Since no one had heard anything from Mike since Hurricane Rita went through, I found his phone number on the Internet and tried calling him this evening not knowing if I would be able to get through. Well I got through and talked to him for a few minutes. He and his family are all fine.

Last we had heard a few days before the hurricane, Mike was "chickening out" since the NWS was forecasting "235 MPH winds". He and the family live in Lumberton, Texas which is just north of Beaumont. They went to Dallas, which should have taken 5 hours to drive there but took 22 hours. They stayed there for a week and then went to Conroe, Texas where they stayed for another week. They have been home now for four or five days now and his wife goes to work tomorrow for the first time since Rita at an area hospital emergency room which is the local FEMA disaster center.

The electricity is still off at their place but he has a generator that sounds like is large enough to power his house. The Internet is still down (including dial-up) which is about to drive Mike crazy as I am sure we all can attest to. His telephone is working but sounded a little fuzzy.

He lives in a wooded area so there were LOTS of trees knocked down but his house and "He and Coco's Doghouse" escaped major damage.

He told me to tell everyone "HI" and he hoped to be back on line soon with pictures to share!

Cheers!
Bill