Sunday, September 25, 2005

Rita's Turn

At one point less than a week ago, we expected 15 people for the weekend -- friends and family and maybe colleagues fleeing Houston from hurricane Rita.

Can you fit 15 in a house? Of course you can. Wall to wall would be better than the various alternatives. So we expected a crowd, and we figured we'd figure it out when we needed to.

But some of the 15 opted for motels and apartments farther north. And some of the 15 never fled, seeing the crawling traffic on the freeways and knowing better than to try. So for three days, we were only 5.

And in the end, Rita turned to the east.

Houston was spared the fate of New Orleans, and the thousands who fled north turned back and sat in crawling traffic to return to their city and their homes that will largely be intact.


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