Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Little by Little

Don't think I'm gonna make it. ... Back home by the 2nd anniversary of Her Horribleness' arrival in the Golden Triangle, that is.

Some progress has been made, though. My handyfriend came to town and I think we've pretty much bought everything else we need to finish the repairs inside. Well, almost. One nice piece of 1/4 round is needed to finish off the baseboard in the kitchen, and I'm sure there will be one or two more things before we're through.

All of the baseboard, chair rail, and crown molding has been painted, as well as the framing for the doorway that had to be replaced, and progress has been made in installing the baseboard in the den. I won't tell you about the piece that I managed to break as we took it back outside to trim down a bit. Turns out that some of the door framing left a nasty swath which needs to be repainted with the paint from hell. Bleah! (Especially, since there's now CARPET on the floors and I have to be really careful to not drip paint, paint tarp notwithstanding.)

Dorky moment of the day - I started tackling cleaning around the kitchen. The ventahood looked rather bedraggled, so I started in on it. Managed to pull out the light cover without much trouble. Then came the grease screen. Started to get it loosened and something tumbled onto the stove. EEK! *sheepish grin* It was just a leaf. EEK! *sheepish grin* Next came a bit of wood. EEP! *sheepish grin* Another leaf. Notice a trend here? You'd think after the first one I'd quit thinking some kind of dead/live critter wasn't falling through the hole. I finally realized it was the detrius from my previously hurricane-mangled roof, which made the balance of the cleanup a bit less exciting. *chuckle*

My handyfriend won't be able to come back until next week. *sigh* Perhaps we'll get the rest of the inside finished next time. In the meantime, I'm exhausted and headed to bed.

OOPS! Forgot to mention one moment of hilarity during our work. My working refrigerator is in the storage room in the garage, while my regular fridge is in 3 pieces waiting to be reinserted into its appropriate location. We'd stored water in the working fridge so we'd have something cool to drink. My handyfriend hollers "Water!" I'm thinking, "Well, he's closer to the fridge. Why doesn't he just walk in and get one?" Again, he hollers "Water!" So I yell back, "It's in the fridge!" He says, "No! Water! All over the floor! WATER!" Sure enough, there's this mysterious water in the storage room. Turns out the drainage pipe from my washing machine was dislodged from its comstituent parts by the installation guy and now the water drains all over my garage floor instead of into the sewage system. Not an ideal situation by any stretch of the imagination. But the miscommunication sure was funny!

Friday, September 14, 2007

Raising 'Cane

(Thanks, Gard!)

I had truly hoped to sleep in my own bed before (1) the NEXT hurricane blew through town and (2) the anniversary of Her Horribleness. While #1 got the best of me, there's still hope for #2. But I'm waiting to hear from my handyfriend as to whether he'll be able to make it to town this weekend or not.

By comparison, for me, Humberto was just a baby hurricane. Of course, those who experienced significant damage won't see things the same way. I truly feel for those who got clobbered this time around.

When I went to bed on Wednesday, Humberto was still just a tropical storm. The lights had flickered once or twice and the dog wasn't happy about that. But they came back on, so no one in my house was particularly concerned. Snoozin' and cruisin' was the order of the night.

That is, until the dog decided to crawl into bed with me about 3am-ish.

We still had lights, so that wasn't it. There wasn't any thunder at that point, so that wasn't it either. The rain was pattering on the roof and windows, but that usually doesn't bother her, so that wasn't it. There must have been something about the wind blowing that made the Penster decide to snuggle. She's not much of a snuggle-dog.

Finally after spending about an hour trying to calm her down, I gave up, went to the den and turned on the tv. To my vast surprise, scrolling across the bottom of the screen was "Inland hurricane warning in effect"! Hurricane! Where'd this hurricane come from? How on earth was a storm over dry land becoming a hurricane? (Ok - it was really early in the morning, so give me a break!) I'd certainly decided I'd lost my mind and was misreading what was on the screen. Then the weatherperson came onscreen and announced that Humberto had become a minimal category 1 hurricane before coming ashore somewhere around ..... at that point I quit listening.

