August 31 – “Disaster Driving”

An army of Galveston fire fighters hit the ground running yesterday.  First word was that 50 of our guys had homes affected in some way by the floods.  Of those, 25 appear to have lost everything.  As soon as waters subsided enough, a veritable army of off-duty fire fighters leapt into action.  They started methodically cleaning out each other’s homes.  One at a time.  Soggy carpet by damp sheetrock.  Work will continue until everyone who has a need has been tended to.  My plan is to connect today with the fire fighter in charge of the project to see what kids of relief needs they are running into.

I had to do some Disaster Driving yesterday.  As I headed to a meeting of Galveston pastors, I encountered some of the typical, frustrating results of intermittent power outages.  Flashing red lights.  Lights stuck on red that never changed.  Slow and go travelers who were hoping to see some damage.  Bottom line?  Every intersection becomes a four-way stop.  Actually drive friendly. 

The meeting with the local pastors was a really good one.  There were sixteen different churches represented, gathering for prayer and to determine an effective response to the inevitable needs in the county.  The prayer time lasted for a good fifteen or twenty minutes.  It’s always hard to judge how long a prayer meeting goes when a prayer meeting is “really going.”  After the prayer time we began what amounted to early stage recovery planning.  One guy had been involved in Louisiana with post-recovery after Hurricane Katrina and Ike.  Another guy was already involved on the political side of things with state and local officials.  First Baptist Church’s pastor was sharing with the group about their hosting donation drop off when he received a text that the center was swamped and needed volunteers.  Immediately.  I sent a quick text myself, and about ten Seasiders went to help.  Nice job.  I was able to listen in on a call one of the pastors took from the Southern Baptist missions arm.  He was trying to convince them to use a site here in Galveston to stage operations for the rest of the county.  It is just so hard for people who are not here to fathom the scope of damage involved.  The voice on the phone asked us to draw up a map of the county and mark the areas involved.  We chuckled at that one.  The Galveston pastor responded, “Picture the coast of Texas from Corpus Christi to Orange.  Color all of that in … except for Galveston Island.  There’s your map.”

Speaking of donations, the only clothes needed are brand new packages of socks and underwear.  Other helpful things (beyond basic toiletries, baby items, feminine hygiene products, non-perishable foods, and water) would be box fans, bleach, dehumidifiers, extension cords, and a product called “Shockwave” that kills mold.  Probably at this point the most effective donation would be money.  Many of the families have no insurance, so they will have to replace everything.  They also still have to pay their bills and buy food.  Some of the displaced people were sent all the way to Dallas, so they might need assistance getting back to the area to get into their homes.  If anyone wants to do a long distance money donation, you can do it through Seaside Church.  We will see that whatever comes in earmarked “Hurricane relief” gets to families that need it. 

Speaking of families that need it, here’s an update on the Boyer’s.  They were able to make back to their house yesterday.  Don’s new job (That he hasn’t even officially started at yet) provided a truck for his use and a week to get back on his feet.  Their car that they had to leave in a Kroger parking lot started right up, so they now also have that transportation.  As soon as he gets together all the keys Don will check out the cars that were actually at his house when the flood hit.  Looks like their home had about two feet of water in it.  They managed to get all the carpet and linoleum torn out.  Shout out to Seasider Cory Anderson who drove up to offer his assistance. 

Chris got a text from a friend of ours in Arlington.  He had run into someone who had been displaced to their area and was wondering about his apartment.  We drove by there, and all looked well.  I also texted a fire fighter who lives in the next building over.  He told me for the most part it was OK.  Except for a minor roof leak that resulted in a small collapse into his bedroom.  “Nothing serious though.”  I love those guys. 

Last night we fried up a load of fish for the crew that had been working all day.  April even took some for Nathan when she stopped by to pick up Cailyn.  The fish was really good, and all seemed to appreciate it.  Fish tacos for lunch today …

Here’s where things begin to get antsy.  Remember 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Father, thank you for the people so quickly involved in recovery efforts.  Keep them all healthy and safe as they get on with the manual labor side of the coin while trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy in their family and work.  Amen.

August 30 – “Waving goodbye”

Late night news coverage provided some interesting moments.  Like this sobering statement: “Not a single spot in Harris County has had less than 28 inches of rain.”  Wow. 

Channel 11 lost their feed for a few hours.  Why?  They had a sudden rush of ten feet of water into their building.  Perhaps that affected the reporting.  How about the story about the crew trying to rescue 2 teenage boys desperately clinging to a tree after a boat flipped over.  The news reporter had the solution: “Just tie a rope around your waist, tie the other end to your truck, and start swimming.”  Wow.  I’m pretty sure the FD and PD hadn’t thought of that one yet.  Thanks, dude.

We woke up yesterday morning to pretty intense bands of rain and wind again.  Except for one detail. The wind was clearly coming out of the north instead of the southeast.  That was good news.  It indicated that the eye of the storm was moving to the east of Galveston and we were getting winds from the north side of the storm, a little better situation than being on the east, or dirty side.  I checked the location, and the storm was still in the Gulf, intensifying.  Projected landfall, however, now put it further east.  Good for us, bad for Louisiana.  The wind and rain stayed pretty strong all morning and into the afternoon as the storm hovered off the coast. 

