Stuck Like Chuck

Lots of people are still stuck in traffic. I-45 is shutdown outside of Dallas because a bus full of evacuees caught on fire. A 17 mile backup is being reported. The roads in town appear to be clear, mainly because there’s nobody here. I’ve been outside several times already this morning, to let the dogs out and to check the plywood. The only traffic I see is trucks from Centerpoint Energy and the occasional city Public Works truck. It’s a little surreal because it’s very quiet. Even in a sleepy little suburb, there’s always some noise. Today, there’s nothing. Me and the dog are the noisiest things around. The wind has started to pick up already, but nothing major yet. It’s still nice and sunny outside. Rain is expected about noonish, but that depends on how the hurricane moves.

News2Houston appears to have rotated out their sacrificial junior reporters. Last night, the reporter standing on the beach in Galveston was a young Korean woman. This morning, there’s a blonde woman on the Seawall. I fully expect to see one of these women blown off her feet in the next 24 hours. The only people left on the beach in Galveston appear to be reporters and the mayor. It’s amusing to see other news crews in the background as one crew tries to make some relevant statement other than “Look at the waves! That surf is awful high, ain’t it?” (Note to self: don’t build house on a barrier island in the GOM.) The mayor of Galveston must have way more patience than I do. She keeps answering the same idiot questions from the same idiot reporters. I would have slapped somebody by now.