(9/16/08) - I think I can speak for everyone when I say, “Whew!”. Ike has come and gone and hopefully you and yours all fared well. I took a drive through the neighborhood to see the aftermath and found that for the most part we did pretty well. I did however see a few large trees broken and at least one that landed on a house. I hope no one was hurt. Of course I didn’t go into your backyards but from what I saw from the street it appears that most of the damage was downed fences.
One thing I did notice is how neighbors were helping each other. Whether it was cutting limbs, hauling debris, loaning tools, or providing supplies that others needed, we were there for each other. I think that is great and it is a testament to how great this neighborhood is. I would be willing to bet that most of you met neighbors that you had never spoken to before. In a way, Ike made us all closer. We were very fortunate to have gotten power and water back so quickly. It could have been so much worse.
Things will return to normal soon and Ike will be just a memory. I hope you learned something from Ike to better prepare you for the next Hurricane. I know I did. Good luck with the clean-up.
I would just like to end by saying "To have a great neighborhood you have to have great neighbors and the last few days have proven that we do". Thanks to all of you.