Things here are getting back to normal. Survivor’s guilt compels me to comment that there are still 10,000 families in the county without electricity, and the tent cities will not come down until the end of October.
We got a land line yesterday. Now that I’ve grown accustomed to the phone service of Mexicans, Chinese and New Yorkers, I now must readjust to those of us who are supposed to rely on AT&T’s ‘other service’. I confess, it was almost decadent to send faxes again.
Tonight we sleep with air conditioning! Okay, it's pretty much jury-rigged by the A/C contractor who came by today to assess how we could get all the damaged stuff replaced. Seems compressors, air handlers and duct work are all in line to be torn out and replaced. Additionally all that historical wiring has to go also or we’ll never meet code again.(Who knows what knob and tube means? Sounds erotic, doesn't it?) That’s right. This ol’ house is going to be totally without electricity for a while as they pull and replace every wire in the place.
Our hard work is beginning to aesthetically pay off. We actually swam in the pool yesterday. All the pumps and the hot tub's thermostat aren’t in yet, but we've got chlorine circulating, etc. Kathy came home from PetsMart yesterday with seven new fish for the pond. I’m looking for suggestions for names, although one has to be named Ike.
Curfew has been moved from midnight until six a.m. WalMart and Home Depot won’t let you in after 11:30. I chatted with a nice young lady who works at WalMart yesterday. She said everyone is working overtime and she got out of there the night before at 1:30, as it took that long to get the last shoppers to leave. Home Depot parking lot requires the cruising behavior of a big city mall, and inside it’s shoulder to shoulder, even though it’s been nearly a month. They have lots of extra workers from all over the country to help shoulder the load.
I would estimate there are about ten restaurants now open. No haute cuisine, but at least a variety of fried fish and hamburgers. The island is yearning for soul food and upscale menus. Maybe in November we hear.
A front page article in the Galveston Daily News today commented on the 200-300 mental health patients that have been lost. No one is certain if they are somewhere loose on the streets or in shelters in other towns. What is known is that records show they are about to run out of medication. These are chronically mentally ill folks who really require psychiatric supervision. I remember having to handle a number of these in the shelter in San Antonio after Katrina. I can only hope these souls get connected somewhere.
Next week Galveston Bay Association had planned its two-day bike ride from Bolivar Peninsula, through Galveston to a mainland destination. The ride was cancelled, and riders were offered a chance to let the entry fee be designated for rebuilding. Moreover, an invitation went out for interested riders to come volunteer for the two day weekend and assist in rebuilding projects. That’s where Kathy and I will be this weekend.
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