Riding the storm out: 3 Stories

Story #1: Justin
I had asked everyone to be praying for Justin, who had heart surgery a week ago today. He and his parents rode out Hurricane Ike in the hospital and probably fared better there than most anyone else. The hospital never lost power and Justin is progressing remarkably well. In fact, the question is starting to become what to do if he is ready to go home but has no electricity at home. He has most of the lines and monitors removed and has started smiling again!

Story #2: The Euphrony's or A (kid) hurricane within a (big) hurricane
The last time I updated I talked about our preparation for Ike and how someone was offering to give Ike away on Craigslist. As Friday night went along we got the kids in bed, Lil'E in our bed downstairs and Lil'er E in his room upstairs. Then Mrs. E and I watched Monk and we went to bed. Around 1 a.m. (shortly before the eye was hitting land) we brought Lil'er E downstairs - he never went back to sleep. And, with him awake, Lil'E woke up. So, as Mrs. E and I tried to sleep on the couch and recliner, the kids ran circles around the living room; all the while outside the wind whistled and howled and trees creaked and popped. In other words, they had a blast of the night! Finally, around 5 a.m., they fell asleep in our arms. The electricity had gone out shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday morning, so most of the fun was in the dark lit only by LED lights.



Come "daybreak" the eye was over us. We could look outside for a bit and see some of the damage before the wind and rain picked back up. Finally, around noon, things were calming enough to go outside and begin some cleanup in the rain. One of our sweetgum trees in the front yard had snapped 20 feet off the ground and fallen on our neighbor's car (sorry!). First priority was getting it sliced up enough to allow them to cover up the hole in the windshield and to move the car so they could get a generator running out of the rain. After this we waited until the rain died down a bit more and began cleanup in earnest. I had another sweetgum drop a large branch over our driveway, and pine branches and pinecones everywhere - but no damage to the house (whew!). Our neighbors across the back fence had a pine snap and fall on their house, but only damaged the covered patio. Down the street a large tree fell and crushed a garage. Any trees with shallow, small root systems were pulled completely out of the ground. Power was out almost everywhere, with random spots around town having electricity. One of those was an intersection about a mile from our house - frustrating! As the day progressed we ate what we had, drank the water I had laid aside (there was a boil notice for all water around town) and made it through until evening. At least we could flush without problems! By 8 p.m. it was dark and the kids were in bed. Mrs. E was in bed, too, and I stayed up to read for a little while. We were hot, but we slept okay.

Sunday was a new day, with some new damage. We had more rain overnight and branches and trees that were loosened by Ike came free and came down. The kids had faired well on Saturday - Sunday they were just plain cranky. With no cold drinks, they wouldn't drink anything. No more milk. The foods in the fridge were gone and the stuff in the freezer were going. No ice. Oh, and did I mention cranky kids? Once the novelty of it all wore off they decided they had had enough! Lil'er E walked up to the TV every 10 minutes and tried to turn it on; persistance was not rewarded this time. I finished cleaning up the yard around 4:00 p.m., had the fridge and freezer cleaned out by 5:00. Before six o'clock we were on the road to Dallas to stay with family until either the power came back on or we had to return for work/school. Lil'E's school is out until at least Thursday, and my work until at least Wednesday. At last check, the electric company that services us was still showing 98% of their customers without power - some 380,000 households. We didn't need to be there, and we could get away. Let someone else have the ice they're shipping in, they need it more than we do.




Story #3: Mrs. E's grandmother
If there's a bad time for something to happen, it probably will. Last week, before the hurricane, Mrs. E's grandmother (in Port Arthur) had a stroke; it was a full day before anyone found her. She's been in the hospital recovering, and was not able to be evacuated before Ike hit. The hospital did not lose power, but Mrs. E's mom got a call this morning that her condition had deteriorated and she was put on life support. So not ten hours after we got to her house she was headed out to be with her mother in what could be her final days. Please pray for my mother-in-law (going into the blackout) and for her mother and family.

