Running Like the Wind

Near rain, nor floods, nor gale force winds will keep boys from enjoying the day. This trio of young men were enjoying a run on the lake front of Lake Pontchartrain which jumped the riprap barrier used to protect the levee from waves.

The boys are actually running on a paved bike path. The lake is usually about 100 feet out, just the other side of the barrier. The biggest push of Hurricane Ike's wind in the New Orleans area was sending water and waves to the northshore, but the southshore, a seen here, also got some of the surge.

If you look closely you can see two ducks on the water in the top center. They area laying very low in the water to keep from being lifted by the wind. At one point, the young men ran too close to the ducks and they lifted up to fly away. Two minutes later, flapping hard into the wind, they landed about 50 away.

The New Orleans area had several flooding issues to fight. Most people here had time to reflect. Their hearts, filled with memories of Hurricane Katrina, went out to the residents of Houston and Southeast Texas hit hard by Ikes fury.

--steve buser