Oh, Galveston!  What has happened to you??

I look at the images being played out on television, and I can't help but to be sick at heart.  Hurricane Ike blew in right through the heart of Galveston, Texas, where I live, and I can't help but feel a sense of helplessness.

As a result of the hurricane, a good part of Galveston lies in ruins.  It looks as if a terrorist bomb went off; there's debris, damage, destruction everywhere you look. 

And yet somehow a miracle: other than some roof damage, and maybe some flooding inside, our house survived.  I saw it on television; it made my broken heart soar heavenward.  Don't know the full extent of damage, but that was the information we got.

It's just going to be a while before we are allowed to return back home.  Streets have to be repaired, power and water has to be turned back on, they  have to make sure everything is safe before we're allowed to go back. 

Others weren't so lucky.  Some lost everything.  They are going to have to start over while all we can do is rebuild, move on.  Homes, property can be replaced, but human lives cannot.  I have to keep reminding myself about this each time I write the news reports coming out of Galveston.

Already people have stepped in to help, and more are on the way.  Even though I am in Arlington, Texas, right now, I know that people care for my broken city, and that makes me feel really good inside.  It won't be long before Galveston starts looking halfway decent again.

The Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and other charitable organizations are donating manpower, time, and money to storm victims.  Doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel are coming in to help with the sick, injured, and dying.  Churches are gathering money to send to victims.

Even in a world that's fraught with danger, wars, and evil, it is refreshing to know that there are people who truly care when disaster strikes; it shows that the world is still a good place full of loving, caring, compassionate people who only want to make a difference in the world, to make it better.

Well, J'Vonte' (the one we call "G-Man"), my little baby brother, is crying, so I will go now.  I will write in here again, and hopefully the next time I do we will be on our way back home to Galveston. Take care and God bless!

~Love, your new friend, Teeka Da'Sha'e Daniels. :(