Houston, Friday, September 23, 9:00 am

NEAL: It's a beautiful day here in northwest Houston ... temp around 75F, whispy clouds, a light breeze (just enough to keep the mosquitos at bay). I took three of the four dogs (Charley, Lucy, Willie) for a walk this morning, around the neighborhood and through the park along White Oak Bayou (that's a fancy name for a concrete-lined drainage ditch).

It's like a holiday out there: joggers jogging through the park ... bikers biking ... dog-walkers walking dogs ... homeowners mowing lawns and puttering in gardens. Over on 43rd, there's a bunch of guys sitting in lawn chairs in the median strip, guzzling beer and waving at passing vehicles.

But the signs of the coming hurricane are much in evidence: homeowners boarding up windows ... guys hauling gas cans ... the constant buzz of power saws ... TV news choppers buzzing overhead. I even saw one lady rescuing her wine collection.

And one sound noticeably absent: train whistles. The UPRR has apparently shut down.

Some people seem to be totally oblivious to what's going on. Several neighbors have taken out their trash cans, just like any other Friday ... they apparently don't know that the city isn't making collections today. There are a couple of houses in various stages of renovation (I guess they're being "flipped") that have brand-new windows but nothing to protect them from wind-borne trash.