THE BABY IS GONE!

We had a quiet-long trip home from Sheveport after dropping off "The Baby". After receiving a call around noon that her plane leaving from Jackson, MS had been cancelled, Mom went into overdrive. I knew she needed to get back to hubby, dog & work . Northwest would not promise her a flight out until Wednesday, since Jackson was on the bad side of the storm. After a search on-line and a call to Northwest, they let her fly out of Shreveport instead. Same 2nd leg of the flight, just different starting point. On behalf of Adam and Powers, thank you Northwest. BC & I would have loved The Queen being around another couple of days-BUT.

The day started with our 5 mile run through downtown Ruston today. It was very hot and humid-but still only stray clouds in the sky. The only sign of the impending storm was the shelters ALL over town-FULL to the brim and every hotel being covered up. As we ran by the old gym at the local university, they were unloading nursing home patients and special need evacuees. I stopped to see if they needed volunteers and was told they were just settling in and the shelter was full to the brim. All of the shelters in Ruston are full to the brim. Trinity Methodist, Emmanuel Baptist, and First Baptist church have opened their gyms up to shelter evacuees. It makes me very proud to see them open their doors and the MANY people who volunteer their time and talents to aid those fleeing from harm's way. As we traveled through Shreveport, we noticed the same circumstances-full shelters and full hotels. We are very grateful to our neighboring states for their help in these difficult circumstances. With the majority of the population centered on the Gulf Coast, the remainder of the state is hard pressed to supply all of the shelter needs of so many. We could not do it without the aid of our neighbors. Thank you-all our neighbor states.

The rain has set in and there are reports of high winds and lots of rain coming our way. Hopefully with a town full of guests, we will not also loose our power. The worst may be over in South Louisiana, but our storm test is coming tomorrow. If you loose touch with me, know my power is off and I will return.

I KNOW #3 is glad to be headed back to the North and out of all of this fun!