We survived Irma … Now if we can get lucky and survive …

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Coconuts under the tree. During Charley the trees were laying where the coconuts are in this picture.

 

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Irma got her pound of flesh. She collapsed my seawall and damaged my boat.

Well, we did it. We survived Irma. Unlike our return after hurricane Charley, our house made it through with only minor damage. No steel doors blown off the hinges. No holes in the sides of the walls you could walk through. No dead squirrel blown against a tree so hard its body was literally inbedded in the bark. No power poles hanging from wires rather than supporting them. When we saw our end of the island after Charley, it looked like a giant weed-eater had cut down anything that was built or grew higher than twenty feet. In fact, that’s just what happened.

Hooray you say? Not so fast. Irma got her pound of flesh from us after all. As we walked around the house inspecting it, our hearts dropped. Our seawall on the canal behind us, failed! Its failure caused the davits that I use to remove my boat from the water to collapse on my boat that was secured to the ground. The damned davits damaged it and the outboard. Worse, the seawall is only 25′ from our home. The sand is eroding as I write this post.

 

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Earth caving in under my seawall. The davits clobbered my boat. My major concern is the sand slipping away from my house.

Your first question has got to be, do you have insurance? Sure, all kinds of it. Home owners. Hurricane. Flood. That’s $3,000 dollars a years worth. Why, the mortgage company insists on it. Soooooooooooo, I called my friendly insurance agent.

After a few pleasant words explaining my home came through just fine, the conversation went something like this.

ME – “We did have some damage, however. The seawall in back of the house failed.”

HE – Silence.

ME – “Hello.”

HE – “Ahhhhhhh. I don’t think that’s covered. You have a deductible on that ….”

ME – “Oh, I have flood insurance.”

HE – “That’s what I was talking about.”

ME – “I have hurricane and homeowners as well, surely …”

HE – “Ahhhhh, I don’t think it’s covered by them either. You’ll have to wait and ask the adjuster when he comes. Now, you know there is a deductible of around $xxxx you’ll have to …”

ME – “I know about the deductible. Look, the insurance company said it will be a week to fifteen days before they get someone here. I’m worried that the ground will collapse into the canal and endanger the house. Can’t you get someone out here to look at it and give me some advice on preventing a disaster?”

HE – “Sorry, you’ll have to wait for the adjuster. You might get a contractor out to fix it yourself. You know you have the deductible you’ll have to pay anyway…”

And so on ……………………………. One is reminded of the TV ad that informs the sufferer that his insurance only covers his problem during a zombie apocalypse.  Our agent’s representative, in his under-taker-style-tones assured us that the zombies had to be pregnant males suffering from rabies before our insurance was any good. Yes …….. we survived Irma. Now if we can survive the insurance companies and the governments help we might be okay. Well … honestly … it is to soon to bitch about the government … I’m just remembering Charley. Back then, those government types were pregnant, male, rabid, left-handed, blind zombies … they didn’t help a bit.

 

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Zombie Irma did this to my outboard.

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This is not the type hour glass we want in our back yard.

 

On a more positive note —– I’ll be attending the Florida Heritage Book Festival in St. Augustine this coming weekend with my Publisher, Taylor & Seale. It will be held on the Flagler College Campus in the Ringhaver Student Center, from 9 AM to 4 PM, Saturday, September 23rd. It’s free to the public. You can get more information on the event by calling 904-819-6339. If you’re in the area … come see me!

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