After the storm: a wind whisperer & a Bible thumper weigh in

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, two of the hurricane hustlers to whom I most recently paid tribute (September 17 and September 11) have been strangely silent about the storm. Not a peep so far from Mr. Fire (at least not in any public forum that I could find), nor is there any word from Glen Stewart, the Father of Hurricane Reduction. But Phoenix/Spirit Diva has stepped up to humbly claim credit – which she magnanimously shares with other individuals and groups worldwide – for changing Ike's course to a path of lesser destruction. I received an email from her today:

Although there has been widespread loss to human life, animals, property and the land itself, I know that our prayers were heard and made a difference. I thank you for continuing to send prayers, your love to all affected by the Ike, Gustav and the rest, especially whenever you hear about or see photos of these areas and people...

...As American anthropologist Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." I'm not saying that our prayers and meditations individually and collectively changed the world, anyways yet; however, we made a significant difference along with the many, many other individuals and groups worldwide, in shifting the impact of Hurricane Ike.

* You may recall that last Friday night prior to our holding the meditation the National Hurricane Center was projecting that Ike was expected to grow from a Cat 2 to a 3 or possibly even a Cat 4 just before his eye made landfall in Galveston. Thankfully that was not the case. Ike's top sustaining winds remained near 110 mph.
* Also, the NHC advisories warned that storm surge could reach up to 25 feet. Amazing, even though Ike's eye arrived at Galveston's coast at high tide the surge was about half the projection. According to tidal guages, the highest surge Saturday morning was about 13.5 feet at Sabine Pass in Texas. The surge at Galveston was 11 feet.
* Ike destroyed at least 10 petroleum production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, but the damage was to only a fraction of the 3,800 platforms in the Gulf.
* Oil prices closed below $100US a barrel for the first time in six months Monday following Ike, tumbling more than $5. If prices were up at gas stations it was only due to human greed and fear factor.

WE MADE A DIFFERENCE...THANK YOU!

Tell that to the folks who lost their homes and everything they own. Tell that to the million-plus souls who still don't have lights or running water (some areas aren't expected to have power back on till October). Tell it to the people waiting in lines stretching out for four blocks or more to get basic necessities. Yeah, I know, it could have been much, much worse. But my intuition tells me that thousands of folks never got that memo.

So maybe some of those top-notch hurricane communicators need to go out to the streets to spread the good news and conduct post-hurricane group meditations for the folks most afflicted by Ike. Here's a great idea for any of you wind whisperers who really want to make a difference: visit one of those hundreds of loooooong gasoline lines! You'll have a captive audience. Be sure to tell the motorists that your meditation efforts persuaded Ike to go easier on Texas than he was originally planning. I'm certain they will all be very appreciative. (Hint: Make sure the people you talk to are not armed (many Texans are), and stay well out of the way of their front or rear bumpers.)

Not surprisingly, the New-Wage babblers aren't the only ones who have something to say about hurricanes. Although so far no sanctimonious evangelical has stepped forward to declare that Ike was God's way of punishing gays or abortionists, the Biblically inclined are certainly weighing in. Ike was, it seems, just another example of God thundering wondrously with His voice. I rather like the poetry of it – the Bible is full of that kind of stuff – but I'm afraid that even poetry doesn't do much for those long lines of people whose lives were torn asunder by God's thunderous wonder.

But a little bit of practical advice certainly never hurt anyone. If you are thinking of rebuilding your destroyed home, here is some helpful counsel from the same blogger who brought you those thoughts on God's thunder. (He's in Columbus, Ohio, by the way – not exactly Ground Zero hurricane country.)

On the local front, meanwhile, we are experiencing a surge, if you will, of post-Ike media coverage. I know, I know; that's their job, but sometimes it gets so wearisome that I would almost welcome one of those neener-neener-my-life-is-sooooo-wonderful Tweets from a hustledork. (Notice that I said almost. I'm not that desperate yet.) But sometimes the media types go to ludicrous lengths to fill up air time or column space.

Take, for example, the feature article on the front page of the Star (style) section in the Houston Chronicle on Thursday, September 18: "Style reprieve: Dealing with the storm's aftermath calls for functional office-casual clothing." There's a photo of a woman on the Chron staff wearing a smart white blouse and tight-ish jeans; the caption reads: "Still without power, Jacquee Pechtel, assistant managing editor for projects, has exemplified hurricane chic working long hours at the Chronicle."

Hurricane chic?!?

Well, enough of this. I'm off to work now in the main office of Schmidt Kaye & Company, where every day is Office Casual Day. My ensemble today is a red tank top embellished with cat hair of various shades, a pair of red-green-and-white striped PJ bottoms whose left pocket is bulging with dog biscuits, and my Office Casual flip-flops. Ron is sporting a smart plaid flannel shirt, faded jeans, and his Office Casual sandals.

No doubt about it – we exemplify home-office chic.

PS ~ Here's a link to some before-and-after photos of the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas.
PPS ~ And most importantly, here is a link, courtesy ABC-13.com, to information on how you can help in the hurricane relief effort.