Lots to think about these days
October 14, 2008 (Tuesday)
Nell Reed is the Church Secretary at First Baptist Church, Rockport, and her husband’s name is Ike. Before I met Ike, the name had become part of our culture because a man named Ike had been head of the Allied Armed Forces of World War 2 and after that President of the United States. But for the last month in the Houston-Galveston area, Ike has become a name that won’t be forgotten for many, many years. The name has installed itself along with Katrina and Rita, the wicked sisters who visited the northwestern Gulf coast in 2005.
Debris still lines the streets in many parts of town. Forty people are still missing. In Galveston some people are still living in shelters. There are people whose water supply has not been restored and others who have nothing because Ike took it all away. Several communities are struggling to put things back together because they were wiped out. Yes, we will remember Ike.
Before September, when people of Southeast Texas heard the name, “Ike,” they immediately thought of someone they knew or they thought of the great Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower, but from now on whenever they hear the word, “Ike,” their first thought will be of the great storm of 2008.
In the midst of it all, we have the tumult of the economic crisis, and an impending national election that seems to stir the feelings of people as no election in quite a while. Kinda hard on old guys like me. This senior citizen would like to suggest that the country ban hurricanes, economic crises and politics until I move on. Be kind to your elders. It’s hard enough getting old without all this stuff.