(To figure out what's happening, you'll likely want to start reading the post titled "And so begins an adventure...", and work your way backwards up the page. --Guy)

• Awakened at 9:38 a.m. for another exciting, and fun-filled day.

After a night of tossing and turning on a cot about 2 inches wider than me, and choosing only to use a couple of blankets instead of trying to get out the sleeping bag or sheets, I was awakened to the sound of a phone ringing.

Due to some convincing phone calls from my VP and the FCC, the phone company had chosen to finally hook up a generator the day before at their CO so that phones in this area had service. So, now I was connected to the outside world. I have internet access via a T1 that comes to one of the radio stations (blessings on that station and its engineers), land lines, a satellite phone, and two mobiles phones. However, only the landlines seem to work inside the building. Everything else requires me to go outside.

Outside isn't so bad, as I discovered when I woke up, doused my hair and opened up the place and went out. And then I remembered, yes, outside WAS so bad. It's like walking into a green house. However, lucky for me this morning, I was greeted by two reasonably cute guys! There were here from the fuel company, and giving us diesel fuel to keep us on the air. They'd come in two 4X4's to deliver almost 700 gallons of fuel. I was able to talk to one for awhile, and that was a nice thing to wake up to, I suppose.

[Image]The "Facilities"

Oh, and that phone call that woke me up was an the other engineer, telling me that the generator service guy would be here in awhile.

Shortly after the fuel guys left, Mike arrived, and we waited for the generator service people. Part of the reason I'm here is due to the generator, and it's inconsistencies. So, the generator guy was asked to come and do a service on the generator, such as change the oil, and filters, and make sure it's in tip top shape.

He arrived, and we had to power down the generator, and by extension, the building, in order to let him do his service. The man was amazing, and had the oil changed and the generator up in about 20 minutes or less. As Mike said, it was like the guy was a Nascar Pit Crew changing that oil. It was truly impressive. I for one, was just glad the air conditioning was now back on, although the quiet without the generator sure was nice for a change.

The other engineer arrived in the afternoon, and brought a refrigerator and a microwave. He also brought a bunch of fried chicken he'd found at a gas station that was running on a generator. I was thankful for it, and told him that I really appreciated it, but that I was vegetarian. The biscuits were very enjoyable, though.

[Image]The Tower

I didn't really tell you much about the drive from Houston out here. We went on the highway most of the way, and the highways were unusually empty, as I'd noted. And, some billboards were blown down. Here and there, trees were blown down. But, it's when we got off of the main roads that we noticed more damage.

Trees were blown down fairly frequently, and there were a lot of power lines down. Some power poles just appeared to be snapped in half, with one power pole even sitting upright, next to the original, at just half the height. Some shacks and buildings were torn apart, and sometimes there'd be debris here and there, but there wasn't mass destruction, at least where I was.

Apparently Devers and the area I'm at was at the very edge of the area affected by Hurricane Rita. If you go even 30 miles east, they say, it's a whole different story, with many things just devastated. Even what I've seen hasn't looked good, with power lines laying across homes, and across the road. It looks like it'll be some time before things are back to normal.

This transmitter site gets it's power from the east, where things are more messed up. According to the power company. The main backbone of the electricity grid was taken out by the storm, and they predict a power outage of up to 3 or 4 weeks at this location.

I don't plan to be here that long, however. Who knows what the plans are for me, though.