Did a lot of networking while sheltering in place.  Friends and family were calling, texting and messaging from all over the U.S.  Some groups were wanting to come help immediately.  Others were content to wait until the event was actually over.  We appreciate both sentiments.  All of our Seaside folks were accounted for and doing well.  Dickinson stayed under water, so we kept our house guests.  Sam was staying put at her house in League City, but she was fine.  We heard from the Stones in Santa Fe.  All was well on the farm. 

People began posting images and videos of their drives around town on the Island.  The flooding got bad overnight as the storm moved enough to start pushing water from the bay onto the island.  The Strand was flooded, as were many of the East End streets.  Much of the West End was flooded, too, but they are used to it out there.  Old hat hurricane party for them. 

I think we might be getting stir crazy, though.  We actually wound up looking at photos of Chris and me from the time we started dating to now.  The girls were stunned by my rugged good looks, and were impressed with Chris’ beauty as well.  Our preservation through the ages gave them something to look forward to, I suppose.

Speaking of stir crazy, Kelly and Heather took off for a walk during one of the lulls in the storm.  They ran back home.  They got wet.  Chris and I, on the other hand, got in the truck for our storm trek.  We drove around the neighborhood and up to see the Gulf.  Lots of flooding in areas nearby.  Jones Park is now Jones Lake … again.  The Ross parking lot is a lake as well.  The airport baseball fields are retention ponds.  The Gulf is being pushed way back by the north winds, so it looks like very low tide.  As we turned to come back to the house, a guy was desperately trying to cover a broken window in his vehicle.  I stopped to give him a hand.  We got the plastic tied down to a certain extent.  Good enough for him.  Why?  Let me see if I can effectively duplicate this … “Cuz this is already gunna be one of my FEM’urs.”  Ah, Ike survivors.  Remember all of our FEM’urs?  Oh, how we loved FEMA …

And finally, here’s a post I saw several times on Facebook: “See what happens when you name a hurricane after a man.  He won’t ask directions, wanders around lost, leaves a mess, and doesn’t clean up after himself.”  Well, if ol’ Harv won’t do the cleaning up, I suppose it’s up to us.  Let the clean-up begin …

Perhaps now, as people begin trickling back to see their homes for the first time after the storm, this is even more appropriate: 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Father, give us all stamina in the next few days.  Touch hearts in unaffected areas to send help.  These folks are gonna need a lot of money and supplies in the next few weeks and months.  Amen.

August 29 – “Pretty noisy night”

Yesterday we spent most of the day watching reports of rescues in and around Houston.   It started getting bad again here around 9:30 or 10.  Pretty noisy night.  The eye was supposed to be by us by Tuesday evening, and storms fully subsided by Wednesday afternoon. We'll see.

We have adopted a Dickinson family for as long as they need to stay with us.  The rain promises to keep Dickinson under water for at least another day or two.  Yesterday a mandatory evacuation was ordered for their entire city, because rain bands were supposed to intensify and drop another 8-12 inches on us. 

The big news from the rest of Houston was the need to release water from reservoirs.  That meant major flooding downstream in areas that were already flooding.  Many communities received mandatory evacuation orders.  The refugees who had already been brought to Galveston are pretty much all gone.  That’s right.  Gone.  The Texas Air National Guard sent three huge cargo planes and took the refugees and their pets to Dallas.  They deemed it unwise to use a barrier island as a point of refuge against a hurricane in the Gulf.  Imagine that.  Nathan was on shift at the airport, helping the people check in and get loaded onto the planes.  He even got pictured on camera by the channel 11 news crew that was there.  We divoed (or however you would spell that new technology word) it so we can show it to Cailyn later.  The whole idea was bizarre.  Think about it.  The entire City of Dickinson was being evacuated to Dallas.  By plane.  I think I saw that movie …

Among our little Boyer family refugee group, they all gathered at our house for supper.  We invited Houston and Ashley, who were staying with her sister, and Don came back over from his friend’s house in Jamaica Beach.  Rita and Kelly did the cooking.  Spaghetti, I think.  There was probably another Italian name for what it was but it looked like spaghetti to me.  At least some of it did.  The noodles were multi-shaped.  Sure tasted good.

Josh called.  Seems his church in Waco may end up being an evacuation site for Houston area refugees.  He won’t know for sure for a few days.  They would just be an overflow site for the folks taken to Dallas.  Several of the people in his church want to travel down and help right now, but he has convinced them not to come while the event is still taking place.  There will be plenty of need for help during the recovery period to follow.  Nice move, Josh.

He was talking to me from the car as he made his way home.  And Zak greeted his Dad in a glorious fashion.  He tossed a glob of mud at him.  He missed and hit the car, but Josh got splattered.  He was very calmly explaining to Zak about the inappropriateness of the behavior when I interrupted in his ear.  I always wanted to be someone else’s conscience – a real Jiminy Cricket I was.  I asked, “So did you throw some mud back at Zak?”  After a prolonged pause he said, “No.  That just wouldn’t have encouraged the appropriate behavior.”  To which the cricket voice in his ear replied, “And …?”  I can only assume that the anticipated retaliation never took place.  Unless of course it was to come later, when least expected.  Oh, there was one other detail I failed to mention about Josh’s young attacker.  When the mud spray cleared and Josh could focus on the source of the projectile, he saw Zak. Well, at least he assumed it was Zak.  It seems the child in front of him was covered head to in mud, and dressed only in his boxers.  Josh asked him, “Does your mother even know you are outside?”  See, Zak, and I assume his brothers, had been hard at work on a feat of engineering.  They built a swimming pool.  A six inch deep in the mud swimming pool.  Nice.  Yet another amenity for their new grandparent suite.

