Let Your Smile be Your Umbrella

Oh my cute, little heroic parents! Tonight starts day SIX that Chuck and Patsy have been without power after Hurricane Ike hit Galveston and knocked out the lights and phones in Houston. While I watched all four Houston networks streaming news on my laptop, my parents unfolded their "fruitful" day via cell phone. "We got up about 7 and did our morning routine . . ." that includes putting three different eye drops in 'Chuckle's' eyes every four hours (he had cataract surgery last Thursday morning before the hurricane hit). They also figured out that it is safer to take their nightly shower during the day when they can see what they're doing, so they changed their schedule (Patsy has been a little stressed that her electric curlers have been out of service). "Then we decided to drive around until we found an open grocery store . . ." When they saw cars at Randall's they went inside and found the staff working in the dark with flashlights! "And one of the nice workers took our grocery list and gathered everything on it--except of course there was no milk or ice." "But how did you pay for it?" I asked. "Oh, somehow they had enough power to run our Visa." You don't say. . . Next came the highlight of their day. They heard that Cleburne's Cafeteria had been open yesterday and decided to pay them a visit (as they do at least two times in a normal week) . . ."and we had the most wonderful hot, roast beef lunch with fresh spinach and ICE in our water!" After a good lunch, they took their groceries and bottled water home and "we've enjoyed the most serendipitous weather sent from the good Lord above--we even got a newspaper and our mail!" As I tear up my ridiculous complaint list from today, I stand amazed that a couple of octagenarians can keep their sunny side up despite the longest power outage their home has seen in the FIFTY years. "So what are you going to do tonight?" I teased before we hung up. "Oh, after it gets dark, we'll listen to the radio for about an hour and a half . . . (Chuck says they sit in the dark and stare at each other) then we'll open the windows with screens and go on to bed." Sleep well, dear ones--especially Chuck, who can hear anything over -15 decibels. Patsy can sleep through anything, although she admitted that she went to bed in her clothes the night the hurricane hit . . . just in case they got evacuated, she didn't want to be rescued in her pajamas.

FYI . . . On Thursday (18th) my mom unconsiously flipped a light switch in the house and there was LIGHT!