IKE survivor stories

A man and woman from Bolivar Peninsula floated on staircases and anything else to could grab for 4 hours before they were rescued. They said few homes and none of the businesses withstood the storm. [link]
***
"Can you imagine me being so smart-alecky that I thought, 'It's just a hurricane?'
"God has sent me this to teach me a lesson, and a bunch of other people too. I'm never going to mess around again." -- Fletcher Harris, 85, of Galveston. [link]
***
"I'm stupid. I had a front-row for Hurricane Ike, but I'm stupid...There was all kinds of debris. Water started about four steps from the concrete and then it went up to almost the second floor...I ran out of beer before the hurricane got here. It hasn't been fun since," -- Ray Wilkinson, 67, of Surfside Beach. [link]