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September 13th, 2008
07:35 AM ET
A last rest for first-responders
Jim Spellman
CNN Producer
While Houston has been getting pounded, I have been sleeping pretty well. I am with a Coast Guard unit that is ready to deploy as soon as the winds calm down to 40 mph.
We are locked in the Reliant center with hundreds of other first responders. And their gear.
We can hear the rain and wind pounding the building but everyone here needs sleep, their work will come after the storm and this might be the last rest they get for days.
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Filed under: Hurricane Ike |
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Thank you to all the first responders for all the heart-wrenching, back-breaking work you do.
And thank you to CNN for covering them.
hope i dont have to look at palin up until election time. reality check!!! this is the presidential election for the highest office in this nation and even the world for those who look up to america. not a beauty contest or a vote for ms congeniality!! im sick and tired of hearin from her i would like to see biden more. this race is not a joke. stop playing into mccain's madness. palin is not running for president.!!!! thank GOD for that!
thank you for your coverage of the hurricane crisis in texas and louisiana. I would like to see more coverage of the plight of the people of louisiana as well as texas. again thank you for covering what you do best. may all the peole of that region have as speedy a recovery as possible. hope it doent take as long as the katrina victims who have still not received much help.hope this election will restore some of the moral fabric back into the hearts and minds of the american people when obama and his many helpers take over the white house.hopefully we can begain to act human again.something the present administration has almost destroyed. peace.
I am from Port Neches Texas and had to go to New Mexico to escape Ike. I lost everything. a few friends stayed home and have been my eyes and ears. My question is ? Why are we not getting covearge from that area. So many of us rely on your coverage to help us find out what happened and the status of the the current situation there at home and we have heard nothing if very little of our home town. Please tell us what the area is like and show video and pics so we can have some idea as what to do. We have recieved word that we can not return for three weeks and that is something that is not affordable for most.. Hotels as far as New Mexico have ike survivors here.. 3 weeks is along time to be out of pocket , no job or money... Or little money. Most will of our money will be gone before the three weeks are up.
We are also being price gouged as far as New Mexico. Please Help.
I am a dedicated CNN viewer. I keep it on 90 percent of the time.
It's nice to see boats and supplies ready to go as soon as the storm passes. Maybe the government learned something from Katrina. I hope that those who decided to stay are safe.
These brave and hard working folks are putting their lives, and our money, on the line to rescue people who built homes in very dangerous and stupid places and who even more stupidly refused to evacuate when warned to do so.
Parents who did not evacuate their children should be charged with child endangerment. Adults should be charged for the expense of sending in rescuers.
There is an old saying that the foolish man builds his house upon the sand and when the rains come and the stream rises and the wind blows the house will fall with a great crash. After 2000 years some people still don't get it.
Barrier islands and sand spits are moving bodies of sand. If you build on them the buildings will fall.
Why should taxpayers pay for the stupidity of these people, again and again???
There is another story about the man who died in a flood and complained to God that his prayers to be saved from the waters was not answered. God said: I sent the weather report to warn you, and you kept on praying, but did not pack up your things. I sent the police to warn you to get out, but you told them you were praying that I would come to save you, and you did not leave. I sent the helicopter to pull you off of your roof, but you told them you were waiting for me to save you, and you would not go with them. I sent these three messangers to be my voice and my hands to save you, and you refused to heed my call. Three strikes and you are dead.
I still can't get through to my family members in Humble Texas. Is there any word on that part of Texas?
Thanks to Anderson Cooper and all the CNN 360 correspondents for always bringing viewers and readers the stories that matter. To all the first responders, thanks for your selfless dedication to helping those in need. We continue to pray for all those affected by Ike's wrath.
I text my son yesterday to make sure he was ok; he is with National
Guard and he told me he was at he Reliant Center in Houston now he is in Orange County. Thank you for the picture. Now i know where my baby spent th night. Take care
The people of Texas are in our Prayers. I have relatives living in Humble Texas and I haven't been able to reach them today. CNN, has there been any news from Humble?
God bless you guys and gals! We thank you!
Thanks for this fascinating image– rows of boats packed and ready, with responders next to their vessels. Courage, dedication, and preparation. Awesome!
Wow. Hardhats. Detachable portable boat ladders. A can of gas. Extra lifejackets. A boat hook. These guys and gals are prepared.
I've always wondered if they issue hand-held GPS to the first responders. With cell phone technology today, you can pinpoint a caller's location very accurately. With accurate GPS coordinates, first responders have a better chance of getting to victims quickly when time counts.
A big THANK YOU to all the brave men and women who make this their life's work. Firefighters, policemen, nurses, EMT's, and other first responders are amazing people, quietly doing a heroic job that has terrible working conditions, not enough pay, and not enough thanks. You guys and gals are amazing! Thank you.
Jim, in case you have to make do with less than comfortable sleeping conditions again, just take one of those orange lifejackets, spread it open, and lay back into it. They make great makeshift pillows – I've used them for that very purpose myself.
Take care and thanks for being out there.
I wish every penny of the taxes I paid went to the U.S. Coast Guard. If I had the money, I'd buy all these guys a beer.
Can we please see some photos of the businesses on the shore like the fishing pier that extends way out into the water. We saw the picnic table up close to the hotel. Did the pier get washed away? Also, can you please show up close the Flagship Hotel? Is it still standing. I'd like to see how the causeway is doing also? Also, Galveston is known for alot of shells on their coastline. Can we see an up close shot of the shore? I would think that the coastline would be covered? Thanks much!