Closed Friday

Living in the Caribbean, you can't help but be aware of hurricanes. Having lived in the Houston area, you can't help but pay attention to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. Put those two together and you see why Ike has been on my mind for at least 2 weeks now. I first began "worrying" when they made a big deal of it at work, reminding us to stockpile water and let us know they would be saving some rice and beans and eggs for us in the campus kitchen. Last week I watched as the projected path moved further and further north of Hispaniola. And that is what the hurricane did- remained north of the island. That's not to say it didn't affect us here, with over 40,000 Dominican displaced from their homes. But here in the mountains we were over prepared.

I have paid a little attention to it in the past week. However, I have noticed that the projected path moved closed and closed to a direct hit of Galveston, Clear Lake and Houston. Knowing it was close, I checked the Weather Channel this morning to find this: Pretty big, ain't it? I then went to the Houston Chronicle to see what things are like in that area as they prepare for the storm. According to this everything, including the airports, are closed starting today. Yeah, it's that big of a deal.

Here is what some of my friends from the area are saying through their Facebook status: "I think Ike is on track to literally wind up at my doorstep. Nice." "is waiting on Ike." "says bring it Ike" "is not evacuating, but this could get interesting" "Y-Ikes!!" "is evacuating tomorrow. Thanks Ike" "is thinking about possible campsites"

If I have any Houston area readers (who aren't too busy to read this), know I am praying for you all to survive the storm well.