My "Doofus of the Week" this week is ...
WASHINGTON ST. TAMMANY ELECTRIC (WSTE)
Folks, I thought those of us who live in Southeast Louisiana were trying to REBUILD our communities?
Shortly after KATRINA flooded my home, I immediately went to work to fix the damage. After gutting the house - I repaired the whole electrical system myself and I've tested it - it's good ... it's ready for power.
The State of Louisiana requires that flooded homes be inspected by a licensed Electrician before power can be restored to them. That's reasonable to me and my Electrician is inspecting me on Saturday. Of course, he wants $135 bucks just to do a "look see" - that's not so reasonable to me but what choice do I have?
Anyway -- the electric company, WSTE, tells my wife today that it matters not when my house is certified safe for power - they aren't going to turn me on until at least FIFTY PERCENT of my neighbors are certified safe and ready for power also!
As I stated in an earlier post - many of my neighbors are working hard to rebuild their homes - with no assistance from anyone - just like I am. However - probably most of my neighbors have abandoned thier homes - and unless FEMA agrees to come to their rescue - they won't come back. So they certainly aren't doing anything to get their electrical systems in shape.
WASHINGTON ST. TAMMANY ELECTRIC IS TURNING IT'S BACK ON US CUSTOMERS WHO ARE SELF-STARTERS. THEY ARE TURNING THEIR BACK ON THE VERY PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE SPIRIT TO REBUILD THIS AREA.
What if it takes TWO YEARS before 50% of the homes in my neighborhood are certified safe for power? Are those of us who rolled up our sleeves and got to work to fix our homes supposed to just wait that long?
This is complete BS folks. WSTE told my wife that power is available to my subdivision now - but they aren't going to turn any of us on until the 50% requirement is met. This could take months - if not years. In the meantime - I'm ready for power now.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH NOTHING ... WASHINGTON ST. TAMMANY ELECTRIC!
DOOFUS OF THE WEEK.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
KATRINA WAR STORIES
War Stories ...
... I was traveling east on I-10 headed back towards Pascagoula a week or so ago after a day of working on my flooded house in Slidell, LA. I was exhausted. It was pitch black night - but suddenly, headed westbound - I saw a motorcade of vehicles with flashing lights on the top of each...
As they passed me - I could see they were all white SUV's - and all had painted, in big blue letters on the side - either "FDNY" or "NYPD". All of these vehicles and their occupants were screaming down I-10 toward New Orleans - and the site brought tears to my eyes. I'm sure I'm not the only one who got emotional at the sight of these "Yankees" coming to our assistance. Finally, on the Gulf Coast anyway - I think the Civil War is finally over.
... At the local Army surplus store in Slidell, La - an interesting sign ...
"Looters will be shot ... Survivors will be shot again!"
... A contractor from some company called KAPE comes by my house while I'm cleaning out the mud in it to tell me that he will replace my whole roof plus pay $800 of my hurricane insurance deductable - all I have to do is pay the rest of my deductable and he'll haggle with my insurance company over the rest of his money. All I have to do is sign a contract and all my worries are over. Yeah right - hit the road carpetbagger.
...Quote from the same carpetbagging contractor ...
"I noticed you have your windows open but that isn't going to help dry out your house ... it's 50% humidity out there."
My response ...
"Actually, if you were from down here you'd know the humidity was more like 80-90% - and, regardless there Mr. Rocket Scientist - would you have me SHUT the windows to dry out the house?"
... From my neighbor, TJ - who STAYED in his house during the storm ...
"So I was in my attic, but I was afraid the flood waters would drown me. I kicked out some vinyl siding, jumped into the water, and swam over to YOUR house. I was going to kick out one of your windows on the second floor - and hide out in there until the storm was over. But every time I jumped on your roof - the hurricane wind blew me back off. So I just swam back to my place, and hung out on my roof. Damn, that rain felt like nails driving right into my face. Some lady down the street was up on her roof, and she kept yelling at me to jump into the water again to save some dog that she was afraid was about to drown. I told her 'Woman - I'M ABOUT TO DROWN - AND MAYBE YOU TOO - I AIN'T WORRIED ABOUT NO DOG!"
