Fortunate is a word often accompanied with thankfulness; the complicated conversations always begin with both. We are blessed, fortunate and thankful. Personally, I have tried to avoid the complicated conversations, choosing instead to throw the starfish back into the water one at a time.
According to most, hurricane recovery and restoration is complicated business. They are likely correct; however, I do not see a broom, mop, screw gun or sandwich delivered as complicated business, so y’all are not going to read analytics of the complex from me. Instead, the focus is on seeing a person with a problem and tackling it in a way to make their situation just a little bit better.
I’ve watched ants move rocks because rocks needed to be moved. The task did not seem complex, the only variable seemed to be the number of ants needed. I doubt they used extras. The ants somehow knew exactly how many of them were needed for the task and modified their assembly based on the terrain. If you watch closely, the ants keep arriving until exactly the rock moving number of ants are on task – and they move the rock.
Perhaps it is a complicated process for ants to move rocks. Is there a boardroom of ants, with ant planning and zoning? Or does one ant just start pushing on the obstacle and the other ants join in. I think the latter is more likely.
Need gasoline, we can get it. Need the road cleared, we got that too. We can make a sandwich, deliver fuel, saw, sweep, mop, scrub, clean and/or make just that little space closer to the normal of memory. It is entirely possible to replace a missing downspout, and it is entirely possible to provide an uncomplicated ear to listen. Both tasks are equally important during recovery because both outcomes reduce burdens.
Day 5 finds more ants arriving in the western impact zone of Hurricane Ian. Here’s the rock:
.
Right now, there are tens of thousands of unemployed service workers looking for wages.
We need an uncomplicated way to put hands-on tasks and move the rocks.
More later….
Exactly. Money moves nothing. Hands can move anything.
I hope to get power any day now.
Keep us posted .. let us know if u get electricity 👍
Our son’s house turned back on last ni9ght and our office five minutes ago. Crazy but the street sweeper came down the street this afternoon past the tree branches and never ending bags of leaves. Garbage collected yesterday. We have three huge branches just swinging in the breeze laying on top of bigger branches.
I’ll arrive Thursday. I’ll attend my rocks first then see who else in the neighborhood needs another ant.
I’ve been in service and construction for 40+ years so I suspect I’ll be busy. 😉
One family who home wasn’t touched has generator running and is cooking breakfast and dinner.
Someone else showed up with a trailer load of generators, window units, gasoline, and beverage.
While some sad little leftists are screaming “climate change” the rest of us will be moving the rocks..
Thanks Sundance for all you do and great metaphor.
….and thus, the leftists (as usual) are the sluggards. They’d rather complain and preen. Wouldn’t be caught getting their hands dirty. (Proverbs 6;6)
God bless all the beautiful ants, including you and yours, Mycroft.
Whatever the left destroys or mocks, it is you and yours who are able and willing to build again.
There have been plenty of photos of the state of parks or other venues after protests or events by leftist groups making their points about the freedoms to kill their offspring or their “passion” about “saving the earth”.
They come, they protest or pontificate… and they leave behind them their calling cards. Rubbish, debris, destruction of the “environment ” they claim they care about. No efforts are made to clean up after themselves. This is what they are, always have been, always will be.
Others and their despair and needs are nothing to them. The world was made for them. Self is all.
In the ridiculous imagining that any leftist would show up to help, they’d no doubt leave more devastation than was there originally.
As in Matthew, you shall know them by their fruits.
When our group went to the 2009 March on DC, there were more than a million of us, and we not only put our trash in cans, but we picked up others trash.
Two of the park rangers came up to us, smiled, and thanked us for leaving the place so clean.
Hen one said, “Unlike them”, and threw his head toward a group of nasty BLM marchers, leaving loads of trash in their wake. Trash leaving trash.
It’s what we do…
Missy, the contrast couldn’t be more stark. Which is why we see places like New York City, Los Angeles, and the once beautiful San Francisco reduced to uncivilized slums. Who looking at those cities in their heydays could have foreseen it?
When our grands nearest to us were about three years old, we started to inculcate them with the phrase “Manners Maketh Man”. Easy to say with its alliteration and fun as well. And we told them to always leave a place better than they found it, if possible. It’s not hard.
A simple respect for others and themselves, early lessons that clearly weren’t offered in the homes of those today who do not even see the mess they’ve created…and care even even less.