It’s still appropriate … 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Father, as the storm moves away, please walk with the folks who now have to pick up the pieces.  Amen.

August 28 – “Epic Catastrophic”

You know … I started blogging back when Hurricane Ike had us all evacuated for three weeks, and we needed a way to stay in touch.  Here we are in the throes of another great storm – another flood maker.  Does this mean I need to stop blogging now?  I’ll have to ponder that one after the event is finished.  And it is by no means over yet.  The Weather Channel – and every other channel, for that matter – has finally outdone themselves.  They have come up with the superlative version of “catastrophic.”  Bet you didn’t know there was anything worse than that, did you?  Actually, I think what they came up with would probably be categorized as somewhere between “regular catastrophic” and “catastrophic of biblical proportions.”  The new term?  “Epic Catastrophic.” 

I just saw the forecast for the next few days.  The eye of still-Tropical Storm Harvey has started to move again.  Southeast.  That’s right.  It is heading back toward the Gulf of Mexico to get some more sustenance.  It should move off the coast this morning and stay off until sometime Tuesday.  Depending on how far off it gets and how long it stays over water will determine the level of re-strengthening.  Then it is expected to make a return visit onto shore – right over Galveston (or maybe just south of us, which would be worse).  At the very least we are expecting 15 to 25 more inches of rain and a storm surge of at least 1-3 feet.  Looks like we are in this thing until at least the end of the week.  And then the aftermath begins …

Now to the more immediate issues at hand.  We woke yesterday to lots of people trapped in their homes by severe flooding in the mainland areas just north of the island.  Places like Dickinson and League City were inundated with torrential downpours, and the bayous and lakes and rivers couldn’t hold it all.  As the water rose during the night people were forced to wait for rescue on the roofs of their homes.  Coast Guard helicopters were called in to help.  A massive social media call went out for anyone with a flat-bottomed boat – and then any boat – to come to a point on the Gulf Freeway and help with the evacuation.  And when rescue was made, the boat drop-off point was just a high place on the freeway.  The Carnes funeral home/limousine company in Galveston sent its bus up to bring people to the Island to safety.  Now that sounds all backwards-y weird, doesn’t it?  We haven’t been hit that hard this time, so Galveston residents are gearing up to do all we can to help.  Three shelters were hastily set up here on the Island.  All three were stocked and ready within mere hours.  They are still receiving donations of just about everything.  If you can help, take what you have to Marios’s on 61^st Street.  They are cooking and delivering for the evacuee centers.  Seaside’s retreat center is on the list as a backup place of refuge as well, but officials were trying to keep people as centrally located as possible so donations could more easily be distributed.  The only problem is … there are not many supplies left on the island, and trucks to restock the shelves can’t get here.  Kroger was the only store still open, and it was packed with people.  Many were still stocking up for their own supplies.  Many were buying things to donate.  Some things like bread were non-existent.  There seemed to be plenty of water, though. 

About 4:30 or 5 p.m. our day leapt from watching the rain and wind and the grass grow to full-on diving in.  We went over to the center on 61^st street and picked up a Seaside family that we knew who had been rescued from their rooftop in Dickinson – the Boyer’s.  Truly one of those responses to the admonition, “Don’t do nothing because you can’t do everything.  Do what you can do.”  We couldn’t help everyone, but we can help one family.  We are not sure how long they will be with us, but we’ll share what we do have. 

April and Chris were texting late last night about a relief effort on a little bigger scale.  I saw mention of care packages and even furniture donations.  They are supposed to touch base later today to figure something out.  Kel reported that mail service for the region has been suspended for about a week.  At least he’ll get to spend some time with his family.  Nathan goes on shift today and may have to stay for the duration of the event.  April was supposed to go back today as well, but she got a bit of a reprieve.  The ER staff understands the life of a firefighter wife, so they are letting her stay home with Cailyn … for the time being.  Josh says they have had a few sprinkles up in Waco.  Sigh …

I think I’ll stick with this scripture … 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Father, be with the thousands who are in the throes of the flood.  Watch over the first responders on duty.  Give strength to those in the refugee centers, and we could use one of your food miracles to keep them all fed.  Amen.

August 27 – “They weren’t kidding”

What a way to begin the day.  How?  With an automated phone call at 3:57 a.m.  The church fire alarm computer was calling to let us know the system didn’t make its regular call to check in.  Could the power possibly be out?  Well … yeah. 

