Hurricane Ike. Right now, Hurricane Ike poses no threat to the central gulf coast. We were all sweating bullets about this storm. Of course, with hurricanes, anything can happen. Unfortunately, storm weary people in Louisiana and Texas have now got to worry about boarding up homes, getting hurricane supplies and preparing for the worst. Just preparing for a hurricane is an agony in and of itself. You know what’s coming and you are totally helpless to stop it. I guess it’s that “helpless” feeling you have that frays nerves. As Americans, we feel there isn’t much we can’t overcome. But, we are as much at the mercy of nature as the poor people in Haiti are, God Bless them all. It’s been a terrible season in the Caribbean area. Both Cuba and Haiti have been hammered this year. My deepest sympathy lies with these people today.

I got estimates on the storm damage inflicted on my Honda Civic yesterday. It’s going to cost $1,649 to repair the two dents and replace the windshield. Unfortunately, I have a $500.00 deductible. Ouch! I thought about just forgetting the whole thing. I know insurance companies have long memories. They’ll remember this claim. It’s funny in a way. They want your money in order to provide a service to you. But, when you use the service, the insurance company will punish you for doing so. I agree with this gentleman I saw on CNN describing his fight with his insurance company after Hurricane Katrina. He said, “There has to be a special place in hell for insurance companies.” I thought that was very eloquently put and so very true.

I’m taking my sister back to Birmingham to see the ENT who specializes in the kind of staph infection that has settled into her nasal cavity. No one here in Mobile, AL has been able to do anything to eradicate this infection from her nasal cavity. It is growing inside her and has to be flushed (very painful also, I might add) out every three weeks. The surgery she has about two weeks ago to promote drainage is supposed to help stop the pressure. But, the drainage is causing her nausea. In fact, she has lost her appetite as a result. I’m not sure what else can be done for her.

Finally, a date “that will live in infamy” is upon us once again. I plan on making a special blog entry about September 11, 2001…where I was, what I was doing and so forth. It’s something I likely will remember and be angry about until the day I die. I was so mad that day. I wanted to just hit some damn body. This was all done by people who have much more in common with Nazi Germany than they like to acknowledge; Islamic Fundamentalists. If you are not a believer, you are an infidel. That makes you a target for murder. What is even more sad, people do not realize we are still at war with these people. Sure, Iraq is stabilizing. Afghanistan is starting to fall apart once again. I don’t believe I will see peace again in my lifetime. I hope I’m wrong. But, this “quiet war” will continue for at least 15-20 years before these fanatics are subdued. As in WWII, we have to win this war or our way of life will come to an end. God Bless our troops.