Katrina Aftermath

I continue to watch the television coverage. All I can conclude is that hell on earth exists a couple of hundred miles east of Beaumont. It does not seem possible. Everything is so normal here in Beaumont. The mail is coming through. The Beaumont Enterprise said our payments to Entergy, the electric power company that serves Beaumont, would go through even though they are sent to New Orleans. Amtrak has curtailed passenger train service through Beaumont for an indefinite period. The Sunset Limited normally runs three times a week. This train goes from Orlando to Los Angeles. Now its route is reduced to San Antonio to Los Angeles. FedEx delayed delivery of a package I was expecting one day.

The evacuees in Beaumont are settling down for the long haul. According to local television, 1,500 evacuees are in the Ford Park entertainment complex and doing quite well considering the circumstances. Their children will be enrolled in Beaumont schools and the Texas Employment Commission is going to help them find employment. They will also be moved into temporary housing as soon as it can be located.