Damage reports from our house were coming in.  Branches from palm trees.  The slide in the back yard almost completely shifted from its normal position in the yard.  A house floating away from its usual moorings.  Appliances toppled.  Do I have your attention yet?  I’m angling for a writer’s job with the weather channel.  OK.  Deep breath.  The branches were dead and needed to come down anyway.  The slide is made of plastic.  So is the little playhouse that floated a few inches.  Oh, and the kitchen appliances were part of one of those plastic kids’ sets.  So here at 7005 we are doing OK so far.  Chris spoke a classic line at one point.  She was gazing out the front door at the sheets of rain pouring down.  She sighed and spoke, “I gotta go water some plants.”  Now I know she was talking about the ones she has inside, but that one just struck me as funny.

My cousin Jer in Florida called to check on us.  I got a text from his sister in Virginia as well.  Great to hear family all over the country.

As the day progressed and the rain bands subsided for a time we began hearing from folks in the West End.  For the most part all was well, aside from power outages and some wind.  So we decided to take a little drive and survey the island.  Actually we were just getting a little stir crazy.  Our first thought was to drive by Nathan’s neighborhood.  The Lake that used to be Jones Park had other ideas.  And all the streets from here to there were under water, so we kept on moving west.  The church looked good from the outside.  Inside we were able to determine that some water had blown under one of the doors just enough to get the mat wet.  All else was good, though.  We continued on down 3005 toward Sea Isle.  That’s where we saw Fire Engine 8 and its crew.  They told me about an electrical pole up the road a bit that was leaning way over.  They also asked if I had noticed that there was no longer a blinking light at the entrance to Sea Isle.  I had to admit that I missed that one.  We drove down to the electrical pole, then turned back and drove down the seawall for a while.  The lull in rain bands had reached an hour or two by then, and there were people out walking on the beach.  We returned home down the One Way until about Ball High, then cut back up to the Seawall.  Good thing.  Lots of flooded streets down in those neighborhoods. 

After a lull of several hours, the rains began again around ten or so … and beyond.  Well beyond.  So beyond that they are still going.  Very noisy, too.  I got a text around 1:30 a.m. from one of our Seasiders, Sam, who had evacuated to her house in League City.  Mistake, as it turned out.  The house had begun taking on water.  She couldn’t find the breaker box to turn off the electricity.  It was a scary few hours for her.  Since I was fully awake, I turned the TV back on to hear what they were saying about the latest rounds.  It didn’t sound good.  My post for prayer for Sam was met with other posts about people taking on water.  It was also met with assurances from people all over that they were awake and praying right then.  Chris texted Christina and found out they had all their kids in the big master bedroom closet of their house in LaMarque.  They were finding it hard to settle in because of the every-half-hour tornado alerts being sounded.  I went outside around 2 a.m. to see if our sycamore tree was still standing, and what should I see lying there in the yard?  Our Sunday newspaper.  Nice job, newspaper delivery guy. 

Sometime around midnight the fire department got a call for a house on fire in Terramar Beach, not far from the church.  The Jamaica Beach volunteer department responded to that one as well.  The house was as loss, but they got the fire under control and out quickly.  One of the fire fighters had to have an IV to get fluids replenished, but other than that, they were all well.  Pretty impressive bunch.

Let me end this segment with some of actual quotations from the TV coverage early this morning (Like, 2 a.m. early).  It was a long day, I’ll give them that …

“You cannot be on the road out there, because it is nighttime.”  Brilliant.

“If you’re gonna be stuck someplace, it may as well be at Buccees.”  Now that makes a lot of sense. 

And my personal favorite …

“The best thing we can do is keep our heads above water.”  Umm.  OK.

1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Father, keep watching over us.  We are gonna need your protection for … for a while.  Amen.

August 26 – “That’s my boy …”

We woke up yesterday to some pretty loud claps of thunder.  Oh, and Chris heard the inevitable crash of the dog gate smashing to the floor.  Heidi just can’t stand it when the thunder comes and the weather is unsettled.  That also means she gets disoriented and enters her mode of not being able to find her way out the dog door to take care of basic functions.  I checked.  Yep.  I just closed the door.  I wasn’t quite prepared for that cleanup on an empty stomach.  But Chris beat me to it, bless her heart.  She has a nurse nose.  I have never understood it, but she can somehow turn off her nose and operate in the realm of no smell.  Anyway … it promises to be a long few days for Heidi.

I got a text pretty early in the morning.  It was from the infamous Mr. Bob at church.  He said, “God loves you and I do too.  Be safe.”  Awesome way to start the day. 

Chris attacked her project and disappeared into the blue and yellow bedrooms.  I spent the day trying to keep up with Seaside people who stayed in their homes in the West End.  I got text all day from different ones who were checking in, as well as from others to let me know they had evacuated and where they went.  Great to have my mind put at ease about those folks. 

After the first strong rain band I had to go outside and clear a path for the water in the back yard to drain better.  Not excited about a puddle in the house, so anything to prevent that.  Nothing like a little light landscaping in the rain.  Great fun.  Then 40 Steps started leaking into our driveway.  A beautiful stream of light brown mud trickling past. 

Rain band number two was when the tornado warnings started blaring on our phones.  Chris came out and dragged me from my landscaping duties and said to get inside.  I obeyed.  You would have, too. 

We spent a good portion of the day making fun of the weather channel coverage of the storm.  That always becomes the local pastime when a big storm comes through.  This year it started when Jim Cantore arrived in town, never a good sign.  He left rather quickly, though when it became evident the bad stuff was going south of us.  Enjoy Jim, Corpus Christi. 