... I was traveling east on I-10 headed back towards Pascagoula a week or so ago after a day of working on my flooded house in Slidell, LA. I was exhausted. It was pitch black night - but suddenly, headed westbound - I saw a motorcade of vehicles with flashing lights on the top of each...
As they passed me - I could see they were all white SUV's - and all had painted, in big blue letters on the side - either "FDNY" or "NYPD". All of these vehicles and their occupants were screaming down I-10 toward New Orleans - and the site brought tears to my eyes. I'm sure I'm not the only one who got emotional at the sight of these "Yankees" coming to our assistance. Finally, on the Gulf Coast anyway - I think the Civil War is finally over.
... At the local Army surplus store in Slidell, La - an interesting sign ...
"Looters will be shot ... Survivors will be shot again!"
... A contractor from some company called KAPE comes by my house while I'm cleaning out the mud in it to tell me that he will replace my whole roof plus pay $800 of my hurricane insurance deductable - all I have to do is pay the rest of my deductable and he'll haggle with my insurance company over the rest of his money. All I have to do is sign a contract and all my worries are over. Yeah right - hit the road carpetbagger.
...Quote from the same carpetbagging contractor ...
"I noticed you have your windows open but that isn't going to help dry out your house ... it's 50% humidity out there."
My response ...
"Actually, if you were from down here you'd know the humidity was more like 80-90% - and, regardless there Mr. Rocket Scientist - would you have me SHUT the windows to dry out the house?"
... From my neighbor, TJ - who STAYED in his house during the storm ...
"So I was in my attic, but I was afraid the flood waters would drown me. I kicked out some vinyl siding, jumped into the water, and swam over to YOUR house. I was going to kick out one of your windows on the second floor - and hide out in there until the storm was over. But every time I jumped on your roof - the hurricane wind blew me back off. So I just swam back to my place, and hung out on my roof. Damn, that rain felt like nails driving right into my face. Some lady down the street was up on her roof, and she kept yelling at me to jump into the water again to save some dog that she was afraid was about to drown. I told her 'Woman - I'M ABOUT TO DROWN - AND MAYBE YOU TOO - I AIN'T WORRIED ABOUT NO DOG!"
KATRINA STATUS REPORT
What do you do with a flooded house when you had no flood insurance?
This is a question that is foremost in the minds of many who reside along the Gulf Coast - from Mobile, AL to New Orleans, LA.
It is clear that most of the homes that were flooded by Katrina had no flood insurance. Many are now looking to FEMA to pick up the tab for rebuilding their homes.
Different people come up with different answers to this question ... "What to do?"
I lived through hurricane Camille and hurricane Frederick, I am a native of the Gulf Coast. I have over a hundred family members spread out along this coast - this is my home. Additionally, I was raised to not expect a handout. I was raised to pull my own weight and to believe that those who could do for themselves - SHOULD DO for themselves.
So my answer to the question ... "What to do?" was simple ...
I have no flood insurance, and judging from the Biblical damage all along the coast - FEMA nor anyone in the Federal government has enough money to make all of us poor souls whole again. So either I "kick in" to save myself - or my family and I drown.
So as soon as I could get back to my house after the storm, I started gutting it. If left to stand on it's own, a flooded house will quickly be overtaken by mold - and the house will rot to the point that it must be leveled by a dozer.
I have a mortgage - a mortgage that I don't intend to default on. And I can't afford to write my house off as a loss and just buy a new one. I had to save it - and I did. I gutted it, replaced the electrical recepticals and light switches - and replaced all the breakers. It's now ready for power when the electric company gets it restored.
