Pictures from Hurricane Rita

These pictures were taken with my camera phone at about 7:30 central time, northwest of Houston in the suburb of Cypress. Sorry about the awful quality, but camera phones don't to well with the nuances of hurricane photos.

About ten minutes after the pictures were taken, the sky was too dark for any more pictures. The wind right now is coming and going, and since about ten minutes ago, something is hitting the window - either rain or pine needles.

Here we have the wind blowing trees from the east. The small one in front won't last the storm.


Next, a juxtaposition of the menacing eastern view (first picture) and the beautiful western view (second picture).
See those people in the first picture? They're playing football. Right now, everyone is semi-anxious, and the excitement of something different has given neighbors an excuse to get out in the street and chat. One of my neighbors asked another, "Where's the hurricane?" He replied, "It's in my blender!" Proud of his joke, he gave a little fist pump and a Chesshire cat grin.

Others have opted for a more specific celebratory drink, margaritas. In a way, this reminds me of the movie Independence Day, when everyone ran up to the top of the Empire State building to "welcome" the UFOs.

The gusts are getting stronger now, and about two minutes ago I heard everyone go back inside.