Found this in my front yard while cleaning up...

Ted had me turn the bone into the Medical Examiner's office on Galveston Island since they are handling the missing from the Peninsula.

After two days, the sheriff's office personnel called me and said the bone was likely a "femur from a human, probably male, and was 'fresh' and that it probably came from an Ike victim.

The week I found the bone, fishermen found two bodies on our jetties that you can see from our house.  So sad.  My heart breaks for the families.

Saturday Night from Galveston Island

Hello All - I owe everyone an apology and to Millie, especially, since she has let me know that she checks this site twice a day to see if I have caught it up to date.  I do apologize, but I have been very busy and hard at work with one of the new group sites for Bolivar residents and friends.  It has caught on like wildfire and there is so much information being exchanged and folks helped that I can't help but be involved.  My sister-in-law, Martha, designed it and four other folks and myself serve as moderators.

If any of you, family and friends, are interested in being a part, simply go to BolivarBLUE@yahoogroups.com and ask to join.  You can post directly onto the site and it is wonderful!  

Ann, since this is a day of catching up, Ted was able to duplicate the video we played at Mother's funeral for you today.  I will put it in the mail on Monday and sorry it has taken so long.  I could not get my computer to burn the CD, but Ted bought a new one to replace his lost in the storm and he did that for me today to send on to you.  If anyone else in the family wants one, just let me know and Ted will burn it for me.

To bring you up to date, Ted and I are living in a nice apartment on the seawall on Galveston Island still waiting, as our most of our friends, for Texas Windstorm Insurance to pay off on our policy.  We have received a letter stating that our claim, along with hundreds of others, has been sent to a study group made up of university professors and weather professionals to determine if wind or water took our house down.  We also were advised to wait on removing the broken slabs and pilings since the agency is now sending out a structural engineer to look at the site before this decision is made.

We did go into Beaumont yesterday for me to cover the National Adoption Day story (since I have done it for some five years now) and then we went to look at modular constructed, hurricane resistant houses built for coastal living.  We found three we liked a lot, and one we liked better than anything else.  It has about 2,000 square feet, nine foot ceilings throughout, beautiful appliances and counter tops and nice sized rooms.  The manufacturer is in Eatonton, Georgia, and the home cannot be distinguished from any stick built home we visited.  I really like the colors, the design and the fact that the house is constructed to resist winds of over 100 mph.

If we choose this house, Ted will build a large deck around it and supervises the installation of the necessary pilings.  For now, it looks as though we will spend Christmas in the leased apartment, but thank God, we have a clean bed and nice kitchen and bath, plus I can see the Gulf waves rolling in.  If things go well, we plan to go to Nikki's to be with the boys for Christmas.  That is usually what I want most for Christmas.  Steve and Nikki and the boys cannot travel this year because Steve's dog, Duchess, is expecting puppies on my birthday.  What a present, huh?

Mother will soon be dead three months now and it still seems so surreal to me at times.  With her sudden home going and the loss of our home and all possessions within days, that time period is blurred at best for me.

I so appreciate my dear friends and my relatives, too, who have made it a point to keep in touch with us during these days and to offer encouragement and hope.

May God bless each of you with a wonderful Thanksgiving Season and may this year's holidays be the best we've ever had together.

Until the next page turns,

Brenda

And, Millie, I promise to do better about keeping up my posts.  I've really been under the gun though lately.  We had a very successful Meet and Greet two weeks ago for Bolivar residents and home owners and we are planning a big Thanksgiving Celebration for the Saturday after the holiday especially for those who cannot travel this year.  I am also participating in a group study/focus group on the storms's advent into our lives and I'm working some, too.  Plus, I moderate the new group, so I am busy.

Happy Monday Morning...

Two friends of mine who normally live on Bolivar Peninsula, and I, organized a Fall Meet and Greet for the residents and friends, along with the help of my sister in law, Martha.  It was held yesterday at Gregory Park on the Peninsula and we were thrilled to have more than 65 home owners and friends show up for the very slightly promoted event.  And, I was surprised at where our folks are scattered after Ike.  

We tried to keep the day light and enjoyed meeting each other, finding out where we lived on the Peninsula in pre-Ike days and where we now live or "stay," in many cases.  All are waiting on insurance to make its statement and most fear what it will be.

There are some really good folks who simply love the beach, fishing, water sports and each other. One man, Patric Kahla, now residing in San Antonio, is from the oldest family I've found recorded history on in Peninsula heritage.  His ancestors have been on Bolivar since the late 1700s and early 1800s.  He brought with him yesterday a few items for us to share.  His brother had been cleaning out a 125-year-old family home and found deed books, marriage licenses, plats drawn in pencil and by hand, and maps that date to before the Intracoastal Canal was ever dug.  Land came in "sections" and "leagues" and I could hardly believe what it sold for in those days.

Ted and I are fine - Just find waiting is very hard work.  We met with the Governor's State Manager for Emergency Disaster Relief on Friday and have another appointment with her this afternoon at 2.  She's a sharp cookie, very intelligent, a go-getter, and really seems to care about the residents of Bolivar Peninsula.  We're hoping to secure some immediate help for these dear folks who are hurting and have many needs.  We also formed, or agreed to use, a non-profit corporation (all legal and above board) that a member of our group had to start some fund raising efforts to help meet these needs. People who have been using their own money to live in hotels/motels/apartments/condos are now running out and don't know what to do.  I don't have all the details, but will post when I do.  One man in our group made up a t-shirt, had them printed and sold the first batch yesterday toward this effort.  And one of our volunteer fire departments received a $70,000 grant so we are on our way with some positive ideas and a bit of hope.

Until the next page turns,

Brenda