We’re still in Fort Worth, refugees from Hurricane Ike. Computer Guru Son stayed in Clear Lake where we live, and he’s in one of the few places in all of Houston that still has electrical power. It’s strange since Clear Lake was right in the path of Ike, but the power lines are buried underground. So I suppose that’s why we have electricity when no one else does.

Son took some pictures yesterday afternoon, but then he discovered that while he has electricity, he no longer has an internet connection. So I can’t show you what it looks like down where I live. He says that all the traffic lights are out (no power and lots of wind damage), everything’s closed except for HEB, and people are driving like crazy fools with no traffic signals. Some places such as Nassau Bay, Kemah, and Seabrook are still flooded, and police are allowing no one into those cities. Engineer Husband says NASA officials are “assessing the damage” and hope to reopen Johnson Space Center by the end of the week.

And what hath all this Ike news to do with reading, you ask? Well, I’ve had time to read while waiting to return home. We hope to leave tomorrow morning to go back. In the meantime, I’ve read Random Harvest by James Hilton, the same author who wrote Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips. Hilton actually lived in Hollywood during the 1930’s and after, and all three of the above named books were made into movies. I’ve only seen the two versions of Lost Horizon. Mr. Hilton also won an Academy Award for his work on the screenplay of Mrs. Miniver, a movie I did see last year and enjoyed in spite of, maybe because of, its unabashed patriotism.

I also started on a new-to-me Wodehouse romp, Bertie Wooster Sees It Through. I’m fairly sure I’ve never read this particular Bertie-and-Jeeves adventure; at least the first few chapters don’t seem too familiar. So far Bertie’s been almost trapped into an engagement with a distant cousin, Florence, refused to shave off his moustache in spite of Jeeves’s disapproval, and spent a night in the pokey as the result of tripping a police officer. I’d says he’s off to a good start.

I may or may not have an internet connection for the forseeable future. I would imagine that restoring power to Houston is more urgent than restoring my connection to the worldwide web. If I’m not here in writing, I’m here in spirit. Keep on reading.

Semicolon’s September: Celebrations, Links and Birthdays