Hurricane Gustav

Sunday night, August 31, 2008:

With a lot of trepidation, Darlene and I boarded the plane Sunday morning in Baton Rouge, headed for Maui. Friday and Saturday, we had made plans for the possibility of Hurricane Gustav hitting our home in southeast Louisiana. We had made plans to fly to Hawaii for several months now but as time approached and with all the news of an impending storm, we found ourselves packing up and leaving with mixed emotions.

Two years ago, we were on Maui when the earthquake happened. It was a first for both of us. Darlene was still in bed when the thing began to shake the condo while I was downstairs watching the chandelier sway.After the third time she had warned me to "quit shaking the bed", she realized it was a quake and when it was over, she ran to the loft balcony, looked down at me still in a state of shock and exclaimed, "Was that a ....... hurricane !!!?"

Two weeks ago, I was riding out tropical storm Fay in St Augustine, Florida and it was a nuisance but Gustav is a storm to be reckoned with. Any many ways it might be as devastating as Katrina.

As I sit here in Kihei, Maui, HI, I somehow wish I were there to ride out the storm with my kids and to watch over our own home. Hopefully there will be a home to return to. We shall see how it all unfolds in the next 24 hours.