Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Think About It

GALVESTON, Texas (CNN) — Hurricane Ike landed a powerful punch on the Texas Gulf Coast early Saturday, sparking fires, flooding streets and knocking out power to more than 4 million people.

Ike’s storm surge flooded Galveston’s historic district and kept firefighters from reaching several blazes that burned out of control.

“The hotel we were in was rocking and windows blowing out,” Mark Sudduth, of hurricanetrack.com, told CNN.

“There was enormous wave action, the wind, the power outages, fires in the distance. It was everything that a Hollywood epic disaster movie would be made of, but for real,” he said.

Think about it.

While the southern coast of the U.S. has been wracked with devastation from hurricane after hurricane this year, we sit here in relative comfort watching it on cable TV news. It is heartbreaking to watch, yet we are drawn to it like onlookers to a car accident. But do we ever think, I wonder, just how lucky we are to live in this region where nothing of this magnitude ever happens?

And do we give thanks that we live in a part of the country that has been spared the raging winds and waters that have created havoc in Louisiana and Texas all year? Do we even ask ourselves why? We know that part of it is geographic. And we’re thankful for that.

Sufffice it to say that our ancestors chose the right place to settle, making us the heirs to their wise choice. I could never live, would never live, anywhere but in these precious protecting mountains.

And now for a change of pace:

One of the funniest segments of the Jay Leno Show is the goofy and oftentimes absurd advertisements that are allegedly sent in by viewers who say they actually appeared in newspapers and magazines. Here are some of my favorites, enjoy:

FOR SALE: USED TOILET PAPER—I have a wide selection of brands and designs. Call for details and prices. (Uh, don’t know about this.)

FOR SALE: One pair of hardly used dentures, only 2 teeth missing. $100. Call Ira 878 1234 after 6. (If the two missing teeth are front teeth, not interested.)

TURKEY–FOR SALE. Partially eaten. Only eight days old. Both drumsticks still intact. $23. (I would take you up on this if the pulley-bone was still intact.)

And lastly, here is a bargain that is hard to pass up:

USED TOMBSTONE. Perfect for someone named Homer HendelBergenHeinzel. One only. (Hey, you could always change your name.)