Hurricane Rita

For now, I shall try to confine all Hurricane Rita thoughts to this post, so check back often for updates.

I just spoke to DH. He's about halfway back from Houston. Should hit Dallas around midnight. First,an update - he ran into one of the nurses who he'd handed off the chart to. The chart. Of the man left behind in New Orleans. The only survivor in that particular hospital. She recognized him. And told him to expect a phone call from the man's lawyers. *cue my jaw hitting the floor and my heart pounding* Remember, technically DH and the others with him kidnapped this man across state lines. Yes, major medical hospitals legal teams advised them, but still...this has been a huge fear up to this point. Well, turns out the man is doing great and has been reunited with family in Chicago. And they are suing the shit out of the hospital, the doctors and nurses for abandoning him. DH is the hero of the day, in this man's eyes. *cue semi-normal, if slightly scared breathing* All will be fine. DH may be called to testify in this man's case against the hospitals. But NO ONE will be pressing charges where DH and his co-medics are concerned. Whew. *Giant sigh of relief here*

Now, on to the Hurricane at hand - Miss Rita. As of 9:30 CST, the National Weather Service has changed Rita's expected path slightly. She is now expected to land just west of Galveston. Which means that Galveston, Houston and areas east will be the hardest hit. Which is where my brother and his mom and step dad live. I've put in a call to him. If he plans to evacuate (which I'm really really hoping he does), I'm going to tell him to get his ass up here. Altho, at 22, he's invincible. *rolls eyes* He slept through the one and only hurricane he's ever lived through. Okay, so he was a whopping 5 months old at the time :)

And, with the slight change of Rita, her upgraded winds are now sitting at 175mph sustained with gusts up to 200 mph. Category 5. Worse than Katrina ever thought about being. And my house sits directly in her path only 300 or so miles inland. Rita is approx 300 miles wide. It's entirely possible that she could be a Cat 2 or slightly possible Cat 3 storm when she reaches the Dallas area. *cue Momma's freak out* DH and I are discussing evacuation plans via cell phone tonight. Depending on the next 24-48 hours, I may very well leave my house, as well. I don't want to do it. I will cry. I will bawl. But, I will survive. We live on the edge of Tornado Alley. And in all honesty, I don't know that my home can survive 70-80 mph winds. Right now, everything is speculation. But, I'm beginning to prepare myself for the worst. I'll be packing a few important papers and miscellaneous items tomorrow night, more than likely. The kids are supposed to spend this weekend with their dad. If I do leave, I'll be picking them up first. DH will be staying here. As he put it, someone has to be around to pick up the pieces. And he wasn't talking about our house. Sometimes, I hate the firefighter and medic that flows through his veins. The kids and I, if we leave, will head up to the farm. There's a tornado shelter and the ability to generate power and food for up to two weeks if needed.

I hate this. I don't want to have to deal with this at all. Hopefully, it won't be as awful as they are saying it could get. But, at this point, we are dealing with the 3rd largest hurricane in recorded history. Anything could happen.

EDITED TO ADD: As of Friday @ 11 am, here is Rita's projected landfall