I guess I'm blogging because I haven't blogged in such a long time and this morning I find myself here in New Orleans again attending the funeral of one of my wife's family members, her sister-in-law. This time it's not hurricane related as it was with her father in 2005, but a little unbelievable since she was only 42 and was in the Tulane university hospital for a hysterectomy.

Being here on Stroke net we all know suffering and deaths of our loved ones. My main thoughts today in this blog is how I'm doing in my recovery process. It gets so hard at times in what we must endure dealing with our health and state of mind. Some days are good, some better and still some are worse than others. I try not to complain but sometimes I hurt and ache so bad it is unbearable so getting out of town is a good thing for me and my laptop. I must have had a dozen updates to do since I used it last.

This town will probably never be the same as I once knew it to be but the people who have returned since the hurricane seem to be happy people getting by with almost nothing. I could never live here and most of them I talk to don't want to live any where else. I guess after 22 years in the military I learned to hang my hat just about any place. We moved about every three years from military Post to Post and overseas too.

I suppose I'll be in Killeen for ever now and not return to my hometown of Houston, Texas. Man, wasn't that something how hurricane Ike turned out the lights? And still out in many places and businesses we saw as we passed on the highway yesterday. Many of my family members and childhood friends are still in Houston.

I needed to get away for a couple days and rest up. I feel so drained and sore all over as I hurt all over, even my unaffected side hurts. But I guess the bottom line is I'm alive and above ground. That's not saying much since here in New Orleans everybody is buried above ground as the city is 15 feet below sea level.

Oh, I brought along two 5 gallon cans of gas in case the gas in Houston or anywhere along the way had water mixed in it or the service station had no electricity to pump the gas.

Well I'm off to get a bite to eat and maybe drop a dollar or two in the machines at the casino. Old habits are very hard to break but I go for the entertainment and food. A little luck wouldn't hurt like my body does if I can put in a dollar and hit for thousands or more. I'll even settle for hundreds today the way I feel.