TODAY'S PHOTO -
sunrise at Delray Beach on the last day of the U.S. Daylight Savings Time 2005.

The morning of the 5th day of our being without power, after Hurricane Wilma barreled through South Florida, I decided that I needed the energy of a sunrise at the ocean - and it was the last day of the year that I could "catch it" as late as 7:30 AM

Though I mention the hurricane, the clouds are simply Florida's puffy clouds, not storm ones as the colors might seem to indicate. I selected this particular photo for today's "Glad-to-Be-back" issue, simply for its brilliance and the faint rays that you you may detect coming from the lower half of the sun.

It is also wishing you a dazzling month of November. May it be as bright for you as this sun is and as the star -lit skies were as we observed them during the time we were without electricity.

HURRICANE UPDATE -
Most of you live far from Southeast Florida and you may not be aware of all that's happened here around Wilma. For those of you interested, the storm sped very rapidly across South Florida as a Category 3 Hurricane (Winds 111-130 mph), from Naples on the West Coast and the Gulf of Mexico on the West Coast to the Atlantic Ocean on the East Coast.

Up to 10 Billion dollars worth of damages have been estimated, including extensive damage to the entire electrical system throughout the area. Major power outages resulted. Workers have come in from all over the country and Canada and have been making repairs ahead of original deadlines. Full restoration for all is now promised by November 13.

In the 12 affected counties 3,241,400 were without electricity . As of 10 AM this morning (Tuesday), 719,600 locations remained powerless.

Sam and I feel very blessed that we came through with no house damage and landscaping losses were minimal. The weather was beautiful during the 5 1/2 days we were without power and phone service. Neighbors were great. I felt like I was at a camp on vacation.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES -
Among the things that made the time pass easily and quickly for us is that we were well supplied with flashlights, a portable radio, a battery operated little TV and enough batteries for all. Though we had plenty of water, we were also fortunate that our county was not on a boil-water alert, something some people still have to do 8 days later.

My queries for today are practical ones, based on our experiences. Are you prepared if you should, for some unforeseen reason, have an extended power outage. Do you have more than one flashlight, possibly a lantern flashlight? Do you have a sufficient supply of batteries? And, do you know where they are?

One of my friends said that she keeps all of her flashlights and batteries in one of her coolers, all together in one place, should they be needed.

I invite you all to pass your positive energy and thoughts to all of those who are still without power, to all who have major repairs yet ahead and to schools being rapidly repaired, where needed, so that they may reopen soon.

AUDIO TESTIMONIALS -
Have you yet checked out the 28 second message from Sondra,

ADDITIONAL SUBSCRIBERS DESIRED -
If you you are enjoying PICTURE TO PONDER please pass your experiences of it on to your friends and colleagues and suggest that they, too, SUBSCRIBE.

Inspirationally,