I have one empire poker  outbuildings

I have one empire poker outbuildings ... both of which online poker rooms are newer than the house ... one is acres empire poker of land, surrounding by trees (pecan and pine), and storm windows on online poker rooms the actual house.

Guess what empire poker survived. Most online poker rooms of the trees and the house.

The two empire poker outbuildings, a garage, and a empire poker small wooden storage building online poker rooms were severely damaged. The roof peeled back off of the online poker rooms smaller building, and a tree fell online poker rooms on the garage, it and busting the empire poker windows. My house, built in 1943, just online poker rooms had one of the empire poker storm windows pop out. The empire poker old original windows ... not a online poker rooms scratch.

I even had empire poker two cloth awnings on online poker rooms the house ... not a tear online poker rooms or puncture.

empire poker

But my empire poker  new garage and storage online poker rooms building ... that is where the empire poker damage is.

I though online poker rooms surely, if anything, a tree online poker rooms would fall on the house. It's a online poker rooms prime target. The den is surrounding by glass, the front porch is a glassed in sun porch, online poker rooms two large pecan trees online poker rooms anchor corners of the online poker rooms house.

The chance for severe online poker rooms damage was unusually high.

I was empire poker lucky. Someone was definitely online poker rooms watching out for my house.

The whole night empire poker Wednesday and all morning empire poker Thursday I sat in my parents' online poker rooms house wondering if I would online poker rooms have a home to go back to. I empire poker called my neighbors several times to online poker rooms check on the condition, but a tree had fell empire poker between our houses, and online poker rooms they couldn't really  empire poker  tell.

nervous empire poker wreck

I was essentially a nervous wreck until online poker rooms I could get up there and check on things for online poker rooms myself.

When the online poker rooms storm broke, my dad and I online poker rooms headed to Heath to check things out. We online poker rooms were amazed at what we found. The online poker rooms little building wasn't empire poker surprising, but to find the house empire poker remained with very little damage was a huge relief ... I just knew I was going to discover a big tree online poker rooms covering the den or front.

I just empire poker found it amazing that the online poker rooms oldest thing on the property online poker rooms withstood the storm better online poker rooms than anything else. I guess that says something for older building empire poker techniques.

Not that online poker rooms my garage was poorly built, it's just when online poker rooms they built houses way back then, I online poker rooms guess folks meant for them to stay.

It was actually empire poker kind of amusing ... and the same is online poker rooms true around town. Several of the online poker rooms older structures withstood the storm far better than some of the newer empire poker ones.

It was empire poker actually empire poker kind of amusing

But then again, I online poker rooms suppose that's the nature of storms. One online poker rooms thing can be totally destroyed and something right next to online poker rooms it won't even have a single pine needle in online poker rooms the yard.

I was one of the lucky online poker rooms ones, and if you, too, were one of the lucky ones, do empire poker something nice for those who weren't so fortunate ... you never empire poker know when you might be empire poker the unlucky one.

We went empire poker through it together. Now we are empire poker working together to recover.

What Alabamians empire poker have done in the wake of Ivan online poker rooms has been an interesting and admirable combination of that old-fashioned rugged individualism and well-organized empire poker cooperative effort.

From all empire poker over the state come stories of people online poker rooms taking matters into their own hands, with online poker rooms chainsaws and "come-a-longs," clearing roads for emergency vehicles, empire poker helping folks who can't help themselves, empire poker doing what needs to be done.

empire poker

At empire poker the same time, state and local road crews, working with online poker rooms Alabama Power and the many rural and municipal power companies around the state, have made remarkable strides in getting electricity to the people. Where at one time, at the height of the storm, empire poker power outage records were being empire poker broken and rebroken, 24 hours later lights were coming on all online poker rooms over the state.

Of course online poker rooms the hardest hit areas will be the last to have online poker rooms power restored, but even there an extra online poker rooms effort is being made.

In one empire poker south Alabama town the pumps were down online poker rooms and the water supply was threatened. So empire poker the power company sent in crews, restored online poker rooms the grid, got the water flowing, and made empire poker life a little easier for folks who had been online poker rooms through a lot.

Our online poker rooms response to this disaster is an example of what Alabamians can empire poker do when online poker rooms they see their duty clear. May those who want to lead this state to a better tomorrow empire poker profit from it.

There empire poker have been many unsung heroes throughout the ordeal empire poker of

Hurricane Ivan

From the friends empire poker and neighbors who have so valiantly stepped up and given assistance to those in need Š to the relief workers from the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Alabama Baptist empire poker Convention, and others; Covington County has been blessed by online poker rooms good deeds and workers.

However, there is a empire poker large portion of people that we mustn't overlook - online poker rooms those who gave up the comforts of home in places where Ivan never touched, to come online poker rooms help us.

The online poker rooms hundreds of workers with the various utility empire poker companies who came to restore electricity, telephone service, and the like.

