I’ve waited a week to write this piece. It has taken me this long to get enough perspective to say what I want to say, and to relate the stories in a way that I think does them justice. It has also taken me this long to get my life back in order so that I can really take the necessary time to do it right.

Let’s go back to last Wednesday, September 21. At 5:00 PM we got a reminder call from the city of Seabrook, telling us that our evacuation time was 6:00 PM. Well, we were ready to be on the road by 6:45, and so left our home to catch the evacuation rout to the area we planned to stay – Beltway 8 to Hardy Toll Road to I-45, and thence through Dallas-Fort Worth to Ardmore, Oklahoma. At 7:00 we got on the Beltway at Fairmont Parkway in Pasadena. It was then that Hell began.

By 10:30, we had traveled along the Beltway to I-10 – a grand total of 11 miles that would usually take about 12 minutes to drive. It didn’t get much better, as we spent the night talking about how we would rebuild our house (10 feet above sea level, 4 blocks from Galveston Bay) after the Category 5 storm sent a 25 foot storm surge into our neighborhood. I know that I cried as we talked about rebuilding our lives, and I think I saw a couple of tears in Paula’s eyes as well.

By 7:00 the next morning, we had only been able to creep a total of 45 miles to I-45 and Rayford Road, which is usually less than a 1 hour trip. We were sucking fumes, and there was not an open gas station in sight. When road service dispatched a tow truck to bring me gas, they had none – but the owner of the garage was kind enough to tell the driver to bring us in to the shop, where they had gas in storage tanks to use in generators. Those two gallons of gas that Paula and I were given were heaven-sent, and I would like to thank the wonderful folks from Milstead Automotive in Spring, TX for their kindness and generosity, especially since they would not even take money for the gas. That was the first act of true kindness and compassion that I encountered in what was shaping up to be a really lousy day.

Back on the road by 8:00 AM on Thursday, it seemed to me that we might get lucky and find gas – but my hopes were pretty dim. But around 11:00, having traveled about another 10 miles, we happened upon a Sam’s Club with full gas tanks, so we were set.

And then the unthinkable happened. At 2:10 PM, just past the Outlet Mall in Conroe, TX (about 65 miles from where we got on the Beltway 19 hours before) we felt a jolt from behind. A Dodge Ram pickup had hit my new car (a Suzuki Forenza) from behind. The driver not only did not stop, but he and his girlfriend/wife smiled and waved at us as they pulled around us into an open spot in the next lane and drove off. Paula, with her medical history, was transported to the hospital in Conroe for treatment in the ER, and was released about 4:45 PM. At that point, aching and exhausted, I called one of my colleagues who lives in Conroe and asked for a place to stay the night. Ann, her husband Doug, and her daughters treated us so very kindly that evening, and sent us on the way the next morning with directions that got us away from I-45 and over to Highway 6, through Bryan-College Station, and on to I-35 at Waco.

The rest of the trip was relatively easy. We met some great folks at the volunteer fire department in Marlin, TX, where the Red Cross and the fire department had set up a rest stop for evacuees. When we left, they were trying to find shelter for an extended family of about 40 who were traveling together, as well as helping them get some medication that had run out.

At last we reached the Super 8 in Ardmore, which was the closest place we could find that would let us bring our dog, Carmie, with us. Upon arrival, we found that the manager had not only held our room for us, but had moved us into a room that would be better for Paula after the accident. We watched the storm make landfall, and were happy to see coverage from Nassau Bay (Fox News) and Baytown (MSNBC) that confirmed that the storm would not do great damage to our home.

We stayed through the weekend and drove home Monday. We had to do a lot of “on the fly” navigation to make sure that we were not caught in traffic, and made it home in about 9 or 10 hours.

Would I evacuate again? Yeah, I would. I’d prefer to take the back roads rather than follow the recommended evacuation routes, but I know I cannot stay in my house when the big one is expected to come blowing. I might even be willing to go as far as Oklahoma again – but I will probably want to make my reservations sooner so that I don’t have to.

My evaluation of the state and local response is mixed. I think the plan worked well on the drawing board, but had several flaws, many of which have been commented upon since the evacuation. I do, however, want to comment on them to make it part of the public record here on the blogosphere.

First, I believe the contraflow lanes should have been opened at the same time the evacuation began – and certainly no later than Wednesday night, when the evacuation was in full swing. Had this been done at 8:00 PM on Wednesday rather than noon on Thursday, much of the congestion would have cleared up during the overnight hours.