All day we kept hearing an unidentifiable banging sound.  We looked outside to see if someone was banging car doors.  Nope.  We checked all our trees.  Nope.  We checked the neighbor’s trees.  Nope.  I finally heard one trip I made outside to look at our sycamore tree bending in the breeze (not really something sycamore trees were made to do).  The sound was the front door of the 40 Steps being pushed open by the wind and slammed shut by the same wind.  And that sound continues …

Chris heard from Kel and Christina during one of the particularly intense rain bands/tornado watches.  They were at WalMart getting some coffee.  That’s my boy …

1 Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

Father, thank you for your protection thus far.  Please be with those in the direct line of fire down south.  They have a long road of recovery ahead.  Amen.

August 25 – “And so it begins”

And so it begins …

We started day one of “official” hurricane preparedness day in just the right way … we went to WalMart.  We picked up a tension bar and some stain that Chris wanted for some projects around the house.  There were not all that many shoppers, but we did notice they were having to restock water.  In fact, they were putting pallets of water all over the store.  If you need a drink of water, WalMart may be the place to go.

We decided to cancel home group last night.  From what we could tell no one was coming anyway.  Just too much to do.  It is, after all, hurricane preparedness day.  Fairly early on they called for voluntary evacuation of the West End of those with medical or special access needs.  Later in the day that spread to a general voluntary evacuation because the West End tends to get cut off when water gets high.  And it will probably get high.  We heard reports that one church in the East End has already canceled services for Sunday.  We will probably do the same, but I won’t make the final call on that until tomorrow. 

They worked on the 40 Steps Mansion pretty frantically yesterday.  One of the guys told us they were determined “to beat the rain.”  Another of the workers came over and had the audacity to ask if they could us our electricity “for just an hour or so.”  He was a sheetrock guy, I think.  They plugged in one extension cord.  It was all I could do not to prank them over the course of the two or more hours they were actually hooked up.  I really wanted to randomly unplug them, and then hook them back up before they could come check on the connection.  Chris wouldn’t let me. 

Our neighbor across the street, Erynn came over to get our take on the storm as a couple of old timers.  They were thinking about evacuating to Magnolia where her parents live.  Problem is, she is scheduled to work at Shriner’s on Saturday.  We told her we were staying because it really looked like a rainmaker more than anything.  Chris gave her the lowdown on what supplies to make sure they had on hand.  Later in the day her husband Taylor got home and was having trouble getting the storm blinds hung back up.  I went over and helped him get the ones up that had hooks on them.  There was still one window left, though, that he didn’t have a blind for.  I pointed out that there were a lot of plywood sheets across the street at 40 Steps just lying around waiting to fly or float away when the storm hits.  He considered it briefly.  Thought he could just say that it was just sucked over onto his front window, and instead of breaking it, the plywood imbedded itself right over that window, miraculously protecting it from further damage.  He finally decided he wouldn’t mind replacing just one window.  Oh, and he said they were planning to stick around.  Welcome to hurricane season in Galveston, neighbors.

1 Peter 5:5 says, “Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”

Father, I suppose the storm event has officially begun for us.  We could use your presence and protection.  Amen.

August 24 – “A 20W50 Family”

Looks like everyone is anxiously anticipating the arrival of whatever effects we will experience with now-Tropical Storm Harvey.  I was hoping he would turn out to be a figment of someone’s imagination (Anybody else catch the movie allusion there?).  This morning I have already (It’s 6:30) received a text from my cousin in Florida letting us know he is thinking about us.  Nothing like hearing from a Floridian - someone who understands the situation.  Oh, and they dropped off a worker at the 40 Steps house around 6:15.  So far all he is doing is restacking the wood that has been delivered over the last few weeks that they haven’t used yet.  Guess they are hoping it doesn’t all blow away or float away.  Oh, wait.  As it gets lighter I can see that he was just moving wood out of the way so they could back their truck up close to the house.  It’s a delivery of sheetrock.  Life goes on.

Last night I received a call from the couple who was scheduled to do their 50^th anniversary vows renewal and the couple who was to be married … on Saturday night.  They are keeping their options open, but looks like they will reschedule to next Saturday if they can work out the details.  That adds a whole new dimension to the event.  Labor Day weekend.  That will certainly be a bustling experience for them.  As far as I know I’ll be here, though.  Sounds like fun.

At staff meeting we had some work to do as well.  While Chris worked inside the building, and the fire alarm tech ran all his inspection diagnostics upstairs, Jim and I took down the canvas awning from the new playground equipment.  We brought the swings inside as well.  Then came resetting the chairs after dinner on the grounds last week.  No one could remember what they looked like.  With Chris’ help we managed to get them into some semblance of order.  I took a picture this time.  Then Jim and I tackled the computer.  Not the best fit for either of us.  The Media Shout program has been doing some strange things when he tries to get set up for Sunday worship.  Could we figure it out?  Nope.  That’s why our computer tech Bryan gets paid the big bucks.  Hey, Bryan … help.

