Last Sunday we had some extremely strong winds from Ike. Steady winds of 60 mph with gusts from 80 - 94 mph. Hardly a residence in my area that didn't have damage. Lost power last Sunday at 1 pm, got it back yesterday. Power surge fried our air cond, tv, vcr, dvd player, sound system, tv antennae, several power strips and blown bulbs in several rooms + a big limb through the roof and limbs down everywhere. A lot of the local repair crews were in Texas helping out there. Still about 100,000 in Lou out of power, and some in our area too. So Indiana about the same shape. We did well, had a 2 radios, plenty to eat, my wife no longer makes fun of me for having her buy a few cans of spam, darned good when you're hungry, the stored bottled water helped a lot too. Dipped water from the cistern, most folks raised today would die of thirst trying to get water that way. Neighbors helped neighbors, the way it should be. All that wind and not a drop of rain, we are extremely dry here. Counties around us were declared disaster areas, with a 9 pm curfew, to control the looters. Natl gurad used for roadblocks and directing traffic. My little 30 cal carbine stayed close, but was not needed. Yes, I have several shotguns, but I'm really partial to that lil carbine. I also started vacation Sunday, couldn't afford to go anywhere anyway, but I'm really tired and worn out from all of the cleanup. Insurance co no help, take everything to a repair shop for evaluation. Closest one would be Lou, a good 60+ miles, in other words we are on our own. Insurance is only good if you never use it. POWDERMAN.