David knocked on my door about 10 minutes ago (This was Tuesday, September 16th) and asked if he could work cleaning all the small bits and pieces of tree scattered throughout my yard.  It is certainly going to be a minimum of 3 hours of hard, hot work.  He said he would do it for $22.50 - the balance of money needed to get back to his home about 2 hours northeast of here. 

 (The photo below shos some of the yard debris.  Little peices of tree were scattered throughout the yard and needed to be raked and piled near the street for pick up by the city.)

He says that he will give me his phone number and address in Crockett with a hand-written receipt for his work.  That way the insurance company will probably reimburse this small fee for the work.

 You see, he was working in The Woodlands area and staying with friends when the storm hit.  He has not been paid, but he is ready to leave here and go home to Crockett, a wonderful quaint town deep in the piney-woods of east Texas.

I woke up this morning with genuine gratitude.  In spite of the difficulties of living without the internet, or any other source of power other than the generator.

It was a cool morning.  And I knew that I would do something useful today by preparing a meal for my daughter's co-workers at  Kroger.  It seems that more and more services are being provided each day with gas, ice and water being stocked in various places.  (Kroger got a shipment of gasoline, but not a generator for pumping the gas out of the ground.)

After all, what is more important than being useful to others in a time like this.

Thank you God!