Hurricane Ike- Final Update

The power came back on at 1:30 am!!! Hallelujah!!! Miss G was asleep on the sofa and awakened by a "click" as the A/C and lights came back on!!! Not sure about cable, etc, 'cause that stuff is all unplugged and not powered up yet,  but the a/c, fridge, et al are humming along famously!!! Miss G takes back all the ugly things she said about CenterPoint Energy, Mayor McCheese,  and the Houston Police Department!

Actually, Miss G never said an unkind word about the HPD- she's always had a soft spot in her heart for Houston's men in blue.  They have always been there when she has needed them.  Tonight,  within minutes of the power restoration, there were 2 police cruisers circling the block. Clearly, they were being used as reconossaince to monitor the progress of the power crews.

And here's another HPD story.  Tonight,  around 10pm,  Miss G was sitting in the driveway in Sally Silverado,  charging the batteries on the laptop and blackberry with the engine running.  A car pulled up on the sidestreet across from the end of the driveway,  and a youngish girl got out and came up to the driver's side of Miss G's truck.  She looked clean and scared,  and when Miss G rolled the window down a couple of inches she recognized that the girl smelled freshly showered with some flowerdy soap.  She told Miss G that her car was out of gas,  her cell phone was not charged,  and she needed to call her dad for help.  She wasn't making a lot of sense, but Miss G struck it up to panic or fear, and dialed the number for the girl to call her dad.  (BTW, she told Miss G her last name and dad's name was Masten,  as in Beck and Masten Pontiac GMC here in Houston. No reason to think she was lying.)  Anyway,  as she talked to her dad,  she made less and less sense,  and try as he might to be reasonable (the girl put the  call on speakerphone),  the girl wanted money, gas, and food... NOW!!! It became apparent that she was REALLY f*&cked up on SOMETHING, and the more her dad tried to be reasonable,  the less sense she made.  I'm not sure where she lived, where she was going,  or how she ended up on Ginger's street.  Her answers to those questions were elusive.  After giving the phone back,  the girl wanted to go home,  or to a "friends" house,  or to an AA meeting place- for none of which she seemedto know the directions or whereabouts.  Miss G considered offering her a ride,  but something seemed "fishy in Denmark",  plus,  it was after the Mayor's curfew so technically Miss G would be breaking the law if the left the driveway.  Not to mention she'd had about 8 bloodytinis, including one sitting in the cupholder of the firmly parked truck! So she politely pointed the direction the girl seemed to want to go,  and watched helplessly as she stumbled down the street.  Miss G,  in a very parental way,  texted the number the girl has dialed,  telling "dad" her daughter seemed troubled and inviting him to call Miss G back to arrange aid.  No return call.  Miss G couldn't let the girl wander the streets alone,  so she dialed 911 and explained  what had trasnspired.  Within minutes,  a police cruiser arrived,  with the girl already safe in their back seat.  Miss G showed them where her car was parked,  and explained to them she didn't want the girl to get in trouble, but just wanted to be sure she was safe.  The entremely nice (and handsome!!!) officer assured Miss G that she had done the right thing,  and that they would make sure the girl was taken care of and shown the respect of a distressed citizen,  not the routine of of "police suspect".  As a homeowner in a "gentrified" neighborhood, Miss G has had several occassion over the years to contact HPD,  and every time has been extremely impressed by their promptness, professionalism,  and compassion! Hats off to Houston's men (and women) in blue! What a tough weekend it's been for them,  and even late on a Sunday night,  in an urban neighborhood with no power,  they approach their duties with dignity, charisma,  and pride!!! It feels good to live in such a large city and know that the police treat their neighbors as neighbors!

Tags: Hurricane Ike, Miss Ginger Grant, Houston Police Department, Centerpoint Energy