We can start something here thanks to Team Sundance!
When I can I’ll make an iron tee-shirt of an ant moving a rock under a happy sun.
If enough off us do this we will know each other instantly.
Any takers?
(You can print a graphic and use an iron on transfer sheet to make said tee-shirt.)
I was raised in South GA my family had houses on Destin Beach long before it was developed, we had one house blown away by a hurricane before my time and second in the 60’s to which they didn’t rebuild.
Note: In those days there was nothing in Destin.
My point hurricanes have been ravaging the Gulf since the dawning of time and that will not change. It didn’t have anything to do with glo “bull” warming but with the fact that we built houses on the beach and hurricanes happened.
These continual victims are as boring as they are predictable. These”sad little leftist” need to do something extraordinary for them, shut the hell up and man a shovel. This is a humanitarian disaster of epic proportions and people need help not haranguing by leftist nit-wits.
Prayers up for the people of Florida as the “ants” roll in.
“These continual victims are as boring as they are predictable. These”sad little leftist” …..
In the deep south we call them pissants.
A pissant, also seen as piss ant or piss-ant, refers to a specific type of ant. The word is also used as a pejorative noun or adjective, indicating insignificance.
Pissant is an epithet for an inconsequential, irrelevant, or worthless person, especially one who is irritating or contemptible out of proportion to his or her perceived significance.
In Ohio we call them “nits”. Tiny little flies that do nothing but bug ya! In Michigan they call em “no-see-ems”. They have the annoying habit of biting you on the back of the neck. Just like a lefty
Half of them couldn’t find Florida on a map. Much less Destin. The only thing they know are the pretty pictures and words on TV.
The sad little leftists obviously have never encountered a PMS Mother Nature on steroids. The tropics are quite familiar with her mood and path swings.🤣
Yes, the ant analogy is a great metaphor… and true. 😊
Great posts…The hallmarks of silly Leftists are 1) narcissism, 2) immaturity, and 3) slothfulness.
Fits like a glove.
Arrogance and sarcasm.
Well I WON’T be in Florida Thursday as the transmission in my car died in Corbin, KY.
Rats!
Bartering can get things done also.
On Boca Grande/Gasparilla Island, approximately 40 power restoration trucks/crew arrived en masse from Florida and several other states to rebuild. (Monday/Tuesday)
WinkNews (Ft. Myers) is back on the air, although from various remote locations. Reporting is all local & excellent.
Praying that Pine Island and all of the hurting souls of SWFL are restored to livable conditions as quickly as possible. Bless you all, and thanks for sharing these sad human stories along with the promise of those helping others.
Thank goodness it waited till it cooled off a little. No air in Florida is no fun.
The key word to your comment is “LIVABLE” What these folks are experiencing, “LIVABLE” to them will seem like heaven on earth. “LIVABLE” to many will be food, electricity, water and shelter. Shelter will be anything that gives protection from the environment.
Thanks for the update!
Heartbreaking.
It’s gonna be a long haul getting up an
running for everyone.
One day at a time……..
normal heights?
Just know that things will get better. A new normal will emerge. In 1985, a wildfire destroyed the neighborhood I was living in. It was in San Diego.
The fire was capricious, in a way. It spared certain homes and destroyed others. Charged destruction was all around.
A beautiful neighborhood became a charcoal factory.
It took time to rebuild.
In a ln adjacent neighborhood, a large passenger plane had crashed, a few years earlier (1978). THAT scarred that neighborhood, too. The survivors acquire the opportunity to go on. May you all have lived that are pleasant and good.
I remember that plane crash well. I was working at the Better Business Bureau in San Diego when it came on the radio as a special announcement. It seemed like everything stopped, as it was right there in a residential part of the city (not far from where we were working), so it was a very major event, as I recall.
Ian is the same, and it’s wonderful to hear how America pulls together to help when tragedy strikes. But it can be difficult for those of us in Hurricane Alley to understand why it is that when the region around Joplin, MO is completely destroyed by a mile-wide, EF5 tornado, the coverage is nowhere near the same. While Ian is covered in depth for days before and then weeks afterward, SW Mo, which looked like it had been bombed for months after the storm hit, was more of a hit-and-run media event. We happened to be teaching there at the time and the HS was ravished — the roar of an F5 tornado is something you never forget…and the site of buildings reduced to rubble in an evening is the stuff of nightmares, as the people who just suffered through Ian know.
