175 MPH Winds!!!

I looked at Wilma’s tracking map released at 5 AM. I saw the maximum sustained winds of 175 mph. I thought something was wrong with my eyes or that it was a typo. I went to another site and saw it confirmed. What has happened to our planet? We are in the second half of October. The hurricane season officially lasts through November 30, but usually by late October I am beginning to relax and think hurricanes are not a threat for the remainder of the year. I absolutely have to move to Dallas.

I got some good news yesterday. The service representative from Mike Smith Honda called and said they received my Acura parts. They want me to come in tomorrow morning at 8 AM to get them installed. I will be so happy to have my beautiful car back in good shape. It is an Acura RL with only 20,000 miles on it. I bought it right after I retired and have put very few miles on it.

Acura was one of the first cars to have a navigation system. When I bought my car, the navigation system was only available for cars being sold in California. The software was not ready for the rest of the country. I have felt no need for a navigation system in Beaumont. I know my way around this town. Now that I am seriously thinking about moving to Dallas I think a navigation system would be a big help. I would like to have a little handheld unit that I could carry with me when I travel that has detailed maps available for cities throughout the world. I like to visit big cities and walk around the central city where the tourist attractions are located. I do not know if these little units would be suitable for walking around big cities or not. I have looked at Garmin’s and Magellan’s websites and really do not understand just what I should buy. We have a Circuit City and a Best Buy in Beaumont. I usually am not impressed with the knowledge of the sales staff when I go in those stores. If anyone is reading this blog and can give me some pointers, I would appreciate your advice.

I went to Sam’s Club yesterday. Washington Blvd. was open all the way between Major Drive and the freeway. There was still debris in the center land and one of the westbound lanes was barricaded. There was a four-way stop at Langham. It looked strange at that intersection, and I realized the poles and traffic lights were no longer there. Entergy says they have restored 100 percent of the power to Beaumont, but there are still people with damaged homes that do not have power restored. I noticed the house on the corner of the street behind me is one in that category. The circuit breaker box and electric meter on the side of the house were ripped off and have not been repaired. Every time I go out I see something that reminds me how lucky I am.

The price of premium unleaded gasoline at Sam’s was down to $2.649 yesterday. I am still seeing premium unleaded at $3 at gas stations near where I live. Sam’s seemed to be fully stocked. In fact there were pallets with merchandise sitting in the aisles that made it difficult to get to the shelves. I was able to find everything that was on my list.