It took only 13 days for Hurricane Ike to wreak devastating havoc among several countries including Cuba, Haiti, and the United States. 114 deaths and damage estimates topping $10 billion are attributed to the disaster. Shoreline communities in Texas such as Galveston, Gilchrist, Winnie and Orange were wiped from the map by the winds, 8' high storm surge and walls of debris washed along by Ike.
This photo was particularly poignant to me and reminded me of something that my Uncle told me once when I was a kid. He and my mother's family ranched in the Billy the Kid country of southeastern New Mexico between Portales and Roswell in Kenna, which is little more than a ghost town today. Sometime in the 40's my mother came to California and Uncle Mack followed shortly after and began working for the Gill ranch in San Luis Obispo. He ended his career as a brand inspector for the state of California.
I can remember sitting behind him on his horse and riding through pens at the feedlot in Templeton where he worked. He spent his entire life cowboying and this is what he had to say shortly before he died.
"A lot has been said about it, poetry, movies and stuff, but the main thing is we take care of cattle."
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