never stop learning

i took this photo last night as the outer bands of hurricane rita came a-callin' during a spectacular sunset. God really does interesting things...how can something so gorgeous precede something as potentially devastating as a hurricane? fortunately, all we saw was lots of wind and some sprinkles. i can't say the same thing for the residents of beaumont and its surrounding areas. looks like we dodged a bullet - our good fortune was definitely an answer to our prayers.

we're back home now. the power was on, though it looks like it did go off at least once, as indicated by our alarm clocks. there was very little water in the road - i bet it will be completely dry by tomorrow morning. there were some leaves and small tree limbs on the ground. it was inconvenient to have packed up and evacuated, but the old cliche' "better safe than sorry" keeps echoing in my mind. plus, it was good to see the fam.

we also learned several things - or at least had certain information cemented into our psyches:

1. the "news" is really just entertainment based on non-fiction. the catastrophic language the reporters used was ridiculous. phrases like "agonizing wait [for the hurricane to make landfall]", "slams into the coast [as it did make landfall]", "monster hurricane," and "the largest and most fierce that the gulf coast has ever seen" were tossed around flippantly. add that to the still-tense atmosphere from katrina and then wonder why you have 2.5 million people running down the freeways, screaming hysterically. (see, i can exaggerate, too!) also, they were really reaching this morning for something to report, as the storm had not been as bad as we all had expected (thankfully). one guy pulled a little sign out of a shrub and looked into the camera very seriously, as if to empathize with the sign's trauma.
2. the reporters that "bring you live coverage" from the coast are simply reality tv stars. you ordinarily would not see several people in rain slickers, holding onto poles for dear life so they don't get blown away during the onslaught from a category 3 hurricane. we did see several reporters get blown down and even one cameraperson fell during a particularly strong gust.
3. the brazoria county judge is awesome! he has no problem saying what he thinks, even to the mayor of houston.
4. in the event of an emergency, do the exact opposite of what the mayor of houston recommends and you'll be okay. thursday, he was telling everyone to get out - resulting in the gridlocked traffic nightmares we all heard about and saw on tv. today, he advised everyone to stay put and don't attempt to go home. so we left...and i'm glad we did because the traffic seems to be getting worse by the minute. as gas stations get stocked up again, the incoming flood of evacuees returning home from dallas, austin and other major cities just may create a repeat of thursday's traffic nightmare.

once again, thanks for your thoughts and prayers. the politicians say they learned something from katrina, but this whole experience with rita leaves me wondering what.