Gail Ettenger made her last phone call at 10:10 p.m. She was trapped in her Bolivar Peninsula bungalow with her Great Dane, Reba. A drowning cat cried outside. Her Jeep bobbed in the seawater surging around her home.

Ettenger, 58, told her friend she was reading old love letters by flashlight. “I think I really screwed up this time,” she said, according to Monroe Burks, Ettenger’s neighbor who had evacuated to Houston.

That was Friday, Sept 12. On Wednesday — 12 days later — her nearly nude body was found face down by a huge debris pile in a remote mosquito-ridden marsh in Chambers County, about 10 miles inland from where her gray beach house once stood.

Isn’t that horrible? I can only imagine the fear that must have run through this lady’s mind during the last moments of her life.

I thought about riding out Ike but changed my mind when I saw that it was moving closer to my part of Texas. I got to thinking about it and figured out that it’s just stupid to sit through a dangerous storm if you can be somewhere else. I asked myself, “What do I have to gain by staying?” NOTHING! It’s not like I’m going to be able to hold my house together as the winds tear it apart! I chickened out and I was 100 miles from the storm’s landfall!

Do people realize that when we talk about the government, we are really talking about our fellow taxpayers? Is it really fair for us to ask our fellow taxpayers to pay for the cost of our evacuation?

We already have a system in place to help those who can’t afford to evacuate so I hardly see the need to reimburse everyone else. If you don’t like evacuating, then I’d suggest moving away from the coast.

I fear for the future of this country as it seems we are just becoming a nation of beggers (individuals and corporations). It’s really getting embarrassing.

So, what are your thoughts? Should we reimburse people for the cost of evacuating?

Subject: Hurricane Relief Information

I’m very sorry to hear about the recent disaster that affected your community. Please know that Discover Card is here to help you through this difficult time.

We can assist you with locating ATMs, issue emergency PINs to access cash, and provide additional/replacement cards for immediate use. You can also view your statement summary online and make an immediate payment or schedule a payment in advance – whenever it’s most convenient for you. We also have additional services for qualified accounts that may be helpful.

Thanks for being a Discover Cardmember. If there is anything we can do to serve you better, please let us know. Knowledgeable Account Managers are available to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-888-668-8767, or you can always visit Discover.com.

Edward Stolbof
Senior Vice President
Customer Service and Engagement
DFS Services LLC

One question:

Where exactly is the “relief” in that email?

It sounds much more like a call for customers to use their cards to rack up some good ol’ American debt. I hope not very many people have to take them up on their offer. Evacuating for a hurricane is a perfect example of why families need an emergency fund.

The kids and I decided to take a trip up to Kansas to visit family. We were originally going to go to Kansas this weekend anyway for my 20-year high school reunion. But, since my wife is needed at her plant, she couldn’t go with us. We’ll be here until Sunday and then HOPEFULLY we’ll have power back in our town. From what I have read, our kids will be out of school until at least next Monday.

I have heard relatively good news about my house. Several friends and family went by to check it out. We have a “huge” branch in our driveway, some messed up flashing, and a cracked fascia board. WHEW!!!!

Anyway, I should have some time on my hands this week, so I’ll TRY to get back to blogging. Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers have given me some great post ideas… Also, oil is now down to the lower 90′s!!!!!! Can you believe that?

So far we’re not planning to evacuate. Why? Because it would be horrible to try to evacuate with the Houston area evacuating too. That’s what happened with Rita.

That’s the projected path of Gustav. You can click here to see an updated graphic.

FYI – I realize I’m not the only one impacted by hurricanes. I inserted the red dot with the word “Me” next to it in order to give you a frame of reference as to how close my town is to the storm’s projected path.

Anyway, I hope this isn’t a repeat of Rita.

Source: National Hurricane Center (a daily visit for me during the summer months!)

I don’t want to turn this into a debate about Wal-Mart, but I do feel compelled to share this article which reveals some of the virtues of being a big, powerful, for-profit company. Real Katrina Hero? Wal-Mart, Study Says

The study (and no, it wasn’t sanctioned by Wal-Mart) analyzes how Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowe’s made use of their local knowledge about supply chains, infrastructure, decision makers and other resources to provide emergency supplies and reopen stores when Katrina hit well before FEMA began its response.

“Profit-seeking firms beat most of the government to the scene and provided more effectively the supplies needed for the immediate survival of a population cut off from life’s most basic necessities,” Horwitz wrote in the study, which was published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. “Though numerous private-sector firms played important roles in the relief operations, Wal-Mart stood out.”

Also, Wal-Mart leadership gave tremendous discretion to store managers and employees to make decisions rather than waiting for instructions from upper-level management, allowing for more-agile disaster response. CEO Lee Scott passed down a guiding edict to regional, district and store managers: “A lot of you are going to have to make decisions above your level. Make the best decision that you can with the information that’s available to you at the time, and, above all, do the right thing.”

Exapmles of that principle in action:

• A Kenner, La., employee used a forklift to knock open a warehouse door to get water for a retirement home.
• In Marrero, La., employees allowed police officers to use the store as a headquarters and a sleeping place, as many had lost their homes.
• In Waveland, Miss., assistant manager Jessica Lewis ran a bulldozer through her store to collect basics that were not water-damaged, which she then piled in the parking lot and gave away to residents. She also broke into the store’s locked pharmacy to supply critical drugs to a hospital.

Click on the article link to see a rather impressive photo of a string of Wal-Mart trucks as far as the eye can see, waiting to enter New Orleans to bring (free) supplies.

Of course the cynics can attribute this benevolence to be nothing more than a PR ploy, but even if it is, it’s still pretty powerful and impressive. After all, it demonstrates how we the people collectively and effectively pull the strings of Wal-Mart and other for-profit corporations (another example is Wal-Mart’s very expensive and globally consequential environmental campaign). It’s arguably more influence than we have over our own government as a collective mass of individuals.

More from Meg at The World of Wealth

It was a tropical storm last night when I went to bed but it strengthened to a hurricane before it made landfall. They say 75,000 or more homes are without power (our house is fine so far).

Ah the joys of living 40 miles from the Gulf of Mexico!