Praying for the families affected by Harvey

I know we do have a few regulars on here from the greater Houston area just saying a prayer for them and their families and friends. Hope everybody is OK stuff can always be replaced.

God Bless South Texas!!!

So sad so many will be displaced having lost everything.

Put a Texas Red Cross logo in my signature. Click on that to go direct to donate.

Yep we all pitched in on a donation at work today

Just moved to Houston from Austin two weeks ago to start work, and this was a pretty crazy surprise. Last week I was sitting at home planning out my carp fishing spots on Braes Bayou after getting skunked on gar and plecostomus in White Oak Bayou downtown. Monday there was talk of a tropical storm brewing in the Gulf. Tuesday there was talk it may hit Houston. Wednesday forecasters predicted it could be a serious event. Thursday they predicted a weak hurricane but the potential for stalling due to high pressure. Friday it hit as a category 4 near Corpus. Friday night it started raining as hard as I've ever seen it and did not stop until Saturday afternoon.

I was unbelievably lucky and blessed because we remained safe and dry the entire time, but I'm in the very insignificant minority. I lived through Allison and Ike and I can tell you all they were nothing like this. Houstonians all know which areas of town are flood prone and which aren't, but this storm tore up the entire playbook. It didn't matter where you lived or how high your place sat, the entire town is now a flood plain.

But out of the tragedy came some amazing stories about individuals banding together to help overwhelmed first responders. Fishermen ran their boats through subdivisions responding to social media requests for help. 8th Wonder brewery used their 5 ton military truck to ferry victims through high water to shelters. Every barbecue restaurant I know is closed to the public but open to help feed first responders. The outpouring of support is indescribable - the city had to turn away volunteers and donations this morning because too many people wanted to help. If there is a silver lining to this terrible dark cloud, it is that Houston is a city where you will never be alone in your time of need.

While the nation looks to Houston Harvey churns on and continues destroying lives. It worked its way through Port Arthur this morning and is tracking into Louisiana. My heart goes out to those this storm has hurt. If there is anyone on these boards reading this who is in need of help, whether it is a grocery run or a ride somewhere, please feel free to DM me. I will try to help if at all possible. Thanks for all your well wishes, we are on the mend and look forward to happier times when we can wet a line in calm waters again.

Yes seems to be an amazingly yet fast calm response. Have friends down with boats now. Glad y'all are ok massaction. Has anyone heard from or know orvis Houston Ben?

I worked at Orvis Dallas with a couple of the guys at Tailwaters...they say the store in Houston and The Woodlands may be closed for a while but they think everyone is ok.

That's all good, but I'm wondering what is DFW doing for the coast?

Take a look at the salaries paid to their executives before you donate. I did and I didn't.

Then you definitely don't want to send any money to the Wounded Warrior folks.

I see both sides of the argument - that a charity shouldn't be making anyone wealthy, but also that the talent it takes to effectively run what is essentially a mega-corporation comes at a price.

I can say this about the Red Cross...at least you know it is a legit organization. Some others you can't say the same for. The Red Cross isn't perfect, but you can do a lot worse than donating to them.

I think a real life deal for this situation a good place would be JJ Watt. He has already gotten advice from Drew Brees and Peyton Manning on how they handled funds from Katrina. along with the monetary donations has a warehouse full of good food home wear clothes etc. I think he will make a very good view of everything and seeks nothing to gain from it. I think all these funds will be distributed appropriately we are working on a second donation from work to go to JJ Watt. Glad they let them get back to the family instead of playing a preseason game.