This has been a long post but I hope you read all of it. I wanted to update on several fronts and figured I'd mash it all into one. I'll keep everyone informed on the further adventures of the Euphrony's over the next few days.

While I'm at it, I'll ask a question: What is the longest you've sat in your house without power?
Tags: Hurricane Ike, Fallen Trees, Storm Damage, Debris, Electricity, Power Outages, Cleanup

You can find anything on Craigslist

Seriously, any takers?

It's almost 7:00 pm around here and the wind is gusting up. One minute it'll be totally calm and the next the wind hits at 50 mph! About an hour ago we took a walk as a family - nice evening, all things considered. After that I got out to see if Sonic was open (wasn't) and ended up stopping at a gas station to pick up some fountain drinks and ice cream (the necessities). Around 10% of the houses are boarded up, and 5% of the cars on the road are cops.

We're ready for the worst, but I expect things won't get too bad. Plenty of water, from an unexpected place even. The stores have been crazy busy - I should have taken a picture of the lines 30 people deep to checkout at Kroger and Wal-Mart - but I noticed that Specs Liquor Warehouse was open. They had plenty of 1.5-liter bottles of water for 90¢ each, and no line to check out. Not a bad deal.

I'll take pics and keep people updated on our situation, as long as we have power. For now I'm going to work on getting kids in bed. It looks like Austin is staring to get the same type of winds right now that we've been getting all day here - enjoy the breeze!

Everyone sleep well. TTFN!

Tags: Hurricane Ike, Craigslist

Ike and Me

So, here we go again. We're not on the run, like we were from Rita in 2005, but we're battening down the hatches and storing up the food and water. Looks like the next few days will be F.U.N. We could have serious winds (hurricane force) at our house for 18-24 hours as it passes overhead. Work is closing down at noon today for the weekend, and I seriously doubt that Lil'E will be in school tomorrow.

Ironic thing. Our next-door neighbors are getting ready to move and put their house up for sale about a week ago. When they bought the house the closing was delayed because of Rita. So, their time as our neighbors is bookended by hurricanes. Good memories for them of Houston.

But, seriously, we'd appreciate any prayers you throw our way. And for baby Justin in the hospital recovering from heart surgery, too.

Tags: Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Rita

Update on Justin

A couple of weeks ago I asked everyone to be praying for Justin, the 5-month old son of some good friends of our. Born with Downs syndrome, he had several heart defects that required surgery. When I asked you to pray earlier it was in preparation for his surgery - it got postponed. Then I asked you to pray again - it got bumped again for a higher priority surgery. The family has held up well as delays kept their son from getting the surgery he needed, and God finally provided the opportunity for Justin's date with the OR.

Justin finally had his surgery yesterday. From about 9 in the morning to half past five in the afternoon Justin was in the OR. The docs were able to repair the known problems with his heart; there was an additional problem that was observed in surgery that they worked on, but will have to wait and see for final results. Below is a picture of Justin after surgery. If you're like me, it just breaks your heart to see a child like this - and Danielle (his mom) says that it actually looks worse in the picture than in person.

If you could, please drop by Randy and Danielle's blog and let them know that Justin and the family are in your prayers. Also, please pray for good weather here in Houston: Justin should be in recovery at the hospital for a week or two and, if you haven't noticed, there's another hurricane ransacking the gulf and aiming for Texas. It looks like it is trending more and more towards south Texas (which already got hit by Dolly earlier this summer), but if a major storm hit here in Houston while Justin was in the hospital it could cause serious problems for him.

I want to praise Randy and Danielle for their patience through delays and the hope the have for their child - really a wonderful example of God's peace on their hearts. And I want to say thanks to everyone who has been praying for Justin.

Included as part of Brody's Positive Post Tuesday.

Music Monday: The commercial

I laugh at this one every time.



