The Aftermath and The Wait

We are dealing with the aftermath now, which is much nicer than the fear of the during. There are huge piles of debris all along our roadways. Traffic is slow for clean up along the medians and road sides. Our neighborhood roads are slow going as we dodge debris piles. They’re big debris piles… 12 feet long, 4-5 feet wide, 2-3 feet tall. Every house has one or two. They’re full of bushes, grass cuttings, and trees. And it’s all starting to rot.

The storm came through on Sunday and we all had most of our yard work done on Monday. Some people had big trees fall and services had to come out, but most of us either owned a chainsaw or knew someone who did and a man with a chainsaw is a happy man. Everything got chopped up quickly and put in our debris piles. Today is 10 days since the storm hit, 9 days since we started our sacrificial mounds to the landscaping Gods and it has rained an enormous amount and it is hot and humid and now our piles are starting to smell.

The train crossings are operational now. I never thought about what one does when the train crossings don’t work. Well, the trains come to damn near a complete stop and then slowly make their way through under those circumstances. A passenger train, normally barreling through in 30 seconds, took 5 minutes. A freight train, normally taking 5 minutes, took 30. It’s all for safety, but it was something I did not anticipate.

Our power company did not make sure our sewage plants were fully powered, first and foremost. So there were big articles in our paper about how sewage was pushing up manhole covers and how children were not to play in sitting water. At my Publix, there was a distinct odor of sewage. It’s the first time I’ve ever been happy to be on a Septic system, with as many aggravations as we have had with it.

Power is supposed to be up to every household in Palm Beach County by tonight; Martin County Friday night. I personally think the power company has done a great job, my only complaint being they should have let our county people understand where they were going to be so considerations could be made for those who would be without power longer. For instance, in our poorer sections of town, FEMA and aid groups could have concentrated their efforts there if they had known they would be the last on or near last.

And now we sit tight and wait for Ivan as it moves towards Mobile Bay. My parents are 1 hour East of Mobile, in Pensacola. Guess who will be taking the brunt of the NE eyewall? The Great Omnipotent One and my Mom. They are ready. It’s starting to rain already, the docks at the beach are flooding, and they’re predicting no power for 3 weeks. I’m praying for no damage to the homestead so they can leave if there is no power.