A hurricane? Nobody'd ever said anything about a 'cane. Uhoh! I just remembered that there was a small stepladder and an empty can of paint on the back patio which should have been secured earlier. Don't worry. I didn't jump into clothes and try to go and fix it. I just fretted about it for a while.

Then the power went out, for good. So the Penster and I went back to bed, her to cower and me to console. There wasn't much else we could do at the moment.

Next thing I knew, a phone was ringing and it was 8:30am. All quiet, except for the ringing. Alllllllll quiet. No a/c. No refrigerator hum. No lights anywhere. And still no lights today.

Ah, well! The whole thing could have been significantly worse. I'm grateful that things have calmed down and there's sun on the horizon for the next couple of days. Keep your fingers crossed! I'm hoping to meet that second deadline, and it looks like it just may be possible!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

On That Day

Much has happened since the fateful September 11th six years ago. There're so many things which seem to have taken us in a u-turn from the essential tenets of who we are meant to be as Americans. Yet that's not where I'm headed tonight.

Last night I participated in a truly incredible experience which I'm not completely certain I can put into words. For those of you who don't live in this part of the world, there's still a fair amount of prejudice; although, it has improved since the last time I lived here.

But last night ...

Religious leaders from every faith group in the area and all racial/ethnic backgrounds gathered together for a September 11 Remembrance and Peace Procession. Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Islam, Christian of various stripes, African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, male, female, formal clerical attire, casual, from all three of the major cities in the Golden Triangle area, all shared a prayer and walked together to the main fire station, the police station, and the port.

At each stop, the first responders gave a short tribute to those who have served and whose lives were lost or forever changed in the line of duty. At the port, the military headquarters (transportation group) gave a prayer for those who serve in the military and for a time when all may live in peace. The religious leaders placed a wreath there and laid palm fronds there as a symbol of the peace we prayed for.

The only prayer given by the religious leaders was this one:

"Loving God and Father, answer our prayers for a world of peace. Give us strength as we face the conflicts o our troubled world. Cleanse our minds of retaliation and help us to be instruments of your peace. Fill us with the compassion we need to overlook the hatefulness of others and enable us to be a country embraced by the grace of your teachings. We ask to share in teh task of restoring harmony and justice.

God of compassion and mercy, we pray for all the people whose lives have been changed by violence in this world. Remember, too, those who perished in the attack on America and the lives that have been lost in protecting democracy and freedom around the world. Console their families and friends with the knowledge that their loved ones will find comfort and peace in your loving arms. We put our trust in your heavenly graces. Hear our plea and grant that peace reign through the world. Amen."

Yes, I have one or two quibbles with the prayer, but, considering the context, it was a job well done. I hope the local news outlets showed that our area has an incredible diversity within it and that we can all hope and pray for peace in our world and a time when differences are embraced and not feared.

Yesterday was a very good day. What better message could we send to those who would bring pain and division to this world than the image of all of us together walking and praying for peace?

Friday, September 07, 2007

A Surgery Long Overdue

That's the headline on an article in the Houston Chronicle today.

Two years ago, a young EMT and her cousin were riding down an Angelina County road when some bozoid pulls alongside them, shoots and kills the cousin, then shoots the EMT, mangling her arm. She's rushed to the hospital where they're able to save her arm. Truly wonderful! She has insurance at that point.

Fast forward to today. No job. No insurance. She gets a $900/month disability check, which is too much per month to receive medical care in Angelina County. In many Texas counties, if you earn $179/month as a single person, you make too much to qualify for indigent medical care. $179!!! That doesn't even cover housing and you're too wealthy to qualify for medical care?!?! OUTRAGEOUS!

For this young woman, her situation became visible due to an article on healthcare in the newspaper. It touched the heart of people with resources in the medical community, and yesterday she received the long delayed surgery to complete the repairs that were started after she was shot.

The original surgery was competently done. There's no malfeasance involved in her situation, at least no medical malfeasance from the outset. However, the one surgery was not sufficient to bring about the healing which might lead to her being able to train for a new career and re-enter the workforce.