Tags: Snickers, Greensleeves, Commercial

Music Monday: This guy shouldn't be on America's Got Talent

He should be in a studio recording his breakout album. But that's just my opinion. I think he would be wasted just performing in Vegas, much too good for that. What do you think?

Taken down

Tags: America's Got Talent, Eli Mattson

Little Euphrony's brush with greatness

So we're two weeks into kindergarten around here. So far, Lil'E is loving it! She's been having fun, making new friends, and behaving herself for her teacher - she even got to get a prize on Friday because she's gone two weeks staying on green. (The class runs a behavior system similar to the color-coded system that Homeland security uses. Green is best behavior, the yellow, orange, blue, and red - on red you go to the principal.) One of her new friends is a girl in her class; in the first two weeks of school she has been on orange three or four times (we get daily reports from Lil'E, like an intelligence agency). What do you do as a kindergartener to get in that much trouble the first two weeks of school? We've mixed feelings about Lil'E's further association with such a "troublemaker".

But maybe we know where the trouble comes from. You see, we're thinking that maybe this little girl is a prima donna. Lil'E (our spy) has informed us that this girl has been on Hannah Montana! She's a bona fide young star - even the teacher recognized her from the show. Now, we don't think she's a regular, because we can't find her name anyway on the cast lists - probably just an extra. But we are left to guess that the stardom has gone to her head.

It's interesting, though. Lil'E doesn't watch Hannah Montana - we think she's a little too young for it - but she's a bit fascinated since she sees and hears about it everywhere. This little girl has been teaching Lil'E the inside stuff of how they act on the show. So now she comes home, very smugly, and tells us "I know all about Hannah Montana." Yep, she's showed us.

An idea for a new life application note

You know how all the specialized bibles these days have little sidebars where they give some kind of life application of the scripture? Well, in that vein I have a suggestion based on the observations of Lil'E tonight.

The Situation: Euphrony is driving the Little E's home after Lil'E's dance class at the YMCA. A black Camry (remarkably antithetical to Euphrony's white Camry) pulls out into the turn lane and proceeds (with utter disregard to the presence of my car) to pull into my lane and nearly hit me. When Lil'E asks what happened I tell her which car nearly hit ours.

The Application: Lil'E wisely comments "I know what kind of car that is. Do you know what kind of car it is, dad? It's a tax collector!" Since ancient Jews seemed to think all tax collectors were evil, then it is reasonable to believe that all people who do bad things are tax collectors. Right?

I don't know how biblical this really is, but it sure seems profound to me. Words to live by. And remember, whenever a car almost crashes into your own it may well be a tax collector. And beware when you drive of acting like a tax collector and driving recklessly. Or collecting taxes.

Lil'E wrote a rock song last night

So there I was last night, home alone with the kids, playing with my five-year old daughter while my 18-month old son wreaked havoc about the living room. Her chosen game, as usual, involved some sort of humanoid construction of plastic and cloth - in this case, they were the American Idol dolls from Happy Meal toys that came out in the recent past. You raise the arm holding a mike to their face and music plays. Rock on!

Also natural to this playtime, Lil'E decided we had to put on a show (by we I of course mean the toys whose persona's we had assumed). We had to put on a rock show and sing rock songs. Being the naïve parent, I knew no rock songs; but the world-wise kindergartener knows all. She bust out with an original offering that went something like this:

I am singing my rock song
And I've got my rock hair
And I'm wearing my rock clothes

Apparently, if one says the word "rock" enough times in a song then it is by definition a rock song. And it doesn't hurt to yell the words when you sing.

Read more . . .
Don't you love kids? Their ideas so simple, so straightforward, set out so that everyone can understand and join in - after all, the more the merrier when it comes to playtime, right? Maybe I should get her to set down these lyrics for Shaun so he can get back on the charts? (To be fair, he's already got the hair and clothes.)

