The move over the weekend went smoothly, and M is now a resident of my town! We decided to move on Saturday and try and outrun Charley, which was a good thing, even though Charley was outta here later in the morning on Sunday. Parking next to her new apartment, I fell onto the pavement while pulling out a mattress, and twisted my knee, but miraculaously, no swelling occured! It still hurts a bit, but it is all right.

I am in deep prayer for the victims of Charley in Florida. We've heard from my father-in-law's sister and her friend, and know where his friend is, but his niece and nephew haven't checked in yet. They lived in Bonita Springs, but we still expect them to be ok. The residents of Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and the barrier islands are slowly going back to their homes, and sometimes finding nothing but destruction. A very large community of retirees, some had insurance, many not. I was glued to live tv from Ft. Myers yesterday on the Internet. It is eerie seeing streets and places I have visited with the storm's wrath exposed and rotting on those streets.

Many stories have come out of survivors, one of whom hid under a couch with a homeless neighbor. Another woman was found in a bathroom, 48 hours after the storm had passed, she still thinking that the storm was going on.

And with the power outages, the reason that Floridians can survive, air-conditioning isn't working. The heat index is over 100 as I write, and the recommendation is for people to drink lots of water, but potable water is very hard to find.

There will be more stories about people who have travelled from far away, even Canada, to help the people affected by this hurricane. Our prayers are with you all.

|