Hurricane Ike has come and gone and has left us a calling card in the form of massive flood damage, power outages and many other interruptions to the normal routine of life in Southeast Texas.

City, county and other governmental workers are putting in long hours trying to get their operations back to normal. Police departments are working long shifts to protect people and property during the evacuation and curfews. Entergy is bringing in an army 14,000 strong to rebuild the electrical grid and power up people’s homes.

But it will all take time. Even though most people understand the damage from the hurricane was extensive and it will take time to repair, they grow impatient with the inconveniences of living without electricity, without places to buy gasoline and without food supplies.

But for those who have chosen to come back or who never left for the storm, the only things we can suggest are to be patient and to treat each other and the workers around us with courtesy and respect.

It may not make the work go faster, and it may not solve the problems of living without the conveniences of life to which we have all grown accustomed, but it will help keep life civilized.

We will all be spending time in lines for gasoline. We are all driving through intersections without traffic lights. We depend on each other to make life safe and bearable. It will be a natural tendency to be short with those who are abusing the system or driving through intersections without stopping, but try to keep your own blood pressure in check. It may not do anything about the other guy’s abuses, but it will make living in a tiresome situation just a little easier for you.