So, yesterday that healing was begun. Gratis. Surgeons and hospital and rehab therapists are donating their resources to ensure this is done. HOORAY! I'm truly happy for this young woman. It's a wonderful and incredible blessing that she's receiving.

Now for a mini-rant:

What about those whose stories didn't make it into the newspaper? What about the thousands in Texas who are considered 'wealthy' when their income probably doesn't even provide even minimal necessities?

Not to malign the hospitals who provide indigent care, but why wasn't this surgery done earlier? This young woman traveled 175 miles round-trip, twice weekly, for physical therapy at a teaching hospital which provides care for those who don't qualify for the same care close to home. I applaud their assistance and the services they provide. However, if surgery was necessary for improvement, why didn't they pick up on this and offer it? (Ok - I know why, but I don't have to like it.)

Why aren't people so outraged at the state of health care that they lobby and protest and write letters to elected officials until something is done about it?

*snort* My mom is probably a prime example of why. She has really good health insurance. (So do I, for that matter.) Here's her plaint: If we go to universal health care, there'll be rationing. *one daughter tearing out hair* There already IS rationing! Those who can't afford health care are already "rationed" out of the system!

So, one injustice has been rectified. When will we tackle the others?

PS - There's a part of me which says that the bozoid who committed the crime should be personally responsible for any medical care costs of the person he damaged. Unless he was independently wealthy, I realize this could never happen. It's difficult to pay multi-thousand dollar medical bills when you're serving two life sentences in prison. So, in the balance of things, I'm just glad he's off the streets so he can't hurt anyone else.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Flashback

Two years ago, I really needed a vacation. I'd scheduled two weeks off around Labor Day and everything was in place so I could go. Then this nasty named Katrina popped up on the horizon. By the time I was scheduled to leave, it was pretty certain the vixen wasn't headed to Beaumont and people were pouring in from the east to escape here. My competent crew was helping out with the local agencies and things were in order, so the dog, the cat, and I also headed west for a visit with my mom.

In the days to come, we (Mom and I, the dog and cat weren't particularly into tv) watched transfixed as Katrina came ashore, completed her devastation, and faded into nothingness. Original plans to visit with friends further west were put aside because traffic and gasoline costs were horrendous. The next days were spent almost paralyzed as we watched helplessly while people in New Orleans died, awaited rescue in miserable conditions, were abandoned on 24-hour national tv. One helluva way to spend a vacation.

Then the dog and I returned home. Still wrapped in a sense of the surreal, I went about my business. The cat had stayed at mom's because I had a week-long meeting to attend in a couple of weeks, so there was no sense in disrupting her catly routine twice. As I left Houston for the meeting at the appointed time, Mom had a hissy fit about an almost tropical storm that was off the coast of Florida. Our part of the world had a ridiculous high parked over it, so I wasn't worried and I left.

In a total otherworldly experience, the entire meeting from California became a watching of news reports and wondering what this second nasty named Rita would do. Again I watched helplessly as my friends, family, church members fled in long, unmoving lines while this at one point category 5 virago bore down on my home. In some respects, I've been in a bit of a fog ever since.

Then came Hurricane Dean.

I've been in an even deeper fog since the moment Southeast Texas was in even the outer edge of the cone of probability. My head said he wouldn't come our way. *shrug* My head had said that about Rita. Again I watched helplessly as Dean clobbered Jamaica and Mexico, poor areas devastated and nothing I could do.

I just realized last night that I was completely and truly trapped in a flashback as Felix came so quickly after Dean and roared up to category 5. I think I've been paralyzed for almost two weeks now, functioning more or less at the zombie level, again trapped in the helpless feelings of two years ago.

Then oddball stuff bubbled to the surface. When I do finally get into my home, it won't be the same home I left two years ago. It'll be a much better home. More completely mine, in the sense that my choices will have been imposed on it. Yet so much less mine, because it isn't the house I left two years ago and, somehow, I just want to return to THAT house, not this one. Don't know if that makes any sense, but it's what I'm feeling.

Somehow I think it's time for me to holler for help. I'm fortunate. The resources are there. Now I just have to pick up the phone and do it.