I Wanna Go Home!

I have only the greatest sympathy for the victims of recent hurricanes, such as those in Texas and Puerto Rico and Florida.  People lost their homes, their possessions and, in all too many cases, their lives.  Florence, the huge hurricane that is wending its way up the Appalachians as I write this, was one of those.

I'm not sure, then, what to say.  This is Day 6 of our evacuation, and we are still 450 miles from home with no end in sight.  We are told that there is electricity in our house, which means that at least the meat in the freezer that thawed and spoiled will have refrozen when we return, so it will not be as gross to figure out what we lost.

There is water, but we won't be able to use it until we flush the lines, as there were local breaks in the main lines that put the risk of bacteria and other contamination in.  That boil-all-water order has not even been lifted yet.

Moreover, we physically cannot return, as to this point the access roads are flooded or impassable from falling trees.  There are at least four alternate routes into our area, and all are washed out.  Weirdly, that can get worse before it gets better, as the river headwaters far inland continue to carry water toward the ocean.  We don't know.  We just know that until there is an actual confirmed route, we can't leave.

Tashi hard at work.

I've been more fortunate than most; I have been able to continue to work as an independent consultant remotely, since what I do from home is just as "remote", except I have my desk there, and here in displaced evacuation mode I'm working from a chair with a big, furry Himalayan cat next to my leg (see at right).

Let's say this, though.  I don't expect to need or maybe even ask for help from FEMA or otherwise.  I am pretty sure our house survived intact (others, brave souls who never left have driven by and confirmed that it "looks OK"), even though we're about two miles from the shoreline.

I think I would be uncomfortable asking for other taxpayers to help out, if indeed there were something to help out for, other than having been displaced for what will be over a week.  It will end up costing me a few tanks of gas to get far enough away, and whatever we will give our son's friend as a gift for the generosity of offering his vacant house for us to stay in.

We will have lost maybe $500-600 worth of frozen foods that are spoiled, and possibly have some trees to replace, but otherwise we spent in exile something close to what we would have spent had we stayed.  Insurance might help or might not.  Either way, we took on that obligation when we chose to live on the coast, same as people do when they move to an earthquake zone or Tornado Alley.

I feel terrible for those with more extensive damages and losses, and pray that insurance should cover them.  We pray that they will be all right, and that damages get fixed and the insurance they bought to cover such calamities pays to repair and replace things, as it should.  I just don't think there's anything I need from FEMA -- meaning from the American taxpayer.  We're OK, thanks.

I just want to go home.  I want to size up the damages, put in a plan to get back to normal, put the furniture back where it belongs, replace the freezer and/or its contents, and move on with our lives.

It won't be today, though.

Copyright 2018 by Robert Sutton
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