OT Life After Wilma
Jo Firey
Hi Girls and Papa, I know the phones are still messed up. Actually it's
still stressful just going to work and home everyday. The kids still can't
go back to school it will be 2 weeks. They are hoping to open schools this
Mon. It's bad here. The traffic lights are gone almost everywhere. Even
though power is back in most places, we got ours Sunday (6 days). The
traffic lights flew off the wires and we have dangling wires at most major
intersections. Which means every stop is a 4 way. It takes me twice as long
to get to work and I am drained by the time I get there. I don't go anywhere
once I am home. You can't find any milk or frozen foods/bread etc. most of
the publixs are on generators and deliveries are slow. I found milk and
juice for the 1st time yesterday. As soon as it hits the shelves it's gone.
It's really quite depressing and I am fortunate. We had a heavy rain storm
last night and all over the news you heard of roofs collapsing. People
couldn't find tarp to cover them before the storm. The gas is good now but,
people were renting cars just for the gas when it first happened. My
neighbor hood looks terrible because it now is so bare. All the big trees
are gone and it now looks like just rows of house's. Oh yea, the ceiling in
the back room caved in I guess from the pressure of the wind against the
garage door. I didn't even go back there till Sunday when the lights went on
and I saw it. I contacted my insurance and FEMA only because I have a
4,000.00 deductible on hurricane and don't know if I will have a claim. They
should be coming out next week. I bought a generator since FEMA will
reimburse me. So, life goes on.
It really makes you realize what little things we take for granted. So many
people lost their jobs and business's and Avis is paying us for all our lost
days. Plus, they were so good about getting people food, water and ice. They
sent vans to Orlando to get supplies since there was nothing here and they
gave each employee 5 gals of gas for their cars. It was really amazing. I
have a lot to be thankful for. My honey made me feel safe in the morning
during the storm. Then of course I crashed. I tell you times like this bring
a community together. My neighbors are the best. We spend most nights
outside with the grown ups playing dominos and cards by lanterns before the
power. Tony cooked on his grill or we deep-fried shrimp with his generator
on. We spent all day Mon and Tues. cleaning up. Everyone was helping
everyone.Funny thing my neighbor was taking his dog for a walk and his dog
always stops at my mailbox to lift his leg. Well, my mailbox ended up at my
front door during the storm, it was the funniest thing he looked up at David
like what am I supposed to do now. The next day they put my mailbox back for
me with cement and all. It's not going anywhere. So, dog and me are happy
campers. Next will be the basketball hoop which is lying down but, it came
in handy as a card table and bar table during the black out. Everyday gets
better. Gotta run!! Love you all. xxoxxo