging...

It doesn't look too bad in Houston, thank God. Did anyone see Shepard Smith take a fall and roll and get up to keep reporting last night from Beaumont? Too funny. This guy wants a pulitzer so bad he can taste it.

My Mom has dial up here and the wait time just drives me crazy, so I can't even surf the news for ya'll! I am gonna post a rerun again. This is one of my all time favorites. If you have been reading me a while, you have read it. It is from April 30th and it tells you just about all you need to know about me. Enjoy.


My Dream.

I have a reoccurring dream about my grandma. She is sitting on the front porch of her house, which is brilliant white set upon a brilliant white hill. I climb the steps and sit beside her on the front porch swing. She smiles at me and I take her hand and lay my head on her shoulder. I say, “I love you grandma.” “I love you too sweetie,” She replies. I look at her. “I miss you so much.” “I’m still here,” she says. “But it’s not the same.” I say sadly. “No. no it isn’t,” She says as she hugs me.

I close my eyes and see flashes of my childhood with her in brilliant color and texture. I see myself picking blueberries for breakfast in the early morning. I see me running through clean white sheets she is hanging on the line in the sunshine. I see me lying in bed beside her at night with the wind blowing the curtains in the window as she teaches me to pray.

Every child should have a person in their life like my grandma. I was so blessed to have wonderful parents. But to have another person who thinks you hung the moon, as my grandma did about me, causes a child to believe in oneself as never before.

I was one years old when my grandma’s husband died. She never re-married although still young and attractive. (She had had my dad when she was 15) She ran a “nursery” from her house that would be called a daycare today. There were two rooms attached to her garage and that is where the children ate and slept. She lived on a 10 acre playground. She had a big swing set, but nothing else. We played with old rubber tires, making up our games by building with them or rolling them or laying in them. We had trees to climb, dirt and ditches to play in. I don’t ever remember being bored. Imagination is a wonderful playmate.

It drove my dad crazy that she would hardly charge more than she spent. If a mother couldn’t pay one month, she would let it go. There was something so strong and independent about her. And there was love. Oh boy, was there ever love.

There were birthdays and Easter. There were Sunday dinners, Fourth of July, and any event she could celebrate, she did. Every Christmas Eve of my childhood was spent at my Grandma’s. First with just my family, my Aunt and Uncle, and later my cousins and nieces and nephews. We would start out with a big dinner with us kids itching to get it over with so we could open our presents. When given the go ahead, we would race to the living room and stand and marvel at our glittery presents as they reflected the brilliant lights of the Christmas tree. It was……magic.

Years later after my grandma had died and I was grown, I remember singing Christmas carols in a choir at a nursing home. As we were singing I noticed an old lady in a wheelchair crying. I left the stage and went to her and knelt down and took her hand. “Are you alright?” I asked. She said simply, “I miss Christmas.” I knew exactly what she meant. I said, “I do too.”

When my father died I was only 22 yrs old. My grandma was only 68. I spent 2 weeks with my mother, sleeping with her and comforting her. But during the day when everyone would come over, I drove to my grandma’s. As much pain as my mother was in I knew that there was no greater pain than losing a child. As usual though, my grandma was the one who made me strong.

My Grandma was never famous, never wrote a book, never won a Pulitzer, she never even finished high school, but she forever lives on through her love. She celebrated my life. She taught me how to celebrate it as well. Her love and her caring are a part of me that I give to my children and they will give to theirs. Generations from now my great great grandchildren will not know my Grandma’s name, but they will know her, because she will live in them by the love that she passed down. That is the legacy each of us is allowed to give. Who will remember what you did or the car you drove, or how much money you made? But love…that will be forever remembered and lived.

When I realized that I was losing my grandma to Alzheimer’s, I tried to tell her how much she meant to me before she forgot me. I stumbled on the words. How do you thank someone for giving you self confidence? For teaching you compassion? For loving you unconditionally? Words did not seem enough. I simply said, “Thank you for loving me so much.” With her usual way of making me feel like a princess, she smiled and said, “You made it easy.”

In my dream when I open my eyes I am alone on the porch swing. I look around for my grandma, but I can't find her. I close my eyes again and hear my heart beating in the quiet. And I realize that she is there, in every beat of my heart. In all the love that I feel.

She is there.

What a Nightmare...

Well, I made it safely out of Houston. But I have never seen anything like that in my life. We left at 4am Thursday morning. I drove the back way to where I only had to move up the frontage road of I-45N
for about 1/2 mile to my exit going east. I took me almost 2 hours to go that distance. We could see hundreds of cars on the side of the road that had either run out of gas or they had been driving for 12 hours getting from Galveston to The Woodlands (about 40 miles north of Houston) and had pulled off to sleep. I even saw some tents pitched in the median and people sleeping on the ground in sleeping bags.

The powers that be had shut off most of the exit and on ramps getting out of Houston. I heard a 58 yr old woman on the local talk radio describe how she was forced to pull over and go to the bathroom on the side of the road because there was no getting off the highway and she had been driving for 12 hours. She said that she was now at The Woodlands, which I had just left to go east (Thank God) and I thought, "Well, she has another 12 hours ahead of her at least, to get to Dallas. People were pushing their cars to save on gas since everything was literally moving at a snails pace.

Once I got going east it was fine. I had to get on 59 North for a short way, but that took me another 2 hours. Finally I got off that highway. I had mapped out back roads through rural Texas and rural Lousiana to get through to Mississippi. I ran into some problems with people evacuating from Beaumont. There were a few backups but nothing like the ones being experienced by the people on I-45. That highway was the nightmare I knew it would be. Thursday morning they finally decided to open the southbound lanes of I-45 to go north. That had never been done before. Last I heard they were bringing fuel trucks up the highway to give people gas. But I never found out if that happened.

I got lucky so many times. First I was lucky that I thought to fill up on gas on Tuesday, because by Wednesday there wasn't gas to be had anywhere! I started to run out when I was in rural Lousiana, but I said a quick prayer, and lo and behold we came up this little po-dunk service station that only had about 5 cars sitting there. I thought it couldn't possibly have gas, because if it did, there would be a line miles long. (we had seen two stations like that off 59N before we needed gas) Anyway, I pulled up and didn't even have to wait!! I couldnt' believe it. It was a miracle.

A drive that normally takes me about 8 hours took me about 14 hours. Not bad really considering what so many people went through just to get through Houston.

Now I am just watching and waiting to see what happens. Last night I went to sleep and all I could see was the road. I dreamt of the road. But I am glad I got out. Let us all hope and pray that it isn't as bad as they expect it to be.

I want to thank everyone for their good wishes and prayers. And a big thank you to all of you who offered a place to stay. Truly sweet!