by Jessica Naudziunas

Merri Edwards sent us another dispatch from Galveston, Texas on life after Hurricane Ike:

Bill, Jane (our niece from Dallas), and I drove to Galveston Wednesday morning. We were up early because we figured that there would be a really long line waiting to get onto the island. From Robin's (our niece in Friendswood) house to ours, it took one hour and fifteen minutes; considering that it normally takes 35-40 minutes. That wasn't bad. Contrary to what we heard from others listening to the radio, the line was 10 miles long and moved steadily the entire time. In fact, it took less time yesterday to get to our house than it has any other time I've tried since Ike visited.

 

There was a "checkpoint" in that there was a bunch of law enforcement people gathered along the way, in case there were any problems, but we were not stopped and did not see anyone else being stopped. It went very smoothly. I realize that there may have been longer lines later in the day, but by the time we left, about 3:00, traffic was flowing freely in both directions. I had thought the plan to let everyone return at the same time was insane, but it worked.

There's been a lot of criticism of the mayor, city manager, county officials, etc., here, but I think, overall, that they have done a good job. They've made decisions based upon information from others that was sometimes confusing and often changing. My priorities tend to revolve around Bill's and my interests and I forget sometimes that there is a "greater good" concern. It's really easy to second-guess decisions when I don't know all the considerations and ramifications. Lyda Ann Thomas, our mayor, was praised all over the place during and after Hurricane Rita for doing just what she's done during this storm. The big difference is that the island did not have the damage from Rita and it was easier to be complimentary.

We were sitting in the shade of the garage eating lunch when a neighbor walked out our back door - he'd come through to see whether we had power. We said we didn't think so, and when he said he did across the street, I turned on the breakers and voila! Light! Since the outlets were mostly underwater we need to have everything checked. The a/c runs, but with a strange noise, so it's off until we can locate the man who works on our system. But progress is being made, and I think it's pretty remarkable, considering the breadth of the outages, that we have power so soon. And water. And flushing toilets.

They're picking up the trash regularly, too, all the stuff hauled out of the houses - carpets, furniture, glop, books, sheetrock and insulation - eaten by a Caterpillar with big claws and regurgitated into dump trucks. My understanding is that it's being taken to two sites in Houston.

We've learned that there may be a condo to rent right around the corner from where we live and I'll check that out today. We're slowly, slowly, slowly getting through all the drawers.