Second, there needed to be more gas available readily available. One of the most infuriating things I heard on the radio was Governor Perry’s comment that “some people obviously did not follow my directions” to make sure their gas tank was full. I head this some 16 hours into my trip, having traveled no further than 50 miles and having burned a full tank of gas in the process. I had left home with gas enough to reach any of the state designated evacuation states, and even to make it to the site of my choice in Oklahoma. What I could not plan for was the gridlock.

Third, I believe that there needed to be more professional behavior from some members of law enforcement. We passed one constable on the Hardy Toll Road (I believe a Harris County Precinct 4 officer, but I could be wrong) playing solitaire on his in-vehicle computer. We honked the horn, but he would not even acknowledge us. When he did, about 30 minutes later, respond to a group of vehicles that were stalled on the side of the road next to us, we shouted a question to ask about gasoline availability. He simply laughed at us and shouted “good luck”. I suggest this pot-bellied, white-haired constable with a mustache (if this isn't him, then his twin also works for Precinct 4) probably needs to be retired by his boss, Constable Ron Hickman – and if action isn’t taken, perhaps Hickman needs to be retired by the voters for poor management of his officers during the crisis.

Lastly, I think there needs to be consideration of the use of other highways besides those suggested for evacuation. State officials knew that I-35 was running freely – but never put up suggestions that we could find better traffic if we went only 30 minutes west on a smaller highway. What’s more, most of the towns along those roads had gasoline, which would have solved a second problem. The problem was that none of those roads began in Harris County, so the planners didn’t think about directing people to them. That needs to be reconsidered, with additional state involvement and coordination to make the plan truly regional.

Ultimately, I have to say that we were very lucky in the Houston area. The storm turned in a manner that we never expected. The area was saved, at a high cost to others in the region. The people of Houston were generous with those harmed by Katrina, and I fully expect that generosity to continue with those whose lives were disrupted by Rita.

And let me say “Thank you” to all who offered up prayers or kind thoughts, during this time, when we needed them desperately – and also to my guest blogger, Rhodey, to the lurker from Bryan who out of the blue offered my family shelter (you don’t know how touched we were by the offer, but I didn’t get the message until we had reached Ardmore), and to all who just looked in to see how we were doing.

Finally, some more media coverage of the case of Seabrook City Councilman Rick Sammons' arrest on weapons charges back in July. All charges have been dropped.

During City Council's Sept. 20 meeting, Sammons, 36, who is not eligible for re-election in May because of term limits, made his first public comments about his arrest.

Reading from a prepared statement, he said he was awakened by the sound of a man's voice in Sammons' home on July 23 about 12:30 a.m., which prompted him to grab a gun to "protect my family and my property."

Sammons said the man's voice was that of his neighbor, who told him there was a situation at the man's home he was "unable to control."

Sammons said he went to the neighbor's home, where he discovered a domestic dispute between his neighbors.

He said he then left the residence to return to his home and in doing so, encountered the sister of one of those involved in the squabble.

"I (informed) her I had a gun and I was going back into my house," Sammons said in his statement.

Shortly thereafter, he said, Seabrook police arrived.

He said he walked out of his home to talk to them about the situation, but was quickly arrested.

"The officer immediately read me my rights and put me in the back of the squad car and explained I was being charged with deadly conduct," Sammons said in his statement.

Now this is all well and good,, but I am still quite concerned about the media coverage -- or, more accurately, the lack thereof -- of this situation.

Other than scanty coverage in a couple of locations, there was no coverage of the arrest. There were no follow-up stories about the case in any media source. It was as if a great curtain of silence had descended around the incident.

It lead me to wonder what other stories are not being covered in the Houston press.

There have long been questions about the location of Ithaca, the home of Homer’s great hero, Odysseus. Scholars may have found it.

Homer's legendary hero Odysseus wandered for 10 years in search of his island kingdom, Ithaca. Now, a British amateur archaeologist claims to have ended the ancient quest to locate the land described in "The Odyssey."

Although the western Greek island of Ithaki is generally accepted as the Homeric site, scholars have long been troubled by a mismatch between its location and geography and those of the Ithaca described by Ancient Greece's greatest poet.

Robert Bittlestone, a management consultant, said Thursday that the peninsula of Paliki on the Ionian island of Cephallonia, near Ithaki, was the most likely location for Odysseus' homeland. He said geological and historic evidence suggested Paliki used to form a separate island before earthquakes and landslides filled in a narrow sea channel dividing it from Cephallonia.

"Other theories have assumed that the landscape today is the same as in the Bronze Age, and that Homer perhaps didn't know the landscape very well," Bittlestone told a central London news conference. "But what if the mismatch was because the geography has in fact changed?"

