I have two online poker room outbuildings

I have two online poker room outbuildings ... both of which online poker room are newer than the house ... two acres online poker room of land, surrounding by trees (pecan and pine), and storm windows on online poker room the actual house.

Guess what online poker room survived. Most online poker room of the trees and the house.

The two online poker room outbuildings, a garage, and a online poker room small wooden storage building online poker room were severely damaged. The roof peeled back off of the online poker room smaller building, and a tree fell online poker room on the garage, warping it and busting the online poker room windows. My house, built in 1943, just online poker room had one of the online poker room storm windows pop out. The online poker room old original windows ... not a online poker room scratch.

I even had online poker room two cloth awnings on online poker room the house ... not a tear online poker room or puncture.

online poker room

But my online poker room new garage and storage online poker room building ... that's where the online poker room damage is.

I though online poker room surely, if anything, a tree online poker room would fall on the house. It's a online poker room prime target. The den is surrounding by glass, the front porch is a glassed in sun porch, online poker room two large pecan trees online poker room anchor corners of the online poker room house.

The chance for severe online poker room damage was unusually high.

I was online poker room lucky. Someone was definitely online poker room watching out for my house.

The whole night online poker room Wednesday and all morning online poker room Thursday I sat in my parents' online poker room house wondering if I would online poker room have a home to go back to. I online poker room called my neighbors several times to online poker room check on the condition, but a tree had fell online poker room between our houses, and online poker room they couldn't really online poker room tell.

nervous online poker room wreck

I was essentially a nervous wreck until online poker room I could get up there and check on things for online poker room myself.

When the online poker room storm broke, my dad and I online poker room headed to Heath to check things out. We online poker room were amazed at what we found. The online poker room little building wasn't online poker room surprising, but to find the house online poker room remained with very little damage was a huge relief ... I just knew I was going to discover a big tree online poker room covering the den or front.

I just online poker room found it amazing that the online poker room oldest thing on the property online poker room withstood the storm better online poker room than anything else. I guess that says something for older building online poker room techniques.

Not that online poker room my garage was poorly built, it's just when online poker room they built houses way back then, I online poker room guess folks meant for them to stay.

It was actually online poker room kind of amusing ... and the same is online poker room true around town. Several of the online poker room older structures withstood the storm far better than some of the newer online poker room ones.

It was online poker room actually online poker room kind of amusing

But then again, I online poker room suppose that's the nature of storms. One online poker room thing can be totally destroyed and something right next to online poker room it won't even have a single pine needle in online poker room the yard.

I was one of the lucky online poker room ones, and if you, too, were one of the lucky ones, do online poker room something nice for those who weren't so fortunate ... you never online poker room know when you might be online poker room the unlucky one.

We went online poker room through it together. Now we are online poker room working together to recover.

What Alabamians online poker room have done in the wake of Ivan online poker room has been an interesting and admirable combination of that old-fashioned rugged individualism and well-organized online poker room cooperative effort.

From all online poker room over the state come stories of people online poker room taking matters into their own hands, with online poker room chainsaws and "come-a-longs," clearing roads for emergency vehicles, online poker room helping folks who can't help themselves, online poker room doing what needs to be done.

online poker room

At online poker room the same time, state and local road crews, working with online poker room Alabama Power and the many rural and municipal power companies around the state, have made remarkable strides in getting electricity to the people. Where at one time, at the height of the storm, online poker room power outage records were being online poker room broken and rebroken, 24 hours later lights were coming on all online poker room over the state.

Of course online poker room the hardest hit areas will be the last to have online poker room power restored, but even there an extra online poker room effort is being made.

In one online poker room south Alabama town the pumps were down online poker room and the water supply was threatened. So online poker room the power company sent in crews, restored online poker room the grid, got the water flowing, and made online poker room life a little easier for folks who had been online poker room through a lot.

Our online poker room response to this disaster is an example of what Alabamians can online poker room do when online poker room they see their duty clear. May those who want to lead this state to a better tomorrow online poker room profit from it.

There online poker room have been many unsung heroes throughout the ordeal online poker room of

Hurricane Ivan

From the friends online poker room and neighbors who have so valiantly stepped up and given assistance to those in need Š to the relief workers from the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Alabama Baptist online poker room Convention, and others; Covington County has been blessed by online poker room good deeds and workers.

However, there is a online poker room large portion of people that we mustn't overlook - online poker room those who gave up the comforts of home in places where Ivan never touched, to come online poker room help us.

The online poker room hundreds of workers with the various utility online poker room companies who came to restore electricity, telephone service, and the like.

Some online poker room came from Indiana, Mississippi, and other online poker room reaches of the country. Some came from right here in Alabama. Either way, they gave up time with their family to online poker room help us.

