A swamped Panera's

Panera's on Bethel in Columbus and at 5 points in Upper Arlington were life lines for Arlington and Columbus the last 2 days--and it may run longer. At 5-points yesterday they had people banging on the doors at 5 a.m. (opens at 6 a.m.), and they were swamped all day and pretty much cleaned out. Their Cincinnati supplier was also out, so products have been coming in from Detroit.

I sat in my regular spot today by the fireplace and watched the line snaking out into the parking lot with all hands on deck, remaining cheerful and helpful. What a good crew, Panera! Thank you!

Our area of Columbus got about 75 mph winds Sunday evening, the result of Hurricane Ike meeting a cold front from Canada. Schools, libraries, businesses and some city services are closed. One parent told me Arlington schools wouldn't open until Thursday. There's a tree across the street that is being held up by the power lines--I hope someone gets back from Texas soon and rescues it.