Here's where I switch subjects on you, in a way. I can look at Lil'E's great effort at making a rock song and recognize it as simplistic, childish even, for insisting that it is the use of the word "rock" that makes it a "rock song". Can you guess where I'm going with this? Yep, I'm thinking about "Christian music".

I was recently reminded how, to many people, a song cannot be called "Christian" unless it uses (frequently) the name of God or Jesus. That's right, they're using the same definition as is my five-year old girl for how to classify a song. Funny how in one case it can seem like an inane, senseless definition but in the other it is deadly serious. Which is which in the last sentence? Which application is inane and which accurate? Both are in the eye of the beholder, so should both be taken seriously?

For Lil'E, when I started singing a song and didn't say the word "rock" within ten seconds I got buzzed and corrected. The same standard applies for the person who believes that only in through explicitly evoking the name of God can you be talking about God. Do a web search and I'm sure you can find a host of people who talk about Christian artists like MercyMe and Michael W. Smith (or fill in the blank) being of the devil because they don't say "Jesus" enough (or a host of other reasons). As if intoning a word or phrase distinguishes between carnal and holy. I think Jesus actually said something about that, along the lines of calling on His name does not guarantee salvation. But we still insist on the trappings, the formula, as though it will lead to salvation in and of itself.

Of course, there are nice examples in the bible that would fail the "does he say Jesus enough" test. Take the classic Psalm 1, beautiful and well known, often quoted, and only gets around to mentioning the Lord at the very end. Were that a modern worship song it would find criticism for only putting in God's name as an afterthought; but as it is a Psalm (capital "P") it is accepted. Or, of course, there's the whole book of Song of Songs with nary a mention of God in it - but it is considered canonical. We could even talk about Paul and Philippians 4:13 - "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." You may be thinking you remember it as "through Christ who gives me strength" but this is the KJV, and the early manuscripts do not have Paul saying "Christ" but "him". His intent is unmistakable, nevertheless, and we know that it is Jehovah who gives us that strength, be it through His word, the Spirit, Christ, or even through His body on earth. Paul did not narrow his definition, likely for a reason, but we do to seek comfort in formula.

Anyway, I'm not too sure why I got off on this topic. Maybe Lil'E's song got me to thinking about simplistic definitions and the vitriolic websites I've seen passing judgment (in flashing, multi-colored, 128-pt font) on others for things such as this. The song Lil'E sang was nice, though - I really liked it.

Tags: Christian Music, CCM, Rock Music, American Idol Toys, Playtime, Judgment, Overly Simple Definitions

Vigilantes on the prowl

They stalk the highways and byways of America. They do not respect age or location or position. No fence is a deterrent, no wall to high. The weapons they carry are well-used and ever-ready.

Only one thing is sacred to these people - the English language. And woe be to he who dares misuse it on a public sign.

Have you heard about these two? They call themselves the Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL for short), but most people just call them the typo vigilantes. Their mission, since earlier this year, is to go around the country and correct - with or without permission - the errata found on signage everywhere. Below is a sample of them at "work". Be it the missing apostrophe, misspelled word, over-used comma, or poor grammar, they will find a way to correct it with tape, white-out, and magic marker.


I first read about these guys earlier this year when I was in Boston (the hometown of one of the two). They've been featured on NPR and the subject of several interviews. Their latest interviewer was, unfortunately for them, a judge. Apparently, people didn't take too kindly to their correction of mistakes on a hand-drawn sign at the Grand Canyon. It seems there their handiwork has landed them a fine, parole, and a one-year ban from all national parks or correction of any public signs. Alas, it seems the government frowns upon correction of its mistakes, especially in historic settings.

What do you think of these guys and their mission? Are they, as the Chicago Tribune called them, "a pair of Kerouacs armed with Sharpies and erasers and righteous indignation"? Or are they yahoos with too much time on their hands? More important, what would you do if you found them correcting your sign?

Tags: Typo, Sign, Grand Canyon, Man on a Mission