Additionally, I originally pulled everything out of my house and put it on the curb - thinking all of it was a complete loss. In the last few days, I've started to pull things OUT of the garbage heap though. Things like a refrigerator - which I fully pressure washed and cleaned. Then I hooked up a generator to my home's electrical system and plugged the reefer in to see if it would work. SURPRISE! It did. So did my power tools when I washed them out and oiled them. My garbage disposal - worked after a good cleaning. I cleaned up my furnace unit and blower to my home's air conditioning system - SURPRISE - that works now! I have two ac compressors outside that were flooded out too - but the compressors are sealed units. I think those will come online too if I replace the relays in them and the starting capacitors - so my whole air conditioning system should work when I get power back. By the end of next week - I could be living in my home again. I may not have power to run my air conditioning system - but people lived down here for hundreds of years without ac - I can too for a couple of months if I need to.
And many of my neighbors are doing the same thing as I am - trying to salvage what we had.
Many others - are no where to be found. They didn't have flood insurance either - but many expect to get FEMA assistance (read - MONEY) to write their homes off as a complete loss. If that doesn't happen - they'll default on their mortagages and take a foreclosure on their property - then they'll complain about how the government walked away from them in their hour of need.
But folks, life is not fair - when you're kicked to the ground - you have to dust yourself off and get back up again - and not blame someone else for your problems. Sure, if I can get some assistance from FEMA - I'll take it - but only what I need. I don't need them to replace my ac, reefer, power tools, garbage disposal - because I have saved those items on my own. Tomorrow I'll start on my diswasher and oven - and God willing I'll get them to work also. And I don't need temporary housing from FEMA - because I'll soon be able to live in my home.
Is it too much to ask that others do the same if their circumstances permit? If I were in my 60's - I wouldn't have the energy to do what I've done so far - so FEMA would have to help me a little more than others. I understand an elderly couple who can't do for themselves. But I have neighbors in their 20's and 30's who could very well do what I and others have done - but just don't want to do it. They expect Uncle Sam to cover their backs without any effort on their part.
Those of you who don't live down here should take note of this. There's going to be a big press for your tax dollars - and my lazy neighbors are going to be reaching into your pocket.
This is a question that is foremost in the minds of many who reside along the Gulf Coast - from Mobile, AL to New Orleans, LA.
It is clear that most of the homes that were flooded by Katrina had no flood insurance. Many are now looking to FEMA to pick up the tab for rebuilding their homes.
Different people come up with different answers to this question ... "What to do?"
I lived through hurricane Camille and hurricane Frederick, I am a native of the Gulf Coast. I have over a hundred family members spread out along this coast - this is my home. Additionally, I was raised to not expect a handout. I was raised to pull my own weight and to believe that those who could do for themselves - SHOULD DO for themselves.
So my answer to the question ... "What to do?" was simple ...
I have no flood insurance, and judging from the Biblical damage all along the coast - FEMA nor anyone in the Federal government has enough money to make all of us poor souls whole again. So either I "kick in" to save myself - or my family and I drown.
So as soon as I could get back to my house after the storm, I started gutting it. If left to stand on it's own, a flooded house will quickly be overtaken by mold - and the house will rot to the point that it must be leveled by a dozer.
I have a mortgage - a mortgage that I don't intend to default on. And I can't afford to write my house off as a loss and just buy a new one. I had to save it - and I did. I gutted it, replaced the electrical recepticals and light switches - and replaced all the breakers. It's now ready for power when the electric company gets it restored.
Additionally, I originally pulled everything out of my house and put it on the curb - thinking all of it was a complete loss. In the last few days, I've started to pull things OUT of the garbage heap though. Things like a refrigerator - which I fully pressure washed and cleaned. Then I hooked up a generator to my home's electrical system and plugged the reefer in to see if it would work. SURPRISE! It did. So did my power tools when I washed them out and oiled them. My garbage disposal - worked after a good cleaning. I cleaned up my furnace unit and blower to my home's air conditioning system - SURPRISE - that works now! I have two ac compressors outside that were flooded out too - but the compressors are sealed units. I think those will come online too if I replace the relays in them and the starting capacitors - so my whole air conditioning system should work when I get power back. By the end of next week - I could be living in my home again. I may not have power to run my air conditioning system - but people lived down here for hundreds of years without ac - I can too for a couple of months if I need to.
And many of my neighbors are doing the same thing as I am - trying to salvage what we had.