Next we took the truck in to the shop for Dennis to check out an overheating problem we have been having.  I figured it must be the thermostat because of the way it was acting.  Heating up to the warning light point, then cooling back down.  I even had the thermostat already.  That was from a misguided thought I had a week or so ago that maybe I would replace it myself.  So all went well, right?  Nope.  It wasn’t the thermostat at all.  In fact he found out that the thermostat was hermetically sealed.  It will take a blow torch and a special drill and some serious labor hours to ever change that thing.  But he did find the actual culprit.  The radiator hose had blown right next to where the thermostat was located.  He replaced that and it worked like a charm.  He showed me the hose.  Not so much so I could see the hole, though.  He wanted me to see where it was the original GM part that came when the truck was new.  Amazing.  I also asked him to change the oil.  He suggested we battle the use of oil by adding a heavier version.  We now are a 20W50 family.  Sounds like fun.

We did run some other errands.  After dropping off the check we went to the post office.  And in the parking lot I got a call from mechanic Dennis.  Seems I forgot to leave him the keys to the truck.  Oops.  So our next stop was back to the shop.  Ah, well.  Then we went to WalMart for some groceries.  Had to get stocked up for all the rain that’s expected from good ol’ Harvey.  Then came trimming the tree in the back yard.  It was encroaching steadily upon the electrical and cable and telephone lines leading to the house.  Just another pre-storm preparation.  Last night while we watched the Astros game Chris sewed up the rug that was coming unraveled.  Another day in the life …

1 Peter 5:1-4 says, “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

Father, thank you for Dennis.  It is great to have a mechanic we can trust.  Amen.

August 23 – “Impending”

Oh boy.  We are once again watching the Gulf.  Looks like a storm is heading our way.  Ninety percent chance of formation today.  It’s supposed to hit Texas this weekend.  That will be interesting.  I have a wedding combined with a 50^th anniversary vows renewal scheduled for Saturday evening.  Outside.  Sure hope the hotel can provide some help.  Some inside help.  That is, if the couples decided to still come.  Ah, life on a tropical island paradise.

40 Steps report of the day … the insulation truck arrived, and by evening they were done.  They even insulated under the house.  That one kind of surprised us.  Oh, it needed to be done.  We just didn’t expect them to actually do it on what is destined to be a government rent house for the next fifteen years.  The siding guys were there, too, but apparently they are still stalled out waiting for delivery of the last window, a big one in the front of the house.  Same story for the deck builders, but they at least got one side of the deck done and were able to tear down the temporary steps.  The guy told us the only reason the temporary steps were there was because the inspectors refuse to climb a ladder to enter a house.  Hmm.  Oughta tell you something there, guys.  Speaking of ladders, the shingles were also delivered, and the roofers followed soon after.  They got a good start before the rain began.  Should have known it would rain.  Kind of a law.  Roofing begins, rain begins.

Cailyn stayed with us for a while so April could go get a tooth filled.  She introduced us to Elly, her brand new doll.  Apparently it is something really special.  She had to order it and have it shipped.  Looks pretty real except it never opens its eyes.  Sleeps all the time.  I guess that explains why it arrived with bed head hair.  Quite a bit for a newborn, too.  Maybe it needs a shampoo or something.  It has a really pudgy body, so it makes for good cuddling.  Cailyn and Chris had to do some surgery on its eyelashes to glue them back down on one side.  But you know what?  As strange as that thing looks, Cailyn is in love.  Her Mommy instincts are in overdrive right now.  Guess we’ll let it stick around.

1 Peter 4:11 says, “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

Father, we ask for your protection for wherever that impending storm might hit.  Amen.

August 22 – “The Big S.E.”

So, did anybody happen to look up at the sun yesterday?  It was solar eclipse day in the United States.  From the looks of the newspaper and social media it was no less than the hottest natural phenomenon to hit the country all year.  (Get it?  “Hottest”?  The sun is involved?).  I remember back during an eclipse many years ago (No idea of the date.  I was a kid, so it was back in the last century sometime.  That would be the 1900’s.  So long ago).  I tried to make one of those box things to view the spectacle.  It just didn’t work for me.  I tried the piece of paper with the pin hole stabbed in it.  That really didn’t work.  I was too petrified of being blinded to attempt a direct look, so, setting aside book photos and TV reports, I guess this one was the first time I ever actually personally saw a solar eclipse.  I have seen some lunar ones in my time, but never the Big S.E. 

And how did I manage to do what I never have done before?  To this bucket list check-off I owe my grandchildren.  They went to a program at the library the other day.  Learned everything there is to know about an eclipse, and then got the glasses for the real thing.  Chris and I made our way outside at every work break to see what we could see.  Our first foray caused us a bit of dismay.  Clouds covered the sun, but they soon dissipated enough for that fabulous Galveston version of summer sunshine to appear.  The glasses were amazing.  Just checking them out like regular sunglasses or 3D glasses from the theater was worthless.  Nothing but blackness.  But when we located the sun, it appeared in perfect silhouette.  Of course we didn’t get the full impact, so it never got dark outside, but the moon shadow was clearly formed.

I managed to get construction work next door completely shut down.  We have been talking to the guy in charge of building the deck, so I went over and offered to let him have a look through the magic glasses.  He was pretty excited.  So was I, because when he got excited he talked more.  He was from Australia, so it was fun to listen to his accent.  He called over his wife so she could see, and then each of the workers in turn.  It was fun to give them a little break to see something amazing like that. 

