Some observations after the storm has passed:

THE GOOD: As I’ve mentioned once or twice, I’ve switched schools this year. My new school is located in a poor area of town, with most of my students being socio-economically disadvantaged by any measure. And yet when one of the “Points of Distribution” for water, ice, and MREs was established in the community by FEMA but no personnel were supplied to staff it, a couple of folks associated with my school were able to start making phone calls and turn out 130 students over the course of 3 days to help distribute the needed supplies. That is out of a total student body of about 1700 – not a bad percentage.

THE BAD: You know, we were all told that FEMA had learned lessons after Hurricane Katrina. Maybe they did – but only in regards to dealing with New Orleans. They’ve been no help with us, despite our having applied for aid early in the disaster – indeed, I have not received any of the paperwork they have supposedly sent to me, nor have I been able to get any assistance regarding finding a place to live.

THE UGLY: Here’s one that just makes me sick – and I believe I may have met this person at some point in the past, as the name sounds familiar. For that matter, I am friends with several administrators from this person’s school, and nearly ended up working there a couple of years ago. The behavior recounted here, though, is simply too repugnant for words.

Jacki Steinhauer is one of the lucky ones. She has no damage at her Deer Park home, she has power and she doesn't have to work since her school is closed.

"Life is great after a hurricane when nothing really happened to your house!" Steinhauer says in her blog, "The Secret Life of an Uninteresting Teacher."
The most recent entries brag about all of the free MREs she's been eating -- MREs that are meant for hurricane victims who have no food because they have no power. Some of those victims have no homes.

The teacher has it down to a science, according to her blog: "I got Schlotsky's today for lunch and went again to the courthouse in Baytown to get my water, ice, and food. This time, there were different meals, but hopefully as good as the others. Then, i came home, emptied my trunk and then headed off for the Deer Park POD (Point of Delivery)."

"I think that I am falling in love with MREs. They are pretty darn good. I went around 5:30 to go get more MREs and actually got another box of real MREs, water, and ice," Steinhauer wrote on Wednesday. "Right now, I have five cases of water, two 20 pound bags of ice, four 10 pound bags of ice, and four boxes of MREs."

While stocking her pantry and frig with taxpayer-funded freebies, Steinhauer has become quite the MRE connoisseur.

"Yesterday I ate meatballs with marinara sauce, almonds, wheat bread with cheese sauce, pretzels, and the orange punch. Today's meal was chili mac, applesauce, a pop-tart, wheat bread with cheese sauce, fruit punch, and apple cider," she wrote. "It is so cool that you put a little bit of water in the bag with the food and in about a minute, there is hot food. This is great. I don't have school and getting free food!"

The good news? Her district has suspended her pending an investigation of whether or not her conduct constitutes a violation of the ethical standards set by the state and district for teachers – but once again she is getting a freebie off the taxpayers, since it is a suspension with pay. Too bad they couldn’t tell her that she didn’t need a taxpayer check since she has all those taxpayer-financed MREs to eat. In the mean time I’m living in a church hall, and have paid for every meal I’ve eaten since the storm by going to one of the many open grocery stores in the area – despite having had my home rendered unlivable for the next few months.

And to the pair of Bubbas I heard bragging about scoring MREs for hunting season -- may you not get your deer, may the birds fly elsewhere, and may you end up down-range of Dick Cheney on your next hunting trip.