Two eminent British academics said they backed Bittlestone's theory. They have co-written his book, "Odysseus Unbound -- The Search for Homer's Ithaca."

James Diggle, a professor of Greek and Latin at Cambridge University, said the hypothesis worked because it explained why in one passage Homer describes Ithaca as "low-lying" and "towards dusk," i.e. lying to the west of a group of islands including Cephallonia and Zakynthos.

The Paliki peninsula is largely flat and connects to Cephallonia's west coast, whereas Ithaki is mountainous and lies to the east. Bittlestone's theory suggests that Ithaki corresponds to the island Homer calls Doulichion.

"I have never for once doubted that the theory is right because it explains all the details," Diggle told The Associated Press.

Cool stuff!

Look at this find from Creete -- life-size statues of Hera and Athena found in their original setting!

The works, representing the goddesses Athena and Hera, date to between the second and fourth centuries - during the period of Roman rule in Greece - and originally decorated the Roman theater in the town of Gortyn, archaeologist Anna Micheli from the Italian School of Archaeology told The Associated Press.

"They are in very good condition," she said, adding that the statue of Athena, goddess of wisdom, was complete, while Hera - long-suffering wife of Zeus, the philandering king of gods - was headless.

"But we hope to find the head in the surrounding area," Micheli said.

Standing six feet high with their bases, the works were discovered Tuesday by a team of Italian and Greek archaeologists excavating the ruined theater of Gortyn, about 27 miles south of Iraklion in central Crete.

Micheli said the goddesses were toppled from their plinths by a powerful earthquake around A.D. 367 that destroyed the theater and much of the town.

The statues fell off the stage, and were found just in front of their original position, she said.

"This is one of the rare cases when such works are discovered in the building where they initially stood," she added.

Hopes are high that other parts of the theater's sculptural decoration will emerge during future excavations.

"Digging has stopped due to the finds, but we suspect there may be more statues in the area," she said.

The town where the statues were found, Gortyn, has been occupied since around 3000 BC, and was a major center of the Minoan civilization that predated the Mycenaean Greece of Homer. It later served as the Roman capital of Crete, and was one of the cities in which St. Titus would have preached the Gospel.

Colorado Senator Ken Salazar is a lying political hack who will break his word to the voters of Colorado and his fellow senators if President Bush nominates either of two highly qualified female jurists to the Supreme Court.

Saying President Bush sometimes acts "like a king," Sen. Ken Salazar warned Friday that he would vehemently oppose Bush's next Supreme Court pick if it turns out to be one of two controversial U.S. Circuit Court judges or someone else he considers an unqualified ideologue.

During a conference call with reporters, Salazar said he would oppose Janice Rogers Brown or Priscilla Owen, two circuit court judges the U.S. Senate recently installed on the bench following a blistering confirmation process.

By singling out Brown and Owen, Salazar made his most specific warning to the White House yet, calling for more advance consultation before the president makes a nomination to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

"This president, frankly, sometimes acts like a king," Salazar said. "He's imperious. He believes he controls Washington and controls our country, and does so sometimes in a way that, it's his way or the highway, and doesn't take into account what other people are thinking...when they have a different point of view or are (from) a different party."

Salazar wants the president to take an unprecedented step of publicly releasing its so-called "short list" of Supreme Court candidates before making an official nomination, which could come at any time.

"I have never filibustered a judicial nominee and I hope that I never have to," Salazar said. "I'd hope that if the president does move forward with someone like Janice Rogers Brown, many Republicans would join us in basically telling the president, 'No, we won't accept somebody who is professionally unqualified and is an ideologue...'"

But hold on, Senator – you told the voters of Colorado that you would give nominees an up or down vote. You also signed on to an agreement that specifically allowed Owen and Brown to be confirmed to their respective appellate seats and promising not to use the filibuster. Are you telling us that your word to your fellow senators is no good – and that you allowed two “unqualified” nominees to be placed on the federal courts when you made that agreement? Oh, and by the way, on what basis do you call them unqualified, given their many years of distinguished judicial service on the highest courts of their respective states – as well as their approval by the ABA, which leading Democrats once called the “gold standard” for judicial nominees?

No, Ken, it is clear that you are a partisan hack who lacks the integrity to abide by his word. Resign from office, sir, and allow the people of Colorado to elect someone worthy to serve in the Senate.

Talk about an outrage! How could this guy even be considered for the position of chaplain with the New York City Fire Department?

An imam slated to be sworn in Friday as the second Muslim chaplain in Fire Department history said he questioned whether 19 hijackers were responsible for the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and suggested a broader conspiracy may have brought down the Twin Towers and killed more than 2,700 people.

