Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful day, filled with good food, lots of companionship with loved ones, and plenty of giving thanks for the things we all take for granted way too much.

Mom and I did go to Piccadilly as we had planned. With it being just the two of us here, and the kids off doing their own thing, it seemed like the most sensible thing to do. We did choose to eat there, though, rather than take-out, and since if I don't have leftovers, I feel deprived, I did buy a helping of dressing and cranberries and a lemon pie to take back home with me.

Walmart was open, so I got the few things I needed from yesterday and then we took a little ride around town, and then out to Tyrrell Park to see how it made out through the storm. I liked to go out there and take pictures and hadn't been back yet. It took a pretty good hit, but surprisingly, they had workers out there even today. They've been working hard, you can tell from so many cut trees, and then the orange numbering system they're using painted on other trees. It's so sad. The Public Gardens, always so pretty and serene and such a nice place to stroll though with a camera, or without one, were in utter shambles. Gosh, it's sad.

After our little ride, we went back to Mom's and just hung out and relaxed and had a cup of eggnog and I went home, only to have a message on my answering machine from Mom saying I had forgotten my cell there, so after I put away my few items, I drove back out there to get it.

Home once again I unloaded the pictures to the computer and gave them a little sharpening and resizing in editing and posted them in my HurricaneRita-Beaumont Fotopic site. You are cordially invited to take a look if you like. The camera I used is a simple instamatic with no controls that you can adjust. So, I guess photographically speaking, they're not exactly super-duper, but they do show what the city looks like.

Today marks two months since the storm. It's amazing that so much time has passed; but then again, it seems like it was eons ago. I'd say the town isn't making much faster headway than I am. But considering how much there is to do, I guess patience will be the key to enduring recovery. The sad part of it is, some of the destruction will probably never be repaired or torn down. The century old trees will certainly never be back - not in any of our lifetimes. So, regrettably, I don't think our town will ever be the same.

With today being Thanksgiving, there is one thing I want to acknowledge, and that is though there are indeed trees through roofs on many structures, the number of trees that "just missed" is really amazing. I can't help but visualize thousands of angels that night rushing frome tree to tree and directing their fall away from so many of the nearby homes and businesses. Granted, some unfortunate people are still unable to return to their homes because of trees in their kitchens and living rooms, but when you get a grasp of how many trees fell and snapped and how many misses there were, it's enough to get your attention. So, "Thank you for saving so much of our town from what could have been so much worse."