Is it because the media elite live where hurricanes hit and not where the tornadoes destroy regions? Or just because there is the long warning time with hurricanes? I don’t know, but “flyover country” definitely gets the “fly-in-fly-out” treatment by the corporate media,” which spends only a couple of days here when tragedy strikes and doesn’t bother sticking around to cover the following weeks of clean-up and rebuilding.
Great to see DeSantis handling the press with his usual aplomb.
Simply brilliant. Or brilliantly simple. Both apply.
Sundance, you are the best. So wise and smart.
Yesterday’s daily bible reading was the parable of the Good Samaritan (who is my neighbor?). You live it out, brother.
In know WINK news was announcing county(ies) position opening all day yesterday, and they gave the annual salary for the positions. Don’t remember the number but it was pretty damn good.
https://www.winknews.com/ has it right up top. You have to have a FL DL and good driving record is what I remember seeing yesterday. Could be E-Verify, as well.
But, and here’s the Big But….The retailers can’t get service workers down here in normal times. They literally beg people and no one applies for the positions. I just don’t get it and where they are getting money.
Another But….one of my boys that owns the condo 5 miles east of the Cape still doesn’t have internet at his place. Phone yes. Text yes. NO INTERNET. So, there’s one big issue. Even my other 30-something gamer boy that rents from him won’t use his phone for routine internet work.
Condo owner boy drove to work yesterday from College Parkway to near Estero and there WERE NO TRAFFIC LIGHTS functional. That’s a pretty good distance. It’s mad max with lots of vehicles ramming through intersections and ramming into each other. If I were over there I wouldn’t go out either.
So, lots of factors on the human side of things.
Most people don’t want long commutes and if housing is scarce or too expensive, then workers aren’t interested. More money can’t give you a short commute and affordable housing.
When life goes dark, every beacon of light is noted and appreciated. Thank you for highlighting those beacons, Sundance. I appreciate the analogy to (rubber tree) ants.
Neighbor helping neighbor is always what gets things done ..much faster than waiting for the clinical, outside bureaucracies to kick in.
Connecting people to basic necessities like shelter, water, meals.. takes lots and lots of rubber tree ants. It is during catastrophic events that our world is reduced to our immediate surroundings, and all the background noise fades away.
May all the people affected by Hurricane Ian find comfort and hope from their neighbors with each new day, to see them through this difficult time.
It’s getting so businesses that need service workers can’t find them ANYWHERE! A couple of fast food restaurants in my area – a pretty affluent suburb – are only open sporadically, or have closed completely because they can’t find people to work, or else the people they hire only show up when they feel like it. The owners want to fire them, but can’t find anyone better to take their place. The owners are paying above minimum wage. They can’t pay too much or they lose money. Used to be these were great jobs for high school and college kids.
I have a friend who manages a pretty nice restaurant with a steady clientele. He can’t get workers to show up reliably. It’s not that they don’t pay well enough – again, much more and they’d lose money – but the workers think they should be able to dictate when they will and will not work. When I was that age I would have been thrilled to have a job evenings and weekends to put myself through school. Apparently not anymore.
What I don’t understand is where are these people getting the money to live if they won’t work?
Seeing the exact same in my area. People just are not working.
Asking myself the very same questions that you are. How are they living and paying their bills?
Tertiary economy? The Great Resignation is real, evidently.
Something I noticed during Covid and forgot to include prior was in-person contact was limited and it became far easier to apply for and receive ‘poverty’ benefits, what we used to call ‘welfare’. Cash, housing vouchers, SNAP, stuff like that.
Regarding SNAP, the food program, we’re still getting the pandemic emergency allotment in my state, OR, at least through October and I just noted a whopping 50% increase in the base amount for the minimal amount I get as a senior on a fixed income, and the household allotment across the board got a 12+% increase as of Oct. 1. For one person, the max benefit went from 250/mo to 281/mo.
That’s a lot of food, even at inflated prices, if one is prudent. Rinse and repeat for other benefits. That’s where some of the workforce could be living right now.
“What I don’t understand is where are these people getting the money to live if they won’t work?”
IDK, good question. Pandemic UI ran out last year AFAIK and regular UI is only available under certain conditions and only for people who’ve been regularly employed. People good at gaming the system could be living off it though, in part. IME it doesn’t pay much.