The Big S.E.  Amazing.  Way to go, yet again, God.

1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.”

Father, thank you the chance to see something like that solar eclipse.  Your universe is beyond my comprehension, that’s for sure.  Amen.

August 21 – “American Girls?”

We got home from Waco Saturday evening, and to our surprise and amazement, the 40 Steps house next door has windows installed.  And almost the whole house has been covered in siding.  The shed looks done, but they still have to complete the front of the house.  I think I may have even seen a door on one side of the house.

Here’s a quick Sunday story for you.  This week we had a pretty big crowd.  The group in the worship center decided to stay for church, so they added to the excitement.  It was a group of girls like girl scouts.  Maybe American Girls?  No, wait.  Isn’t that one of Cailyn’s dolls?  I don’t know the name, but the girls were really into the teaching.  They answered questions and shared opinions as quickly as any of the adults there.  They made it a fun morning.  One of their leaders stopped me after church and said she really appreciated the way I could communicate with the children, yet she felt that she had received some real spiritual meat.  Wow.  That’s some high praise.  I assured her that must mean the Holy Spirit was working. 

Oh, and speaking of their leaders, one of the ladies approached me and introduced herself as the daughter of a friend of ours from seminary days.  Her Mom had been the babysitter for Kel way back in the day (He’s 40 now, so do the math).  I even figured out her name.  Well, I narrowed it down, at least.  See, as I told her, every single morning when I drove Kel over for a day of babysitting, I would sing, “Here we go to Shannon’s house, to Amber’s house, to Shannon’s house.  Here we go to Amber’s house, so early in the morning.”  I knew it had to be either Shannon or Amber.  Their little sister hadn’t been born yet at the time.  It was Shannon.  Great to renew an old acquaintance. 

1 Peter 4:9 says, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

Father, thank you for all the groups that enjoy our retreat center at Seaside.  Give them safe travels and be a part of their gatherings.  Amen.

August 20 – “Homecoming”

What an exciting homecoming this has been.  My shirt George has finally been reunited with his cousin George and his other cousin George.  After months in exile way up in Waco, the two cousins were released into our custody yesterday and made the long journey back to Galveston.  I haven’t learned all of the private language they use among themselves, but I’m pretty sure I detected some tears of joy.  Welcome home, George.  And George.

Speaking of Waco, we enjoyed our second day with those cousins.  Zak and Caleb had a piano recital (Ostensibly the reason for our trip, although the young cousins had a few other reasons in mind).  It was a movie music themed affair, so Zak played a song from Indiana Jones, and Caleb (who volunteered to go first out of the whole group) played songs from Jurassic Park and Star Wars.  They even dressed in costume from the movies.  They both did fabulous jobs, of course.  My favorite part of the recital (other than the fight we had outside pelting each other with pecans and acorns that, rumor has it, was started by Josh to divert attention from an impending meltdown of some very hungry kids, but you didn’t hear that from me) was after it was over.  The kid who played a song from Tyrannosaurus (I didn’t see that movie, either) was being chased around the church, making horrendous dinosaur noises, by none other than the kid who played the theme from Jurassic Park (Yes, it was Caleb).  Very funny stuff.

After the pecan wars we had some lunch at a really good pizza place.  We almost got lost on the way over there, though.  I was doing the driving at the time, which left Chris in charge of navigation, a task that she really does not like.  We finally reconnected, though, after a small detour or two.  Well, three if you count the circle through that one parking lot. 

The kids hated to leave.  Zak and Micah were doing everything they could think of to convince Christi to let Zak come home with us.  Sadly, all their efforts came to naught.  I did do something on the way home that was unexpected.  Well, other than telling about eight pages of elephant jokes.  They were well-received.  Well, they were when they were understood.  It’s not an easy task to understand an elephant joke.  It takes a finely tuned sense of humor to fully appreciate them.  But they laughed.  Oh, did they laugh.  Especially Josiah.  His laughter can be out of control.  And he can turn it on and off at the drop of a hat.  Of course he thinks he is fooling us when he does it.  Doesn’t make hearing him any less funny, though.  Laugh on, Josiah. 

So, my unexpected adventure?  I actually ate at McDonald’s again.  Yep.  Twice in two days.  Chicken sandwich this time.  Honest appraisal?  Hasn’t changed.  I haven’t been missing much of anything.  I’m pretty sure it will take a car full of children to get me to stop there again.  Hmm.  Wonder if there is a McDonald’s between here and Branson, Missouri?  We’re taking a bunch of “children” there in October …

1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

Father, thank you for our safe and fun journey the last two days.  Help those kiddos get some rest now that they are apart.  Amen.

August 19 – “Teach a man to fish …”

We began our journey to Waco with three grandkids in tow yesterday.  The purpose of the trip is the piano recital by Zak and Caleb this morning.  At least that was the stated purpose.  I don’t think that’s the answer you would receive from any of the kids.  This was pure, unadulterated cousin time for them. 

