Craziness

OK, Rita is now a Category 5 monster, and still growing. There is no Category 6, so no matter how big she gets, she will still be a Cat 5. Hurricanes do start to lose strength after they hit land. So a storm that is barely Category 5 when it hits land might drop down to, say, a Category 2 by the time it gets, say, 90 miles north of Houston. But a really really really big category 5 hurricane (e.g., Rita) could, theoretically, still be quite a monster 90 miles inland. Yikes.

The gas station across the street from my place has no gasoline & almost no water bottles. Who has the patience to stock up on water, one bottle at a time? Apparently somebody does. Not me. I'm just glad mom went to Sam's Club & stocked up 2 cases of bottles for me last week. I thought at the time, "Now, what does she think I am going to do with all this water?"

I rode my bike over to the convenience store so I could pick up some instant coffee. Hurricane or not, I gotta have my coffee. Even if I have no power, I should be able to light the gas stove to heat me some water Saturday morning. Otherwise, I'm gonna be really grumpy.

A gal at the convenience store said Interstate 45 is basically shut down southbound. If you work in The Woodlands and live south of here, you had better know the back roads to home, because otherwise you can't get there from here. Also, on the northbound/getting-the-heck-out-of-town side of I-45, they have closed off a lot of exits. Apparently they want the evacuees from Galveston & other points south to go all the way to Huntsville (another 30-ish miles north of my house) before they get off the highway. If you had other plans, too bad for you.

I took some 'before' pictures of the house & an 'open space' lot across the street. Mom is supposed to be doing the same thing, but then she is also trying to find the portable TV, radio, batteries, flashlights -- in short, being a mom. Dad called here a few hours ago, just after Rita shot up to Category 5, and said he would feel better if I rode out the storm at their house. I told mom I'll stay here with the dog. When the storm is over, we can walk over there. I figure if I think positive, it will all be ok.