<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.5626" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV><FONT face=Tahoma> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><BR><BR><FONT size=2><SPAN class=437152920-21092008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>[Leslie Bartlett] </FONT></SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=437152920-21092008>Power came on in 77083 in early afternoon. Originally the word was next Monday. We had friends who offered food, house, anything- so we took ice.   For us it was an inconvenience- well my wife didn't handle it so well.  But to be without the things which we always take for granted is actually a valuable experience.  Life can go on at a basic level, though if a national catastrophe came, then it wouldn't be manageable.  While waiting for my computer to run virus scan (it is safe) I read paper which said few bodies have been found- most took the whole thing seriously- this coming from Houston Chronicle.  Though it is very nice to have all the conveniences back, it has, for me been a reminder of the things which we take for granted which can be taken away very quickly in many different manners.</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=437152920-21092008>les bartlett</SPAN></FONT></DIV> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=437152920-21092008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT size=2><SPAN class=437152920-21092008> </SPAN><STRONG>Subject:</STRONG> Re: Ike update<BR><BR></DIV></FONT></FONT> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>We still do not have power in our area.  We are in 77041 and are suppose to HOPEFULLY get power on Monday evening.  I pray that will happen.  I am extremely depressed over all of this.  I am hearing stories about all the dead bodies in Galveston and 20,000 body bags were brought in.  I pray this is just a rumor.  I also heard from a First Responder (second hand) that there are lots of bodies on west beach in Galveston and that is why no one is being let in.  Two of our neighbors have generators so we are plugged into their generators.  In our area also it is neighbors helping neighbors.<BR><BR> <DIV> <DIV> <DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT color=#407f00>PATRICIA SIERASKI</FONT> </FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT color=#0000ff>Psieraski@sbcglobal.net</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT color=#0000ff>713-856-9652</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT color=#0000ff>Patty's Cakes</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT> </DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid"> <DIV id=yiv1578822744> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif"> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif"> <DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif"> <DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The spirit of the neighbors and of Houston in general is great.  No masses of people waiting for FEMA handouts.  TV did their best to make it worse than it was.  At Sam's, they had half the gas pumps shut down so the lines would appear longer than they were with TV cameras set to show the lines.  Neighbors got together and help each other clear what they could.  Power was out for us for two days.  Our neighbors three doors down and farther south still don't have power.  We are at Panera Bread using their WiFi to catch up.  We do not have cable, so we have no phone, no TV, and no Internet. No estimate on repairs.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>More later.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Paul Andersen</DIV> <DIV><A href="mailto:pandrsen@earthlink.net" target=_blank rel=nofollow>pandrsen@earthlink.net</A></DIV> <DIV>EarthLink Revolves Around You.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></BODY></HTML>