Many others - are no where to be found. They didn't have flood insurance either - but many expect to get FEMA assistance (read - MONEY) to write their homes off as a complete loss. If that doesn't happen - they'll default on their mortagages and take a foreclosure on their property - then they'll complain about how the government walked away from them in their hour of need.
But folks, life is not fair - when you're kicked to the ground - you have to dust yourself off and get back up again - and not blame someone else for your problems. Sure, if I can get some assistance from FEMA - I'll take it - but only what I need. I don't need them to replace my ac, reefer, power tools, garbage disposal - because I have saved those items on my own. Tomorrow I'll start on my diswasher and oven - and God willing I'll get them to work also. And I don't need temporary housing from FEMA - because I'll soon be able to live in my home.
Is it too much to ask that others do the same if their circumstances permit? If I were in my 60's - I wouldn't have the energy to do what I've done so far - so FEMA would have to help me a little more than others. I understand an elderly couple who can't do for themselves. But I have neighbors in their 20's and 30's who could very well do what I and others have done - but just don't want to do it. They expect Uncle Sam to cover their backs without any effort on their part.
Those of you who don't live down here should take note of this. There's going to be a big press for your tax dollars - and my lazy neighbors are going to be reaching into your pocket.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
ALIVE!
I am alive!
This is my first blog entry in at least three weeks - interuption courtesy of KATRINA.
Where do I start?
My last blog entry was two days before the storm hit. I boarded up my house and left New Orleans around noon on the Sunday before Katrina came ashore. My safe haven destination was my Dad's house in Pascagoula, MS. I figured I'd be safe in Pascagoula - but I found I really had no appreciation for the SIZE of this storm. It was huge. The winds in P-goula were fearful. The shingles on my Dad's house blew off and a couple of the celings collapsed due to water damage. We fought wind blown water entry into the house like a U.S. Navy damage control party virtually the whole time the winds were whipping - and they were whipping for a long time. This storm happened in broad daylight - so you could see what was going on outside. Trees snapping like matchsticks - all the way over here in Pascagoula. My Dad lost power and didn't regain it for over a week.
As soon as the winds died down, I attempted to get on the road to get back home to check my damage. It was about 6pm when I began the trek westward on I-10. From Pascagoula, I got as far as Biloxi, MS when I was turned around by a Highway Patrolman. Reason? He told me ... quote ... "There's an oil tanker on the bridge ahead".
So back to P-goula I go. On the way back, I had I a hell of a time getting across the Pascagoula River bridge - where a segment of the bridge had been knocked sideways by a big floating crane that had been blown into it by the storm. The whole eastbound side of that bridge is now secured for repairs.
So the next morning, I set out for Slidell, LA via a different route - the northern route.
I took HWY 63 to Lucedale and jumped on west HWY 26 - took that all the way to I-59 South - which cruises right into Slidell. This route would normally take about two hours to complete - but it took me EIGHT.
First - HWY 26 was full of downed trees - which was slow going - but it was passable.
I-59 was a completely different story though. It looked like a nuclear bomb had exploded.
Huge pine trees - all over and covering most parts of the freeway. The northbound side was all but impassable. Northbound cars just migrated to the southbound side and turned their emergency blinkers on while they headed in the opposite direction of the intended flow of traffic. There wasn't a lot of northbound traffic though.
The southbound side of I-59 was impassable too - but National Guard troops were out and clearing it. So the routine would go like this - move 50 yards, wait for hours for NG to clear some trees - move another 50 yards and repeat the process.
But I did make it to Slidell...
But the police didn't want to let me into the city.
So after being turned away on the direct route to the city - I grabbed my map and found a very convoluted "back road" route to get to my house. This was a perilous route - and required me to get out of the car at several points to pull trees and debris out of the road - but I made it.
What I found when I reached the levy to my subdivision was ...
A LAKE. My house was in the middle of a LAKE!
Apparently the storm surge of Katrina topped the levy - filling my subdivision like milk in a cereal bowl. But this stuff, this stuff that came in - was not milk. This was a serious concoction of marsh mud, oil, and - my favorite - sewage! It filled my house with five feet of this black water.
