Busy

I have been absent from this blog for too long. The problems with blogging were numerous. We traveled to Illinois where data was limited. We had friends and family to visit. Beer to drink and pizza to eat at Budde's. There was also plenty of work to be done. We had intended to stay another week but hurricane Matthew appeared to be headed toward our house on Tybee Island. We completed our final task up north a week ago Monday by going to the courthouse to vote. When that was done we headed south spending the night in Lexington, Kentucky. Tuesday we arrived back on Tybee Island to the news that a voluntary evacuation was being recommended. Wednesday was spent preparing the house for the coming storm. Hurricane shutters were put on the windows, anything that could be blown away was stored. The evacuation order went from voluntary to mandatory. It does not mean they will drag you out of your home and force you to leave. It does mean that once the winds reach tropical storm level at 39 mph no city services are available. No police, no fire, no emergency responders. You chose to stay and take your chances. You chose to risk your life, not theirs. So Carol, Rose, Lily and I loaded the car and headed north to South Carolina. We were followed by Brian, Tammie, Bailey and Josephine to wait out the storm in Camden at Carol's sisters home. We were about 100 miles inland and got some wind and lots of rain. Power was off there for about six hours. We were able to return to Tybee on Monday. The return trip was filled with anxiety not knowing what we would find when we got home. You know what to expect with a Midwest tornado. There will be a relatively narrow swath of severe damage and lesser damage as you move out. We learned how different hurricanes are. The damage extends for miles. Power lines down. Trees uprooted from the ground. Roofs off houses. We made it through the checkpoint and back home. The house was still there and damages were minimal. Lots of debris and plenty to clean but no serious damage. Many neighbors have it much worse. The good news is that this is not just a city. Tybee is a community. We help each other. The cleanup will continue for weeks, perhaps months. The city estimates there is about 1,000 tons of debris to be removed. It will take time but we will recover. Rebuild. Replant. Renew. I will post pictures soon. For now, it is time to get back to cleaning and recovery.