For a few days there it looked like the cry throughout the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent states was “batten down the hatches” for Hurricane Alex. Fortunately, the storm turned sharply to the west, away from the oil spill area, and averted a worse disaster.
Of course, folks living in Mexico and south Texas may not be too enthused about Alex’s travel pattern. From what I’ve seen, the wind forces tamed considerably but there was substantial (at this writing, there still IS) flooding. So those good folks better hope they had good homeowners insurance, flood insurance, reliable, cheap car insurance, and all the other brands of financial safety we put in place to protect ourselves from disaster.
My wife has a distant cousin who lives in the area of south Texas that was expecting Alex. She sent out email to the family just to tell them she and her husband were boarding up their windows and getting ready for the worst. We haven’t heard yet whether they got the worst, but I think they’re probably all right.
Meanwhile, as our Independence Day celebrations approach here in America, I wish all well. May the Gulf oil clean up go better than expected, and may anyone hurt by Alex find a speedy recovery!