Lonely town, submitted for your approval

Petco boarded up.
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Wal-Mart shuttered.
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The fabulous 24-hour Wal-Mart Supercenter in Lake Jackson, the social and cultural hub of Brazosport, was closed tonight due to Hurricane Rita. It's sort of a Rod Serling moment when this happens. Eerily quiet, just the sound of a lone dog howling in the distance, except I made up the lonely-dog-howling-in-the-distance part. Still, this is like the Twilight Zone episode where everybody left town. Spooky, man, spooky.

The only place to buy gas tonight was the Murphy's USA, tucked in the northeast corner of the Wal-Mart parking lot. There were long lines there this afternoon but only 3 other motorists were there tonight. I filled up for $2.569 per gallon and purchased 3 bags of Cheetos. The gal running Murphy's said she has 1,600 gallons left. They're selling only Super but at unleaded prices, according to their sign. Gee, what a deal. Anyhow, the Murphy's lady said if she has any fuel left, which she figures she will, she will be open Thursday morning. Don't know about the other gas outlets that had their pumps bagged tonight.

Dr. Neil Frank, the weatherman on KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston, keeps talking about the "cone of uncertainty." I wish he would stop doing that. It's too sci-fi for my taste, and, between you and me, I'm getting a little nervous.