So here's the damage assesment ...
My bottom floor was flooded out about 5 feet with this stinky water and mud. My upstairs was just like I left it - dry and clean - looked beautiful. Actual hurricane damage from winds was minimal. My dishnetwork dish was blown off, and I lost a few shingles and some of my vinyl siding became loose - but didn't come off.
That's amazing. In my subdivision, which was pretty much Katrina Ground Zero (I think only Bay St. Louis, just to the east of us got it worse) - not a single roof was missing - they all held. These homes stood up very well to the actual hurricane winds.
But the flood! Oh the flood! The mold started setting in immediately. As soon as I could, I went in with my family and we started ripping out the carpets and the padding. We ripped out the sheetrock on the walls and the insulation except for a little strip up next to the ceiling. We pressure washed the gunk out and bleached the studs. My house is saved - though it's a fraction of what it was just before the storm.
I had all kinds of hurricane insurance - but I had very little actual "hurricane" damage by insurance company standards.
Most all of my damage was FLOOD damage and - you guessed it - I had not one ounce of flood insurance. I wasn't required to have it - I didn't live in a flood zone. Nevertheless, I was planning on getting flood insurance before the storm - it was on my "to-do list". But it was just one of those things that you figure would be nice to have ... just in case - but that you procrastinate doing. I figured I had plenty of time - but then again little did I know that a HISTORIC record breaking storm was about to hit!
So there you have it folks. I've been working non-stop in my house ever since. Eating MRE's, wondering what day of the week it is and fighting off "carpet bagger" contractors who run through the neighborhoods down here trying to take advantage of the folks who have lost just about everything they own.
It's been damn hard - but you know what? In spite of all that I've lost - there is a positive side to this. First, my family is all fine. And second, something about a record-breaking natural calamity that, when it hits you right in the face, tends to wake you up to the facts of life. I have been moving for the past three weeks with an energy that I haven't had since I was in my twenties - if I even had it then. Neighbors that I barely spoke two or three words to a week - I now speak with on a daily basis. And the conversations are deep too - they're about survival.
I could write much, much, more on this storm - and I will - on another day. Right now I have to hit the rack and get some sleep. Got to work on the house again tomorrow. My goal is to get it "livable" by next week. Of course - no power to my subdivision yet - so "livable" kinds of takes on a lower definition if you know what I mean.
I am fine though! Alive and well! Don't feel sorry for me - I tend to believe that positive things eventually come out of stuff like this. But for the folks in New Orleans proper - pray for them. My experience was pretty traumatic. Theirs was horrific.
More to come later ....
This is my first blog entry in at least three weeks - interuption courtesy of KATRINA.
Where do I start?
My last blog entry was two days before the storm hit. I boarded up my house and left New Orleans around noon on the Sunday before Katrina came ashore. My safe haven destination was my Dad's house in Pascagoula, MS. I figured I'd be safe in Pascagoula - but I found I really had no appreciation for the SIZE of this storm. It was huge. The winds in P-goula were fearful. The shingles on my Dad's house blew off and a couple of the celings collapsed due to water damage. We fought wind blown water entry into the house like a U.S. Navy damage control party virtually the whole time the winds were whipping - and they were whipping for a long time. This storm happened in broad daylight - so you could see what was going on outside. Trees snapping like matchsticks - all the way over here in Pascagoula. My Dad lost power and didn't regain it for over a week.
As soon as the winds died down, I attempted to get on the road to get back home to check my damage. It was about 6pm when I began the trek westward on I-10. From Pascagoula, I got as far as Biloxi, MS when I was turned around by a Highway Patrolman. Reason? He told me ... quote ... "There's an oil tanker on the bridge ahead".
So back to P-goula I go. On the way back, I had I a hell of a time getting across the Pascagoula River bridge - where a segment of the bridge had been knocked sideways by a big floating crane that had been blown into it by the storm. The whole eastbound side of that bridge is now secured for repairs.
