hurricane ike [we dream.houston]

hurricane ike [we dream.houston]
Originally uploaded by slight clutter

© slight clutter photography

I love my city. It sounds so cliche, but we in Houston really walk the walk when it comes to "neighbor helping neighbor." We did it when we hosted our Louisiana neighbors in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And we are doing it again during the aftermath of Hurricane Ike -- but this time it is our actual neighbors, house-next-to-house, who we are helping.

I've seen some pretty devastated areas in the past 24 hours since my childhood home is in Clear Lake about five-ten minutes from Galveston Bay. My family was lucky. We are doing fine physically and our homes are generally okay. My parents' house only had minor flooding, a broken window and broken branches that fell away from the house. I, too, was lucky, having no damage to my apartment in town. There are many, however, who have suffered greatly. It is exactly at this time, when people need it, that I've seen our Houstonians rise to the occasion. I've met many people helping those in need by removing debris, sharing food and water and just providing an ear when needed. I'll try to share some of those stories over the next week.

We are proud of a lot here in Houston. We are proud of being the home of NASA. We are proud of our park space. We are proud of our move towards being a more environmentally-friendly city. We are proud of our low cost of living. We are proud of our hardworking sports teams. We are proud of our diversity. We are proud of our world class arts community and museum system. We are proud of our medical center, arguably the most reputable in the world. We are proud of so much here. But, when all is said and done, I think we are proudest of our neighbors -- folks who for the most part are driven by big hearts and selfless motivations.

Uploaded by slight clutter on 15 Sep 08, 12.37AM PDT.