Saturday, September 3, 2016

And Suddenly, Everything Is Changed

I see that Lily gave an update in comments and I am so grateful for that. I tried, via cellular, to post short posts from my phone yesterday but could not.

We are fucking lucky. I'm sitting here with my computer plugged in, with a functioning phone line and electricity with no more damage in my yard than hundreds of small to medium limbs and branches which need picking up.
Meanwhile, in Tallahassee, just a few miles east, 70,000 or more power customers are powerless, trees are down everywhere, and life, as we know it, has stalled, to say the least.
Publix has its own giant generators and thus, can carry on doing business. Most places cannot. I hear that even Walmart was closed yesterday. None of my children has power, Lily, being on a well, doesn't even have water. They're saying that some customers may be without electricity for two weeks.
Two weeks is a long time to live without air-conditioning, the ability to cook or keep food cold, no internet, no way to charge phones, no television, no lights. And if your street is blocked by giant fallen trees, no way to get anywhere. No restaurants, no schools, no doctor's offices. Forget Starbucks. Gas stations cannot dispense gas because the pumps are electronically powered.
Houses were destroyed by fallen trees but miraculously, no one was killed although some came within inches of death. Literal inches.

This is no joke and this is why I hate hurricanes. One never knows where the things will do their worst.

It's impossible to imagine how quickly life can change within a few hours of a storm's approach. I honestly don't think anybody thought that Hurricane Hermine would be as destructive as it would turn out to be. Those who were invoking the name of "Kate"- the last hurricane to truly hit Tallahassee thirty years ago- were being scoffed at. This storm had barely made it to the hurricane status before it came to land. "What? 70 mile an hour winds? That's nothing."
Oh fucking yes it is.

Anyway, my mind feels scattered and I am very anxious, as one might imagine. We spent yesterday lying around and watching TV with the boys via the generator. We had fans and our refrigerator was plugged in so we didn't have to worry about food. I kept trying to make myself get up and go out to pick up branches and just couldn't bring myself to do it. Mr. Moon and I took the boys to the river late yesterday afternoon where a lot of other people had decided to go hang out. Stories abounded of no electricity, no water, food going bad. I saw one guy soap up from a giant bottle of Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap and dive in to rinse off. We finally packed up and drove the boys home and came on back to our place where I started cooking supper, being so damn grateful for that noisy-ass generator (which Mr. Moon traded an antique musket for years ago) because I had a light to cook by and a gas stove to cook on. Suddenly, the light in the kitchen got brighter and I realized that my little twinkling stars over the door to the hallway were on. And that was it- our power was restored.
You cannot imagine the relief and we hadn't even been 24 hours without it.

Jessie and Vergil are coming out later and since Publix is open, Lily and Jason both have to work and I'm taking care of the children this afternoon. I am going to encourage them to just come and stay with us for the duration. It's bad enough to be without lights and AC but no water is just no good.

So. That's the report from here. I feel almost guilty in the way we avoided the worst of it while so many others are suffering and sweltering. No. That's not true. I don't feel almost guilty. I feel extremely guilty although that serves no purpose at all.

Life will go on and this will all become a memory and firewood. But not a good memory, even though stories will be traded about the time when neighbors came out of their houses to share chainsaws and coffee, to eat giant meals together of whatever people had in their freezers and refrigerators, grilled outside and shared.
For now, people are going to have to come together, to be patient, to adapt and endure.
Things we are not always so good at these days.

More later.

Love...Ms. Moon




24 comments:

  1. First let me say, I'm so glad you and your family are safe and sound.

    As for the destruction a hurricane can cause, maybe the only good that can come of them is the neighborly helpfulness and generosity they inspire. These days we can all use a reminder of just how much we need each other.


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  2. What a relief to read your post, dear Mary. Don't rush into clearing up, look after yourselves first of all. Celebrate that you are all well and healthy, make a feast day out of it.
    We experienced and survived a massive landslide that washed away neighbours' homes on both sides but left us in ours standing. The shock came several weeks later, so be prepared and take small steps now, holding onto each others' hands.

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  3. Oh MISS MARY I am so glad it was not as horrendous as thought, for you anyway. Can not even imagine a hurricane's force taking everything down to zero. We live in the middle of active volcanoes and earth quakes but they sort of lull us to sleep , because they are beautiful and quiet for now, when they decide it's time, BOOM, no worries about where one might get their water or light.One never knows. So glad you are OK and have a gas stove!

