I have to write this down. We went through Hurricane Harvey, evacuated on the day it
hit, but I truly have never in my life been through anything that has managed
to devastate so many people. Our
house was so well built by Al Johnson in Rockport that we managed to get
through with our house still standing.
It’s not to say that we don’t have damage, because we do, but it
survived beyond all expectations of what a Category 4 direct hit can do. Neighbors down the Ridge have suffered
and lost absolutely everything except whatever they took with them as they
left. Their house and everything
in or around it are gone. Our
house is still standing and I consider it a miracle beyond a miracle. Wind driven water did come in under our
doors and in some of our windows so all flooring that wasn’t tile will have
to be replaced. Even our drapes in
our bedroom soaked up and stained up to a foot at the bottom. Next time, if there is a next time,
I’ll put those up on something off the floor so they won’t be a sponge soaking
up that nastiness. Two area rugs
soaked up much of that water as well and will need to be replaced. Our
generator failed and had to be repaired at an exorbitant cost but now we have
the whole house generator working to cool us off and the refrigerator is
running well, too. Then the a/c
wouldn’t work, got them out here too and they fixed it and it’s running like a
champ after Randy sprayed it with Corrosion X – something he swears he’s now
buying stock in.
The work outside is absolutely horrendous. So many trees down, lost two huge palm
trees, the Bougainvillea was bent over into the pool but Randy and Jasper
managed to get them pulled back enough and braced to get them out of the pool. All that money we spent on all that
fabulous landscaping, most of that is gone and we’ll have to start over. The
pool is the nastiest of nasty with so much debris in it I thought it’d never be
cleared. Still not sure about that. Animals are drinking from that nasty
pool water, I hope they survive. The
hot tub, well, it’s just as bad.
And during all this devastation our pool guy had a heart attack and
died. He’d lost everything he
owned and Randy talked to him the day before he died on the correct procedure
for the pool to be cleared. I know
Allen is in a better place than here.
May he Rest in Peace.
Let’s talk about mosquitoes for a minute. I kid you not, they are the biggest
SoBs you have EVER seen. And if
one lands on you and you manage to slap it before it bites you, it splatters
blood – someone else’s blood, mind you.
I shudder to even imagine the disease they are spreading even as I type
this. I hate them. And I don’t hate easily. I wish God had never created them.
Also outside, the cleanup of other people’s house debris is
the hardest thing you can imagine.
There is wind blown insulation, you know the pink kind, absolutely
everywhere. All over our house,
all over our driveway and under our overhangs. It’s like glue y’all.
And you have to wear head to toe gear to work out there, sunglasses,
hats, long sleeves, pants, not shorts, face masks, and gloves. And you have to literally douse
yourself with Deep Woods Off – it’s the only thing that keeps those gargantuan
suckers off. And it’s HOT, not a
breeze to be found. So with all
that clothing you sweat like never before. Hydration, and I mean a LOT of it, is mandatory or you will
pass out. And any drink that has
electrolytes in it is mandatory as well.
But Randy and Jasper are doing so much work it’s truly remarkable. I can’t believe how hard they are
working, but what choice have they?
We are forever indebted to that sweet Jasper. He is a good man.
And to top all of that off, I have survivor’s guilt. Our house is still standing and so many
others are not. I look around and
fluctuate between happy to still have a home and utter desolation at all the
surrounding destruction, to guilty our house is still standing. My emotions are all over the map. I keep praying for those less fortunate
with absolute gratefulness that our home survived. It’s a weird time and one I hope to never, ever again have
to experience.
God bless those that have survived. I pray our sweet little town will
someday recover from this. I know it
will, but it will take some time.
