Ike? Ick!

Well, I'm home from school today, anxiously awaiting the advent of Ike.  Why is it that danger always waits until the wee hours of the morning to strike?  Ole' Ike isn't expected to make landfall until about 1 a.m., and although Galveston is already seeing high tides from the storm surge, things are quiet here on the west side of Houston.  Ironically, it was a bright and sunny morning, quite hot as well.  I managed to get in an eight mile run in hopes that Ike wouldn't wreak havoc with my fall training schedule...

Anyway, the phones have been ringing as my family from North Texas, Oklahoma, and on up into Indiana and Michigan have checked in.  It is weird to think that within a few hours communication may be cut off.  (Our mayor has suggested that we could be without power for up to two weeks.  Yipes!)

Locally, all of our relatives have prepared to "hunker down."  (At present, we simply squat and wait...)  My mother-in-law arrived yesterday afternoon, laden with a stack of People magazines and a suitcase full of pharmaceuticals.  Niiiice...  I am wondering how long I will find charm in her habit of reading the newspaper aloud:  "Oh, look:  Sears is having a sale; Oh, look:  Jessica Simpson was on Letterman last night!  Did you know that Matthew McConoughey is from Austin?  What do you think of Sarah Palin?  Did you know she has four pairs of glasses?"  I'm not sure what we'll talk about if we don't get a paper tomorrow...

I did bring home my copy of Crime and Punishment, hoping to find some time over the next few days to reread it.  My 12th grade AP students were assigned it for summer reading, and I need to review a bit before we begin our discussions next week... If we have school next week...

I sure hope that we will!  As much as I complain about my high student count (still around 180), and even though I actually scoffed "Duty-Schmuty!" in response to one person's vain attempt to justify our scheduling inequalities, I'd much rather be at work, teaching my juniors about quality commentary or examining motifs with my seniors.  I'd even rather grade essays... No, that's not true:  I have a stack  waiting in my book bag, and they have gone untouched as of yet! 

Maybe I could accidentally leave my bag on the front porch and the papers would be swirled off into eternity by Ike's torrents?  I'm just teasing - the quality of my students' work has improved so much just in a few short weeks.  (Their dilligence, not my teaching, by the way.)  Maybe when I'm done here I'll take a look at a few of them -- maybe. 

Or maybe I'll just enjoy the luxuries of power, air conditioning, icy-cold beverages, and cable tv for a few minutes more.  Those of you experiencing Ike, I look forward to hearing from you soon... those of you who are not, as well!