Texodus

Katharine Mieszkowski, a terrific Salon writer who went to the same suburban Houston high school I did (although I was probably 10 or 15 years ahead of her), writes of several residents of the very suburban development I lived in -- Clear Lake Forest -- who experienced the troublesome Hurricane Rita evacuation.

Knowing as I do the character of folks who live there, I can supply the subtext behind this and other similar stories of the "Texodus." The suburban residents of that community, whose lives are remote from anything approaching reality (and who are represented in Congress by the now-indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay), would have been deeply shocked at the collapse of the middle class infrastructure that heretofore has allowed them to lead sheltered lives. The notion that you actually can't get out of town in your giant vehicle, because there are too many people on the road and there's no gas, and when you get where you're going there are no motel rooms, and gosh darn it you've got to PEE ON THE HIGHWAY protected only by a beach towel -- this is one of the few times in their lives when they've had a glimpse of the center not holding. And it must be a real kick in the head.

That's okay. They need one.

Update: The area itself largely escaped unscathed, according to the local news site. It was 96 degrees at 5 pm today, however.