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  4. I am so glad you are safe. I did hear no casualties but there are other bad things that can happen in a hurricane, as you know. It is nice how neighbors come together after a hurricane. Gail

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  5. I am so relieved; your home is the fort and I hope you children come. Destruction from storms is awful, and generators make more noise than they are worth, until they are needed. Everyone will recover quickly; take care of the center.

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  6. do not feel guilty. you didn't cause this. you should feel guilty over misery that you caused. so there. I lived through 4 or 5 direct hit hurricanes in my lifetime. Lost power with most of them, once for nearly two weeks in August. not fun. but, you know, it's not the easy days of life that make the stories we tell. stories are always about what we survived.

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  7. One big sigh of relief for you and your family. We don't have hurricanes here, but when I used to live in the San Gabriel Valley, I experience 60-100 miles per hour straight-line winds twice. I think wind might be one of mother nature's most frightening forces. You can't see it--just the power of it. The chainsaws for weeks afterwards is nerve-wracking. Whew. Take good care.

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  8. Like those of us in south Louisiana with the recent flooding, you will band together and get through this. Those who were spared get to give the gift of helping others, those who were not get to give the gift of allowing themselves to be helped.

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  9. So glad to hear you all came through the storm unscathed. Stay safe my friend. big love to you all.

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  10. Our modern lives are so very fragile. Take away electricity and running water and we are living like our great-great-whatever-grandparents. Like you, after Hurricane Wilma, I got electricity within 24 hours. Our neighbors across the parking lot were not so lucky. They didn't have power for two weeks. It warmed my heart ever time I came home though. Strung across the parking lot from every unit in my building, to every unit in the other building, ran bright orange extension cords.

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  11. So glad you're all OK. Here in the Midwest we deal with tornadoes. I've been through two, and the destruction was unbelievable. Mother Nature is a fickle bitch!

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  12. I hope you don't keep feeling guilty because of luck. Feel lucky, and share your power for those who need to charge their phones or boil some water? And look after your sweet family. I'm so glad all you have to deal with is firewood! Though I guess you don't do open fires...

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  13. I'm so glad your home has light and water and Lily and the kids can be there. Tending a baby with no water is just not fun. I hope it will feel like connected chaos as things get back to normal. So glad you're all safe.

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  14. Glad that you are okay and that you can offer shelter to Lily and family. Only five hours without electricity here. Generator powered the well pump so we had water. Shout out to the lines people who restored power. They have a hard job. Today is beautiful here. Excited times last night at the marina when a boat broke loose near mine and another was sinking. Anything over 50 mph again and I am moving the boat to a hurricane hole. Not messing around. Love to you and yours.

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  15. I'm so glad y'all are safe and sound and all together.

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  16. Glad there's no damage and electricity! After Wilma, it was almost two weeks with no power. Wonderful neighbors let us share their generator and everyone with chainsaws were working together to clear the street. Much as I hate storms, they do bring out the good in most people. Hope power is on soon for everyone else.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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  17. My heart is full of gratitude that yall made it through so well! Oh, this does stir up memories of Katrina. We were without power for 9 days. In Mississippi. In August. Pure torture. We had also just moved that very weekend and everything was still packed & stacked. Had roof damage with water pouring into living room. Huge cluster-fuck. But the lady a few doors down died when a tree fell on her house so that did tend to put my suffering into perspective. As Bruce sings so well, "it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive", I would add nor is it a sin to be glad you have electricity & water. Soldier on dear Moon family and beautiful people of Florida, yall got this! ~ Angie D

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  18. All that damage or potential damage is a but of an awakening. We are supposed to get The Big One here anytime. That means an earthquake. We are prepared but hearing what you are going through makes me think we should be more prepared. We could be weeks without water, shelter and electricity. We are thinking about getting one of those LifeStraws but they are really expensive so we keep putting it off.

    I am so glad you made it through. I kept watching the weather channel yesterday. I sort of encouraged a client to put it on! :-)

    I hope Lily and family are doing okay. Does it scare Owen and Gibson?

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  19. Two weeks is a long time without power, yes. We had a blizzard here a couple of years ago where some people were without power for that long, and a few were without even longer. It does bring out the best in people, though. And Ellen is right - our stories come from the things we survive, not the easy days. Glad you and yours are okay.

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  20. Glad you all are safe and sound. Your kids are lucky to have your support. Hugs from here. X0 N2

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  21. Glad you all are safe and sound. Your kids are lucky to have your support. Hugs from here. X0 N2

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  22. So glad everyone is safe. No water is definitely no good. Extended stay at Mer's!

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  23. An antique musket for a generator sounds like a REALLY GOOD trade!

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