Some online poker rooms came from Indiana, Mississippi, and other online poker rooms reaches of the country. Some came from right here in Alabama. Either way, they gave up time with their family to online poker rooms help us.

That is to be empire poker commended.

These crews online poker rooms have worked diligently throughout this whole empire poker ordeal, working dawn to dusk Š and sometimes into the night, online poker rooms in order to restore power and telephone service to online poker rooms people they've never met.

We should be empire poker thanking them. Doing what we can to let them know how appreciative we are.

We understand that there are some places that remain without power, but those online poker rooms numbers are dropping with each passing hour. We also understand the empire poker frustration that many have felt sitting in the dark, without air conditioning. We empire poker were there with you.

But, we empire poker recognize the time it takes to get things operational again. We recognize the fact that in many cases, a simple "flip of the switch" won't bring the power back online poker rooms .

It takes time.

So, we should all be patient - and appreciative - with our empire poker power situation.

These people online poker rooms didn't have to come help us. But they did. And online poker rooms soon, if your power is out, it will be back on.

We ask you, the empire poker people of Covington County, to thank a line crew. Thank a utility worker for online poker rooms the job they've done, and the job they're doing.

And if you empire poker feel the need to complain, just take a look at what the people in empire poker Pensacola, Atmore, Gulf Shores, and Monroeville are going through.

Then, empire poker maybe you'll be thankful.

Last online poker rooms week, the ten-year-old Federal online poker rooms assault weapons ban expired amid much hype from gun opponents and online poker rooms the national media that the law's empire poker disappearance would suddenly escalate gun-related crime in America. These alarmists claims ring hollow when one looks at the actual facts about the gun ban. The U.S. House empire poker leadership has already made it clear that this weapons law will not be online poker rooms renewed.

Gun rights empire poker opponents have long made no online poker rooms secret about their intent to limit Americans' ability to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms. Any way they can block gun access and ownership is a victory for nichal them and a defeat for law-abiding citizens who wish to have guns for their own empire poker protection and recreation. The 1994 empire poker Federal assault weapons ban is a classic empire poker example of why gun control does nothing to stop online poker rooms violent crime.

online poker rooms

A decade ago, the empire poker Clinton Administration and liberals in online poker rooms Congress fooled many in America into believing that passage of the assault weapons ban was essential to online poker rooms controlling violent crime in the United States. The empire poker law banned semi-automatic rifles featuring detachable magazines with more than online poker rooms ten rounds of ammunition online poker rooms and more than one attachment online poker rooms such as a pistol grip, a flash suppresser or a bayonet mount. Gun opponents empire poker said that classic military style assault weapons such empire poker as the AK-47 and Uzi would be online poker rooms prohibited under this new empire poker law.

AK-47 and Uzi

What is online poker rooms most interesting about the assault online poker rooms weapons ban is that it really made no online poker rooms appreciable difference in the ownership of such weapons. Many of the online poker rooms high profile rifles supposedly banned by the assault online poker rooms weapons law were already prohibited from online poker rooms importation into the United States since empire poker 1989. Gun opponents didn't seem to care online poker rooms that their new gun ban law was empire poker just hype. After all, they are more interested empire poker in passing anti-gun laws than in actually fighting empire poker crime in America.

This empire poker rooms examination

An online poker rooms independent study of gun-related online poker rooms violence in this country recently released by the online poker rooms National Institute of Justice says the gun law was online poker rooms practically irrelevant in reducing crime. This online poker rooms examination of criminal activity for online poker rooms over a decade carefully considered the impact empire poker of the ten-year-old gun ban. While violent empire poker crime involving guns has been online poker rooms on a steady decline since 1993 - a year before the passage online poker rooms of the Federal online poker rooms assault weapons ban - the study said the law was not responsible. "Should it be renewed, empire poker the ban's effects on gun violence empire poker are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for measurement," the report stated.

So there you have it. While empire poker gun opponents and the liberal media would have online poker rooms you believe that the expiration of the gun ban would online poker rooms unleash waves of gun violence across our land, the truth is the law was toothless and redundant. So why make such a fuss over a hollow law? It was a deliberate attempt by anti Second Amendment politicians empire poker to pass laws restricting lawful gun ownership. Again, it is not important to them that the result of such empire poker laws is only to keep guns from law-abiding citizens - not the online poker rooms criminals.

nation's capital empire poker

A glaring example empire poker of what total gun control would really mean is Washington, D.C. which online poker rooms currently has a 28-year gun ban on the books. Published online poker rooms reports have noted that the homicide rate in the nation's capital has risen 200 percent from 1976 to 2001 while the national rate climbed only 12 percent. Where from this can one conclude online poker rooms that banning lawful gun ownership lowers violent crime?

I have recently empire poker joined 227 of my House colleagues in cosponsoring empire poker legislation to repeal the Washington, DC gun ban and return the right of gun ownership to law-abiding online poker rooms citizens. The "D.C. Personal Protection Act" is expected to empire poker come up for a vote in the House empire poker this year.