winter wonderland update

The ice is gone and has been for a couple of days.  We are fortunate to have electricity, however many people in the state are still waiting for electricians or the electric company to come to their aid.

The city has opened the convention center as a shelter.  This morning I heard on the radio that the first night they were open they had 350 people who had come, seeking warmth and water.  They can handle up to 700, and they've had several notices come out on the news today, encouraging all people without electricity and water to come downtown to the shelter. 

As a member of the Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corp, I've received several emails and phone calls over the last couple of days, seeking for nurses to volunteer to staff the shelter.  I really would like to go help, however The Hater has put his foot down and refused me to go.  Seriously.  He raised his voice and everything.

The truth is that I have a cough.  I've been coughing, mostly at night, since a few days before Thanksgiving.  I went to see a doctor this week, mostly because my sweet husband was worried about me.  The doctor was as unimpressed with my cough as I was.  We're going to watch it for two more weeks and see what happens after that.  We drew some blood to make sure that everything was okay.  They were going to call today if anything was askew, and nobody called.  So for the next two weeks we'll tough-out the cough.

But The Hater is a good husband and doesn't like my cough.  He says my cough disqualifies me from working at the shelter this weekend.  When I tried to argue he said that I couldn't get sicker before the trip home next week.

That's the best argument he's ever had.  So when it starts snowing later, which we're supposed to get another few inches tonight, don't worry about us.  We'll be inside, in the heat, spoiling the cat, nursing a cough--- and not out in the mess that's headed this way.

Special Thanks--

To all of the volunteers who are able to staff the shelters this weekend, to the volunteers who have come to help the electric company fix the problem lines, and to everyone else who has sent good vibes this way.