tex is up

It’s official, at least in my mind, fall is here. Even though temps will climb back to 90 for a few more days … fall in Texas arrives when big Tex goes up at the state fair.

Tex gets some new duds this year. Sporting new jeans and new shirt … someone said that he got a face lift in the off season … sheese … everyone is getting cosmetic surgery.

As a kid … the state fair was something I really looked forward to. Being in the marching band … we also got to march in the Cotton Bowl parade … always behind the Bud trailer with the Clydesdales. Our nice white shoes. eeeewww.

Ah, the promise of cooler weather … someday. On another note … in watching the Cowboy game last night they kept saying that it was humid on the field and that the Green Bay players had to get oxygen and take on IV’s …. BUT IT WAS 65 degrees. Our guys are used to it being 95 and humid … I guess that were just loving the temp.

Go Big Tex.

<< — wg

 

we want to help kirbyville

(photo from AP)

This post is an open invitation for churches or other relief organizations to use our help!!

As some of you know, we helped a family fleeing Ike last week house their 4 horses for several days. That family left last Saturday to return home to no power … but minimal damage to their homes … but the barn was gone. They were from the Kirbyville, Texas area. We have not heard much media coverage in the Dallas area from Southeast Texas … mainly Galveston and Houston.

I am a pastor of a local church and I want to help coordinate help to the Kirbyville … Jasper County area. My goal is to try and get as many other local churches involved in any type of relief needed. We are just like every one else … we have a little more time than we have a little more money … so our talents and skills will have to do for help. I know a number of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and a bunch of semi skilled or non skilled folks who could come help in any way.

I have contacted “somebody cares” in Houston … but do not know any other way to contact local pastors in the Jasper county area. If someone could contact me today … I would try and get in touch with as many pastors in our area prior to tomorrow as possible … to find out who could come and when. We just need someone in the area to tell us what you need and how to get there.

Please contact me through this email address … give a phone number … I will return your call.

wgooden (at) yahoo.com

wayne gooden – pastor, and all around good guy.

 

no football here

It’s no secret that in our part of the world that high school football is “the” place to be on Friday nights. Here is a shot of a high school field in Delcambre, La by AP Photographer, Richard Alan Hannon. This photo was taken last Saturday. Wow.

Having school in South Texas after Ike … is sort of hit and miss. The lack of power is still the issue as thousands of utility workers from all over the country work around the clock to restore power. A lot of bloggers from this area report their food supplies running out, kids being restless, and major concern about their money running out by having to eat out.

Texas Baptists have always come to the rescue in disasters … they report serving 234,285 meals to folks during these days.

My alma mater East Texas Baptist University has been in the news quite a bit with helping Ike evacuees.

I did want to report that … the port of Galveston is suppose to re-open next Monday …. for cruise ships.

Youth Groups in the areas are stepping up and helping in small and big ways.

<< — wg

 

dude, where’s my car?

Can you imagine taking a cruise, getting news that a hurricane is headed to your home port … where you parked your car? Ouch. You can imagine the 2000+ cruisers who were told that they would not be making it back to the Port of Galveston … they were going to New Orleans … or you can just stay on the boat. Those were the options … then they had a ridiculously short time to make arrangements to get home … Carnival Cruise Line would be no help in this matter. Sorry. They did open 12 phone lines and give 30 free minutes of Internet to the 2000+ passengers to find their way home. Oh, and what about all those folks who drove to the port of Galveston to board the ship. Pretty sure their cars are gone or totalled … who can tell them … you can’t get in and Carnival … again, no help.

The blogs and the forums criticize people for taking a cruise during hurricane season. Here’s a flash … why sell a cruise during hurricane season? People reported calling Carnival and asking if the cruise would be cancelled since mandatory evacuation was imminent … Carnival said, you can cancel … and you will lose all of your money.

It’s true Carnival probably could not help you find your car … but at least there could have been better communication in letting people know instead of just option #1 … get off the boat and find your way home … or option #2 … stay on the boat and maybe the port of Galveston will open back up (of course that didn’t happen). It’s a bad deal all the way around. Messed up vacation. Mad people. Bad PR. No win situation for Carnival … no matter how you water it down.

<< — wg

 

famous fema two step

graphic from here

News reports from Houston are very upsetting. FEMA had 26 trucks on the ground yesterday morning, but didn’t know what to do with them. Seems they are pushing the blame on the state for not setting up distribution centers. The state … did not know that FEMA was waiting on them … FEMA says “my bad, communications issues.” News conference last evening has the mayor saying that 6 of the trucks have been dispatched and here is where they will be. Seems to me, that was probably not a good plan either. The obvious melee of thousands of people sitting in more long lines and finding out that there will be no water, ice or food when they get there.  FEMA always has a two step plan to get out of a bind … blame the local government … then claim bad communication. Why is it that Red Cross, Salvation Army, Food Banks, Churches, and Denominational Rescue Teams … always know where to set up … way in advance of a disaster … they have no problem finding the people who need it the most. In fact, they do such a good job that they run out of supplies … helping those who need it. All the while there are 26 trucks setting in a parking lot with armed guards around it and, I hear, 40 more trucks on the way … all full of supplies that … POWIE … taxpayers PAID for. While Red Cross, Salvation Army, Food Banks, etc … are begging me to give MORE money to help their effort.

Here’s a NEWS FLASH … why doesn’t FEMA let the Red Cross, SA, and area Food Banks distribute these trucks … since they can’t seem to find the ON RAMP to help the people in a timely fashion. There is plenty of food and help available through our FEDERAL government but everyone has to fill out the proper paper work before you get a block of ice. I know that is an overstatement … but really. Volunteer organizations were on the ground feeding thousands before FEMA could figure out who was in charge. Why does this have to be so hard?

It’s frustating.

<< wg