The trip down was nothing short of entertaining.  The sounds emanating from the back seat were … varied.  I was especially intrigued when they started actually singing.  At first it seemed the songs were from an actual source.  The response to my query was that they were written by “the Perky Pink Band that was My Mom’s favorite when she was a little girl.”  Interesting.  Sounds like you had a great childhood, April.  They did gravitate toward creativity the farther we drove, however.  So you tell me.  How should I have responded to lyrics such as these?  And see if you can identify who said what.  (Cailyn, Micah, or Josiah)

“If you wanna be my lover, first you gotta hold my hand.”  I think this one might have been a “Perky Pink” original.

“When I was six years old, I broke my leg.” 

“When I was six years old, I got a wife.”  Followed quickly by … “That’s messed up.”

“When I was six years old, I pulled out my hair.”

“When I was six years old, my head popped off.” 

“When I was 100 years old, I was in the ground.  When I was 101 I rose from the dead and met Cailyn.  And then I became a zombie and ate you.  And we became zombie husband and wife … together forever.”

Things deteriorated from there, and ended with a rendition of what I could only assume was the theme song from something called Little Einstein.

When we arrived Cailyn pretty much laid claim to AnnaGrace.  They disappeared into her room and talked like … well, like girls.  The boys?  The boys were … everywhere.  All at once.  As a quick example, they had a nerf gun battle, named by Zak “The Magnolia Massacre.”  He was correct in his usage of “massacre” rather than “battle.”  This was not so much a battle as it was an extermination.  Zak and Micah and Luke had guns.  Caleb and Cailyn and Josiah did not.  A bit unfair, you might say?  See the title of the exercise … The Magnolia MASSACRE.

Last night after a meal of grilled fajitas (nice job, Josh), we went to Lake Waco to be instructed in how to fish in a fresh water lake.  We had some live minnows for bait, and after getting seven poles all hooked up and baited, we were set to go.  Of course it was brutally hot, so Christi and AnnaGrace stayed in the shade and eventually Luke joined them in the cool of the car’s air conditioner.  The others made some casts.  Micah even managed to cast his entire pole.  Forgot to hold on, I guess.  But they ended up shedding the fishing gear and going swimming.  Finally there were only two lines in the water, mine and one that Chris ended up holding for one of the boys.  As I reeled in to get some more bait, I noticed that Chris’ cork was under the water and she was doing her best to reel in quickly.  I set my pole down and walked over to watch.  I asked if she had one or if she was hung on the rocks.  She was sure it was a fish, but she couldn’t tell if it was still on the line.  That’s when she dropped the end of her pole and let slack in the line.  You never let slack in the line with a fish on.  I encouraged her to keep the pole up, because the fish was obviously swimming toward some rocks.  About that time Josiah decided to help her see if it was really a fish.  He grabbed her line and started tugging on it.  “Yep.  It’s a fish, Nana.”  Thanks, Josiah, for the confirmation.  Chris finally handed me the pole to finish the task, and sure enough she had about a pound and a half bass.  Josh was, well, let’s say it this way.  He commented, “I have been fishing this lake for three months and I haven’t caught anything.  And here you come for the first time and you catch a nice bass.  That’s just wrong.  Not that I am bitter or anything …”  Love you Josh, and thanks for teaching us how to fish.

1 Peter 4:7 says, “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.”

Father, thank you for the fun the kids have been having together.  And thanks for that fish.  Amen.

August 18 – “Her gift”

Chris’ birthday began with a few presents presentations.  It was kind of a clue reveal to the actual gift.  I will say up front that she did fabulous.  She figured out where I was going with all the gifts long before the end.  Of course that didn’t really help her figure out the actual final gift.  Let me explain.  The first individually wrapped gift was a collection of chains.  That’s all.  Just chains.  Next came a picture frame with photos of the two of us as we celebrated our very first Christmas together.  Next was a frame with a picture of the two of us with all of our grandkids taken this past December.  Then came a small totally black cape.  Any ideas yet?  Next was a small plastic replica of a baked turkey.  She guessed the similarities between all of them by this time, although she did have some difficulty with the cape.  How did you do?  She didn’t even need the last package, which was a copy of the movie A Christmas Carol.  Get it now?  Marley’s chains.  Spirit of Christmas Past.  Spirit of Christmas Present.  Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come (The black cape).  And the turkey Scrooge bought for the Cratchitt family.  So was that all there was to the gift?  Well, no.  See I bought us tickets to see the production of A Christmas Carol at The Grand in December.  We have wanted to see it for several years now.  Happy birthday, Chris.

We also went to lunch with Nathan and Cailyn to The Original, a Mexican food restaurant here on the Island.  April was home sick, and I think Cailyn was feeling some sympathy pains, so she didn’t really eat very much.  Quite the empathetic heart that one has.  Especially for her Mommy.  They were both feeling some better as the day wore on (And as April got some sleep).

Stopping early because, well, because it’s early.  We are leaving in a few minutes to head for a Waco.  Very quick trip to hear the boys up there do a piano recital.  Not a relaxing, calm, quiet day-trip, though.  We are taking along three extra passengers.

Hey, what’s three more grandkids in a house of four already?  Wonder what mischief we can get into …

1 Peter 3:15-16 says, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”

Father, thank you for the work of our fire fighters and paramedics and police officers.  Walk with them every day on shift, and give them peace at home.  Amen.