So the next morning, I set out for Slidell, LA via a different route - the northern route.
I took HWY 63 to Lucedale and jumped on west HWY 26 - took that all the way to I-59 South - which cruises right into Slidell. This route would normally take about two hours to complete - but it took me EIGHT.
First - HWY 26 was full of downed trees - which was slow going - but it was passable.
I-59 was a completely different story though. It looked like a nuclear bomb had exploded.
Huge pine trees - all over and covering most parts of the freeway. The northbound side was all but impassable. Northbound cars just migrated to the southbound side and turned their emergency blinkers on while they headed in the opposite direction of the intended flow of traffic. There wasn't a lot of northbound traffic though.
The southbound side of I-59 was impassable too - but National Guard troops were out and clearing it. So the routine would go like this - move 50 yards, wait for hours for NG to clear some trees - move another 50 yards and repeat the process.
But I did make it to Slidell...
But the police didn't want to let me into the city.
So after being turned away on the direct route to the city - I grabbed my map and found a very convoluted "back road" route to get to my house. This was a perilous route - and required me to get out of the car at several points to pull trees and debris out of the road - but I made it.
What I found when I reached the levy to my subdivision was ...
A LAKE. My house was in the middle of a LAKE!
Apparently the storm surge of Katrina topped the levy - filling my subdivision like milk in a cereal bowl. But this stuff, this stuff that came in - was not milk. This was a serious concoction of marsh mud, oil, and - my favorite - sewage! It filled my house with five feet of this black water.
So here's the damage assesment ...
My bottom floor was flooded out about 5 feet with this stinky water and mud. My upstairs was just like I left it - dry and clean - looked beautiful. Actual hurricane damage from winds was minimal. My dishnetwork dish was blown off, and I lost a few shingles and some of my vinyl siding became loose - but didn't come off.
That's amazing. In my subdivision, which was pretty much Katrina Ground Zero (I think only Bay St. Louis, just to the east of us got it worse) - not a single roof was missing - they all held. These homes stood up very well to the actual hurricane winds.
But the flood! Oh the flood! The mold started setting in immediately. As soon as I could, I went in with my family and we started ripping out the carpets and the padding. We ripped out the sheetrock on the walls and the insulation except for a little strip up next to the ceiling. We pressure washed the gunk out and bleached the studs. My house is saved - though it's a fraction of what it was just before the storm.
I had all kinds of hurricane insurance - but I had very little actual "hurricane" damage by insurance company standards.
Most all of my damage was FLOOD damage and - you guessed it - I had not one ounce of flood insurance. I wasn't required to have it - I didn't live in a flood zone. Nevertheless, I was planning on getting flood insurance before the storm - it was on my "to-do list". But it was just one of those things that you figure would be nice to have ... just in case - but that you procrastinate doing. I figured I had plenty of time - but then again little did I know that a HISTORIC record breaking storm was about to hit!
So there you have it folks. I've been working non-stop in my house ever since. Eating MRE's, wondering what day of the week it is and fighting off "carpet bagger" contractors who run through the neighborhoods down here trying to take advantage of the folks who have lost just about everything they own.
It's been damn hard - but you know what? In spite of all that I've lost - there is a positive side to this. First, my family is all fine. And second, something about a record-breaking natural calamity that, when it hits you right in the face, tends to wake you up to the facts of life. I have been moving for the past three weeks with an energy that I haven't had since I was in my twenties - if I even had it then. Neighbors that I barely spoke two or three words to a week - I now speak with on a daily basis. And the conversations are deep too - they're about survival.
I could write much, much, more on this storm - and I will - on another day. Right now I have to hit the rack and get some sleep. Got to work on the house again tomorrow. My goal is to get it "livable" by next week. Of course - no power to my subdivision yet - so "livable" kinds of takes on a lower definition if you know what I mean.
I am fine though! Alive and well! Don't feel sorry for me - I tend to believe that positive things eventually come out of stuff like this. But for the folks in New Orleans proper - pray for them. My experience was pretty traumatic. Theirs was horrific.
More to come later ....
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