This all becomes more and more surreal!!!!

As I watch the events flow by on the tellie......well, the title says it all. It is like some type of horrible nightmare.........or, perhaps more like a movie that we would all watch knowing that this type of destruction

could "never happen here". I told the 1st Lady that I am going to begin to take pictures of all of our house and the contents with our digital camera, put it on a CD, and put it into safekeeping........granted, no hurricanes can reach SE Missouri, BUT......we are subject to tornados which can deliver a horrible punch to those who get hit.

We are ALL going to feel the affects of this event........gas prices, which will then push all prices upwards which then empties our wallets very quickly. I know that for us it will affect us because of our traveling....using diesel gasoline. We may just have to modify some of our upcoming driving plans.........we'll see how things progress....or digress.

I received a call from the insurance adjuster friends......and they left Mobile today and were assigned to southern Florida. They said when they arrived yesterday evening, 30 miles north of Mobile, that they had difficulties finding a place to stay. And then, this morning they went into Mobile, waited almost an hour in line to get gasoline, and had to have their organizational meeting in the parking lot of the Marriott Hotel. After getting processed, a change was made and they are now on their way to southern Florida to help with the damage there from the hit by Katrina when she was young and immature and inexperienced. But......hurricane damage is hurricane damage....and it is all terrible for those who are affected.

One of my private music students' father left this morning for Mississippi with the electrical company he works for in this area of Missouri. Didn't know exactly how long he would be down there.......at least three weeks his son told me.

As with anything on tv.....the pictures are NEVER as accurate as the real thing. Soooo, I have problems trying to focus and imagine just how it really must be........much, much worse than we are seeing 9 hours north of the devastated area.

More later......

Just got off the phone with Dr. Jeni.........she and Darrell are simply sitting in front of the tellie "in shock", as she said. Having lived in Biloxi, near the beachfront, while she was a dentist in the USAF until summer of 2001.....they feel that that is their second home.....and are soooo upset with the devastation to their favorite places that they so much enjoyed. Darrell worked in a couple of different places, as a welder during that time, and are concerned with people they had met and knew who lived in that area. They will probably never know.......

While finishing mowing our lawn this morning(the 1st Lady had about 7/8's of the lawn already done), I was thinking about volunteering with the Red Cross to go down and help.....serve meals, whatever.....but by the time I finished the mowing, my right arm was aching quite a bit and I found out just how weak it still it. Soooo, don't think I had better pursue that avenue of help......at least right at this time. Perhaps later......it will be a long haul down there.

Will wind this up for today.......AHHHH, I have been checking on my site meter and it is amazing how many readers there are for this little personal journal.......many that I am certain I do not know because of the states that are shown on the map and that makes this all the more interesting to me. Even Google has picked this up and it can be found on a search for thehowserhouse.....WOW!!! Until later..........