September 22, 2005 [LINK]
New York blogger Phil Faranda's brother Tom has begun chemotherapy treatment, and is documenting his progress and expressing his thoughts at a new blog: Tom Faranda's Folly. It's a good reminder of how precious and how joyful life is.
Out on the other coast, meanwhile, my friend Donna Ball continues to recover, albeit slowly, as she gets chemotherapy for the rare disease known as Wegener's granuloma.
Even though the forward movement of Hurricane Rita has slowed down, and its future course is still uncertain, millions of people are evacuating the Galveston-Houston area. It could just as easily turn toward Louisiana or southern Texas, however. Updates on the movement of Hurricane Rita can be seen at CNN.com. As much as one fourth of the nation's petroleum refining capacity is located on the Texas coast, so another upward jolt in gasoline prices is possible. The American Petroleum Institute placed a full page ad in today's Washington Post, pledging to crack down on price gouging by gasoline wholesalers and retailers.