Prayers for Those Still Without Power

We still have a third of our county out of power following the ice storm 2 weeks ago and possible severe storms in the form of a squall line are set to move through in the morning. That won't help. Winds sustained at 25-35 mph and gust more than 50 mph are forecast.

Someone said Jim Cantore is back in town, but I suspect it's to tape "updates" or even a segment of "Storm Stories" for the Weather Channel since they don't have too many shows on ice storms and this one has been one of the worst our country has ever seen.

Lot's of rain is forecast too and the saturated ground could combine with the wind to bring more trees down in addition to the "hangers," limbs which are broken, but hanging by a thread up in the trees. I think they can cause more power problems, but I don't think they can top the damage already done since many of the limbs which brought down power lines are already on the ground. I still have a good day and a half of chain saw work left in my yard.

We'll keep our fingers crossed. I read an interesting blog about Kentucky's ice storm, and why it's not a big concern for much of the media. Of course, ice storms are not as "sexy" news wise as hurricanes, but as at least one Southern Mississippi utility worker observed, the damage to the power grid here is WORSE than Katrina. Pictures do nothing to convey the enormity of the damage in Western Kentucky. Some of my neighbors are still looking at weeks, or up to a month before power is restored. Some of these are elderly and infirmed and need power to survive. Dozens have already died.

Also, please keep my father, Bob, in your prayers. He's making slow progress. He's off the ventilator now, but his breathing is still assisted by a special oxygen mask. He still hasn't spoken, but seems to be trying to at times. He's still very weak and his improvement is painfully slow. Although he can't speak, we can see the fear and the anger in his eyes. It's just going to be long road for him. His situation has really made my troubles with the ice storm seem like a trivial, minor inconvenience.