Then there’s the internet hustles…… plenty of people make a living off the internet. YouTube is a great example. No need for a B&M employer or even telecommuting.
I remember, during the ag/oil depression in the 80’s, when my oilfield services employer laid me off, I started my own business. That’s another option.
Lastly, they could have gone into something I suggested as a solution in economic warfare against the Communist regime, the alternative economy. Barter, cash, off the books services and production.
Myself, particularly after working for myself for nearly 40 years and being an employer, I’ll never work for someone again, ever. I’d sooner die, particularly in this fcked up society. Never again.
God bless Floridians that there are still good souls out there among them. Where I’m a native from, California, it’s more sharks and fish. Eat or be eaten, disaster or not. Brutally soulless place. It broke me, finally.
As you mention the Communist regime I wondered if perhaps a fair number are getting Soros funds for Antifa types?
They’ve got their own underground “economy,” only they aren’t building but undermining.
Here in our little coastal town I work part time at the local grocery checking. Started off at two days a week, up to 4 now. We can’t get part or full time help in the deli/bakery or checkers. The local restaurants have limited hours and days due to lack of workers. Even during the summer months when we got a massive tourist load.
As to why they won’t work, one observation from my checkers job: approximately four to five out of ten customers are using food stamps. and some of them are very well dressed or have tattoos all over them. So they are living off the dole. This wasn’t like this precovid.
I was discussing this exact subject with a supervisor where I am working. The problem is they need to get hungry. Then they will work. We have a society that has come to believe that hunger is something to avoid rather than motivation.
By the time they get hungry there is little likelihood that work for their skill and motivation level is even available.
Then they become grasshoppers, not ants.
I hope for better, but I am seeing the set up for worse.
“But, and here’s the Big But….The retailers can’t get service workers down here in normal times. They literally beg people and no one applies for the positions. I just don’t get it and where they are getting money.”
They are getting money, housing, food, etc. from the Government. In other words the idle get paid, thru taxes, by the ambitious. It’s quite a racket.
NonCreative Destruction, how Communist Coups roll.
An all-hands-on deck moment! A perfect time to show unity, while Biden and wife Jill are in Porto Rico offering aid and comfort while not giving either to Florida.
Well, yesterday Joe explained that he was an almost Puerto Rican growing up, so it makes sense that would be his first visit. And yes, that is sarcasm!
And Wednesday, during his visit, he’ll be an “almost Floridian” living near MarguaritaVille.
Bet he’ll regale folks with alligator wrestling tales.
Hmmm, now I’m fantasizing about a rematch . . .
no, no, say it aint so. We dont need him in LMDB!
If he does have the nerve to show his face in Florida, it would be appropriate if no one showed up or, if they did, quietly turn their backs when he starts talking.
I wish DeSantis didn’t have to meet up with him. Everyone should turn their backs after asking him where the fuel is, and would he and Jill please pick up a shovel and pitch in.
Seriously. Like what a slap in the face to the people of his own country. And this is the guy that wants to run again in ’24?
Barrier islands all around the Gulf Coast and in the Carolinas shouldn’t be able to get Flood Insurance. Flood Insurance was pushed by the real estate industry buying Congressmen to allow them to build where no sane Native American would ever live permanently. Barrier islands being wiped out is politicians being influenced ($$$$$$) by developers fault. Hopefully they’ve learned. But quick bucks are tantalizing.
Truth. We should follow the wisdom of people who lived there for centuries and not be tempted by money.
Exactly. Our tax dollars at work funding stupidity. If you want to build 2 foot above sea level don’t ask those who don’t to pay for your mess. Really all the water front should not be paid for by people living in flyover. If all the water front wants to create some sort of fund have at it.
So those who cross illegally should not expect any assistance from taxpayers, those who have dealt with river flooding should not expect taxpayer assistance, those who choose not to work but to take government assistance should not expect any more, those believing the Covid “science” should not have expected government genetic altering jabs.
Using your rationale, all are true. No one mandated people to live there. The government offered flood insurance. You are using the victims to criticize money-grubbing members of Congress and the administration. What about the recession? Do you blame that one those who spend money too?
Don’t forget people who live in high fire areas and earthquake places too.