That is to be online poker room commended.

These crews online poker room have worked diligently throughout this whole online poker room ordeal, working dawn to dusk Š and sometimes into the night, online poker room in order to restore power and telephone service to online poker room people they've never met.

We should be online poker room thanking them. Doing what we can to let them know how appreciative we are.

We understand that there are some places that remain without power, but those online poker room numbers are dropping with each passing hour. We also understand the online poker room frustration that many have felt sitting in the dark, without air conditioning. We online poker room were there with you.

But, we online poker room recognize the time it takes to get things operational again. We recognize the fact that in many cases, a simple "flip of the switch" won't bring the power back online poker room .

It takes time.

So, we should all be patient - and appreciative - with our online poker room power situation.

These people online poker room didn't have to come help us. But they did. And online poker room soon, if your power is out, it will be back on.

We ask you, the online poker room people of Covington County, to thank a line crew. Thank a utility worker for online poker room the job they've done, and the job they're doing.

And if you online poker room feel the need to complain, just take a look at what the people in online poker room Pensacola, Atmore, Gulf Shores, and Monroeville are going through.

Then, online poker room maybe you'll be thankful.

Last online poker room week, the ten-year-old Federal online poker room assault weapons ban expired amid much hype from gun opponents and online poker room the national media that the law's online poker room disappearance would suddenly escalate gun-related crime in America. These alarmists claims ring hollow when one looks at the actual facts about the gun ban. The U.S. House online poker room leadership has already made it clear that this weapons law will not be online poker room renewed.

Gun rights online poker room opponents have long made no online poker room secret about their intent to limit Americans' ability to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms. Any way they can block gun access and ownership is a victory for nichal them and a defeat for law-abiding citizens who wish to have guns for their own online poker room protection and recreation. The 1994 online poker room Federal assault weapons ban is a classic online poker room example of why gun control does nothing to stop online poker room violent crime.

online poker room

A decade ago, the online poker room Clinton Administration and liberals in online poker room Congress fooled many in America into believing that passage of the assault weapons ban was essential to online poker room controlling violent crime in the United States. The online poker room law banned semi-automatic rifles featuring detachable magazines with more than online poker room ten rounds of ammunition online poker room and more than one attachment online poker room such as a pistol grip, a flash suppresser or a bayonet mount. Gun opponents online poker room said that classic military style assault weapons such online poker room as the AK-47 and Uzi would be online poker room prohibited under this new online poker room law.

AK-47 and Uzi

What is online poker room most interesting about the assault online poker room weapons ban is that it really made no online poker room appreciable difference in the ownership of such weapons. Many of the online poker room high profile rifles supposedly banned by the assault online poker room weapons law were already prohibited from online poker room importation into the United States since online poker room 1989. Gun opponents didn't seem to care online poker room that their new gun ban law was online poker room just hype. After all, they are more interested online poker room in passing anti-gun laws than in actually fighting online poker room crime in America.

This online poker room examination

An online poker room independent study of gun-related online poker room violence in this country recently released by the online poker room National Institute of Justice says the gun law was online poker room practically irrelevant in reducing crime. This online poker room examination of criminal activity for online poker room over a decade carefully considered the impact online poker room of the ten-year-old gun ban. While violent online poker room crime involving guns has been online poker room on a steady decline since 1993 - a year before the passage online poker room of the Federal online poker room assault weapons ban - the study said the law was not responsible. "Should it be renewed, online poker room the ban's effects on gun violence online poker room are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for measurement," the report stated.

So there you have it. While online poker room gun opponents and the liberal media would have online poker room you believe that the expiration of the gun ban would online poker room unleash waves of gun violence across our land, the truth is the law was toothless and redundant. So why make such a fuss over a hollow law? It was a deliberate attempt by anti Second Amendment politicians online poker room to pass laws restricting lawful gun ownership. Again, it is not important to them that the result of such online poker room laws is only to keep guns from law-abiding citizens - not the online poker room criminals.

nation's capital online poker room

A glaring example online poker room of what total gun control would really mean is Washington, D.C. which online poker room currently has a 28-year gun ban on the books. Published online poker room reports have noted that the homicide rate in the nation's capital has risen 200 percent from 1976 to 2001 while the national rate climbed only 12 percent. Where from this can one conclude online poker room that banning lawful gun ownership lowers violent crime?

I have recently online poker room joined 227 of my House colleagues in cosponsoring online poker room legislation to repeal the Washington, DC gun ban and return the right of gun ownership to law-abiding online poker room citizens. The "D.C. Personal Protection Act" is expected to online poker room come up for a vote in the House online poker room this year.