I went back and copied Rick's first post from this morning. I've attached it here:

"Back at work today....

Dodged a bullet. This was an unbelievable storm...you can't imagine....have to see the news...and it's worse than that...gas lines here...power out in most places. But power is being restored.

All the coast of Mississippi has been wiped clean......completely....
Dauphin Island, south of me 20 miles....lost 90% of their homes
My boat is inland about 15 miles. Sustained bridge damage, popped the radar off, and broke my steering wheel topside. No big deal. Boat did well...the storm surge jammed the boat into the roof....

but across the river....heavy devastation. Turner Marine....lost almost ALL of their sailboats...piled on top of one another...(those that weren't thrown up river 2-3 miles...)

but Mobile, all in all had less wind damage than Ivan...but the storm surge was somewhere in the 20' range...and downtown Mobile had water ...but not like New Orleans...not close.

Probably hundreds of thousands of boats,....gone.

Had that storm kicked right just 50 miles...and the story would be a little different.

New Orleans will NEVER be the same....period...

Entire coast of Mississippi...all the beautiful Antebellum homes....GONE....
just sad......depressing...and the part that hurts are the lives lost. NO REASON to stay...some lady in the gas line yesterday...told me her parents called from Gulf Port....(they were about 4 blocks from the beach) and they were scared and crying..because they were in ankle deep water.....and it was rising....this was 4-5 hours BEFORE the storm hit...and they said..."we can't leave now...it's too late"....

she was wondering what happened to them...I didn't say a word. but a wall of water 30' was on the way...and she couldn't imagine that...and I wasn't gonna tell her....

WHY would people stay?...I can't understand that...

they won't now.

anyhow...I'm out of words...but the storm I knew was coming one day..the one we ALL knew was coming....came.

there will be more of them...and we have to build smarter...and wiser. "