In a telephone interview Thursday, Imam Intikab Habib, 30, a native of Guyana who studied Islam in Saudi Arabia, said he doubted the United States government's official story blaming 19 hijackers associated with al-Quaida and Osama bin Laden.

"I as an individual don't know who did the attacks," said Habib, 30, a soft-spoken man who immigrated to New York in July 2000 after spending six years in Saudi Arabia getting a degree in Islamic theology and law. "There are so many conflicting reports about it. I don't believe it was 19 ... hijackers who did those attacks."

Asked to elaborate on his reasons for doubting that story, he talked about video and news reports widely disseminated in the Muslim community.

"I've heard professionals say that nowhere ever in history did a steel building come down with fire alone," he said. "It takes two or three weeks to demolish a building like that. But it was pulled down in a couple of hours. Was it 19 hijackers who brought it down, or was it a conspiracy?"

Actually, that isn’t true. There are not that many conflicting reports – virtually the whole world agrees that the attack as a bin Laden production. Heck, Osama himself claims responsibility. The only folks who deny that the attack was an Islamist production are those with an anti-American or anti-Semitic (or both) agenda.

Questioned about who he believed was responsible for the attacks, Habib said he didn't know. He said, however, that he did not expect to raise his doubts with rank-and-file firefighters -- nor did he share them two weeks ago when he participated in several Sept. 11 memorials on behalf of the Fire Department.

"My position as a chaplain is that whoever did it, it's a tragic incident," he said. "I feel sorrow for the families who lost loved ones and for the firefighters who died in it. Whoever did it, it was a very wrong thing. It's always wrong to take an innocent human life."

Sorry – not good enough. If you cannot even acknowledge the fact that your co-religionists murdered hundreds of firefighters in the name of Islam, then you do not belong with FDNY. You are the moral equivalent of a Holocaust denier, and the city has a responsibility to reject you as unfit to serve.

UPDATE: Good news! The defender of Islamist terrorists has stepped aside.

Now let’s deport him. There is no place for terrorist apologists in this country.

Looks like the sensitivities of Muslims override the preferences of infidels in parts of Great Britain.

NOVELTY pig calendars and toys have been banned from a council office — in case they offend Muslim staff.

Workers in the benefits department at Dudley Council, West Midlands, were told to remove or cover up all pig-related items, including toys, porcelain figures, calendars and even a tissue box featuring Winnie the Pooh and Piglet.

Bosses acted after a Muslim complained about pig-shaped stress relievers delivered to the council in the run-up to the Islamic festival of Ramadan.

Muslims are barred from eating pork in the Koran and consider pigs unclean.

Councillor Mahbubur Rahman, a practising Muslim, backed the ban. He said: “It’s a tolerance of people’s beliefs.”

I'm curious -- in light of the campaign of murder conducted by Muslims against Christians, Jews, and other non-Muslims, will our sensitivities be respected -- by banning all Muslim symbols and all Muslims from governemt offices? After all, what's sauce for the infidel boar is sauce for the Muslim sow.

Christians around the world face persecution from those who hate the Christian faith. Some end up jailed for their faith. One place to find out about such modern-day martyrs is through Voice of the Martyrs and their excellent blog. This item from the blog recently caught my eye.

I want to thank those of you who have written to the prisoners so far. Yesterday we started around 286 on the Prisoner Alert page and now the number is 325! That's very good and encouraging, and I know these precious sisters will be encouraged too.

Please remember to tell your friends and let's keep this challenge going!

Yes, the internet can be used to encourage our imprisoned brothers and sisters in Christ, and to loby government officials for their release! To learn more, click here.

One more denial of human rights for Chinese Catholics -- one more reason to sanction the Chinese for their failure to live up to even the most minimal standards of religious freedom for those Catholics who follow the Pope and not Beijing in matters of religion.

The four Catholic bishops from mainland China who were named by Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) to participate in the upcoming Synod of Bishops will not be allowed by their government to attend, the AsiaNews service has confirmed.

With the Synod discussions opening in Rome on Sunday, October 2, none of the four bishops has obtained a passport, AsiaNews found. One of the four, Bishop Luke Li Jingfeng of Fengxiang, conceded that there is "very little" hope he can participate in the Synod.

Bishop Joseph Wei Jingyi of Qiqihar has been asking government officials every day for a passport. But local government officials told AsiaNews that the passport would not be granted-- and even claimed that "China and the Vatican agreed" on this decision.

AsiaNews said that the main opposition to the bishops' participation in the Synod appeared to come from the Catholic Patriotic Association, the government-approved body that aims to control the Church in China, maintaining its independence from the Holy See.

More information here.