The eye of Ike passed over our house. We are in the Clear Lake area (halfway between Galveston and Houston). Minor damage to our property. Water resumed within 24 hours, still w/o power, and might be like this for a few more days, though plenty of pockets have restored power. People here went to work immediately after the storm to clean things up and to get businesses back in operation. Our cul-de-sac cleaned itself up immediately. Nobody is waiting for the gooberment to come 'help' or even cares about them. Some neighborhoods have chased out reporters who came in to stir up crap by looking for 'victims' so they could get another Katrina-type frenzy going through the country. Kudos to the Galveston mayor for chasing out the muckraker press. Kudos to the mayor of Houston and his team. Lots of folks have taken it upon themselves to clear the roads of debris. Every Texan owns a chainsaw and at least one handgun. Looting has been minimal. Not much whining & sniveling in these parts, Texans like to get after it, and get back to work.

Seabrook and Kemah have been totaled. The Bolivar peninsula has been totaled and might not even be a peninsula anymore. Martial law declared there. Everything west of the airport in Galveston has been totaled. The island was completely submerged, but much more so to the west of the airport. One guy drowned in his car at the airport. There are health issues on the west side of the island also, so only official workers are allowed in right now. Remarkably, the cattle on the island seem to be okay though other animals died, including birds. The cattle must have been swimming around for hours in the dark during the storm. Rumor has it that some surfboards were found near the surviving cattle. Cow-a-bunga dudes!

M8