Tornado Entry: 16

This entry was originally started Sunday morning the 15th and never finished. I finished it up with my first coffee of the day today, Monday the 16th.

I slept in this morning. It was so nice to have a day start leisurely and no place to go. Two loads of laundry were done up and hung on the line. I attempted to balance my checking account. Ugh… it is $30.00 off… that drives me crazy!

Saturday I surprised the SP Coordinators by showing up for half a day. There was a good crew of half day people who set out to 4^th Street East to cut some trees and fix up the tarping on a roof.

I had earlier met up with Sara and Holly. (I had her named as Laura in my previous entry) They are so personable. Someday we will meet again. Sara grew up with missionary parents and is very versed in things biblical. She said a prayer to keep me and my crew safe today.

We needed to get supplies, so Jim, and Luther went on ahead to kick out the chain saw work. They are local guys so they should not have any problem finding the place.

Myself and my crew of three college boys headed out. One in the cab with me, and the other two riding in the back bed: My truck looks like something from “the Grapes of Wrath” with the ladder and tools all hanging out.

We were driving up a hill on 25^th Ave East when out of the corner of my eye I saw a bucket truck pulling out and into my side. I hit the horn, said a quick prayer and hit the gas as easy as I could to avoid jolting the boys out of the truck bed. We all survived. That prayer was just what I needed. I’m afraid my guardian angels are on overtime lately.

The GPS can’t get us to 4^th St East where we need to be. This section of town is so difficult. We parked and walked to the damn address. This street dead ends to a sidewalk just at 25^th Ave. The GPS for whatever reason has this street intersecting. We had to drive to University Blvd, drive over one block and then up 26^th ave. This is the only entrance to this section of 4^th St.

Jim and Luther had the same problem finding the place. Surveying the house, we discover the tree work had already been done. This is happening a lot. I sent the “chainsaw boys” to the next job. The boys and I needed to firm up tarping and cover holes in the house and cover the broken windows.

It can be hard to figure out and secure previous jobs. It took a bit but we got everything done we could. New power lines had been installed along the west side of the place. They were really close to the roof so we stayed away. There was no way to safely get a ladder close.

We went over to the next job. Luther was waiting for us. Again the chainsaw work had been done. This house was built into the side of a hill. The peak at the front where the damage occurred was about 2 ½ stories off the ground. This roof had a VERY steep pitch and was metal. I put the ladder to the side and climbed up. One step off the ladder convinced me to scrap this job. It was too dangerous for my skills. This roof survived well, the leak was just over the front porch. There was nothing leaking into the house. The house owner daughter told us the story how she picked up her father from the hospital the morning the tornado hit. He had suffered a stroke. He had a couple more and was not in the best of shape. Apparently the leaking water was driving him to distraction.

There was a hanging shard of metal I was able to knock off the front that was a danger. I explained how metal roofs are so slippery, and the last thing you want to do is to be nailing holes into them that are not needed. They were very appreciative for what little help we were.

From here we went to the Moose Lodge for lunch. The boys loved it! They went back for seconds. Now I can appreciate how my mother enjoyed when we kids dug into our food!

Driving back to the church we were behind a pick up truck…my jaw dropped when this girl on the passenger side climbed out the window and maneuvered her way to the truck bed. She then handed an Igloo lunch box to the driver through his window, returning to the cab the same way she got out all at 35 mph. We had incredulous stories to tell at the church when we all met there over that incident.

This type of day is getting to be routine now for me. I totally forgot to get a team picture. I need to make up check list now!

I got cleaned up and was running just a little bit late when Gary stopped by to give me a ride to Paul and Mike’s party. This proved to be a most welcome respite to be able to laugh and be lighthearted. The weather had turned cold. I ended up wearing a sweat shirt of Em’s and a ski hat of Paul’s to compliment my newest Utilikilt!

It was Mexican food tonight. I made up three huge Frittatas during the course of dinner.

Sunday was a slow catch-up morning trying to balance my check book with no success! As long as the checks don’t go bouncing I’ll be OK! A few loads of laundry were washed up and hung on the line. It was cool and gray all day. I called Buck to see if I could come down and dig up the Rain Trees he had to move. http://www.rosevilletrees.org/trees/golden_rain.html The original seeds came from our friend Ernie who died of Pancreatic Cancer back in 1999. Ernie was so good with plants. He gave me the Chinese Lacquer tree and ferns which grace my yard.

Buck knows his stuff. We were able to easily dig up the trees. I got three good ones. We enjoyed coffee on his front porch after getting the root balls wrapped in plastic and the trees packed away on my truck.

Heading back to my house I saw a turtle trying to cross the highway. By the time I was able to get back to him, he had been hit and killed. I felt so terrible: The poor little guy.

I stopped at Blowe’s and got peat moss. Buck told me to mix that real well with the dirt when I plant the trees. The roots need good soft soil to grow into. Checking out in the garden center I was behind a woman telling her tornado story to the clerk. When I check out I remarked how she was doing a service listening to the customers. She replied telling me some of the losses her family suffered.

These interchanges remind me of the book “Gone With the Wind”. Margaret Mitchell based much of history behind the book from the stories she learned on front porches growing up. In GWTW, after the war, families gathered in the evenings on Melanie’s front porch to relive the days of the siege of Atlanta. Similarly, people here will be reliving the tornado for years down the road.

It was so good to work in my yard for a change. I used the pick axe to dig up a good sized hole for the first Raintree in the front corner of my house. The peat moss was mixed with the dirt dug up and the tree settled into it’s new home. I just tried to take a picture of the tree, but at 5:00 a.m. things are still too dark.

One of the smaller trees was planted in the back in the same manner. There is one last tree to go which is now in a bucket of water till I can get to it.

Debbie will be here to walk the neighborhood in a bit. It is sweat suit weather again. If anything, the plants love this cool weather. My ferns are growing like crazy!