I would rather have our taxes going to help Americans who have suffered from a hurricane than corrupt Ukrainian politicians or corrupt American politician’s foundations or foreign labs that develop bio weapons for the corrupt politicians to use against Americans.
The amount of taxpayer money that actually goes to help people here when there are natural disasters is tiny compared to the graft and waste that much of it ends up going to.
mom. You are correct. The political show never stops. As mentioned earlier FEMA (the whole of government (s)) makes big promises for financial assistance while all are focused. 4 years later they do not have the money to pay for infrastructure, Michael. They touted 4 low income houses were built in the time since. Over 80 families like pine island residents.
The Thieves all of them. We have area codes named for the ones that solve moving the rocks. 850STRONG,
Panhandlestrong. We built it, we can build it back.
“SWFLStrong” GOD Bless You.
And how much financial aid have we received from foreign countries that were helped in the past?
How about a Hollywood “WE ARE the World” fundraiser for the 3 states affected by Ian?
Out of WWII, only Finland has paid the debts they incurred.
For anything more recent, fagaddaboutit.
Found in the bin… 🙁
I definitely agree that I hate the people that say this shouldnt be rebuilt or that when in reality with so many people in this country and it growing there will be more disasters simply because people are there when they werent before. And pretty much everywhere has some type of disaster that those of us who dont live there can mock from a distance. Now discussing better building codes etc… those are all fair to address in the rebuild so its better protected in the future
Go ahead, hate me. No sane person should build on a sandbar and expect to obtain commercial homeowner’s insurance. It hurts the rest of us sane people in that our premiums double IF we can even find an insurer.
Did you know Florida has lost almost all residential insurers? Yep. That leaves Citizens, which is State-run, costs like Hell, and only takes so many policies at a time.
We have State Farm in Florida and pay over $2k per year. I expect that to change soon, and it is not replacement cost either. My parents were canceled earlier this year from a small insurer, and their roof is less than 5 years old. They found a new policy for right around $2k. Their home is paid for, but the payout would not get them another residential home in Central Florida. USAA had the best coverage when we last did comparisons, and they were over double State Farm in premium prices.
Parents house in Chicago, State Farm went up over 22% to over 2k this year.
Second half of the property taxes have not been sent yet. Second half is usually due in August, or September.
They are waiting to see how the proposed property tax amendment to Illinois Constitution will go.
Also Great American. Rates are outrageous because there is no competition
Whutaboutism. Reductio ad absurdum. Barrier islands are just big sandbars. Would YOU be dumb enough to build a McMansion or condo on a sandbar, then whine for insurance when you predictably got erased?
People who build there must be self-insured going forward. Florida can’t afford to insure them. It puts every other Florida homeowner at risk and costs them incredibly increased premiums, even with no claims.
Even before Ian, we simply can’t find insurance or, if we do, it is double what it was even two years ago.
Losing an entire overbuilt coastline and barrier islands full of multi-million dollar homes and condos will bankrupt many insurers and the rest of us in this state will pay.
We had the cursed Andrew surcharge on house insurance for YEARS. I suppose now we will get to pay for Ian, too.
Wonderful.
Exactly what I implied. Don’t build in flood areas. How many times do you expect the taxpayer to pay for the same flooded property? I tend to agree with your other examples as well. Taking money at gun point from one to hand to another is always wrong in my book.
And those who live in the forests of New Mexico, California, Tennessee, Georgia, Colorado, and Idaho shouldn’t be allowed to purchase fire insurance.
And those who live in tornado alley shouldn’t be allowed to purchase any kind of insurance, because tornadoes destroy everything.
And those who live in the cold north country shouldn’t be allowed to buy home appliance insurance, such as would replace furnaces, because they should know better than to live where it gets so cold.
And people who are over 65 shouldn’t be allowed to have medical insurance because they are getting sick all the time.
Good point. (Not)
your’s the wisest answer to Bob Hickok I’ve read in this whole conversation.
Thank you; well said.
the only fair questions going forward are building elevations and building codes and perhaps any other hardening of infrastructure that makes sense to prevent a repeat.
I fully agree with your true sentiment. I am perfectly willing to shoulder the burden of increased insurance costs because that is what we can do in a first-world country. It is an overhead cost of being a part of a prosperous nation.
Disaster can strike anywhere and without warning. We do not cower and fear to build where Mother Nature might tear it down! We would still be living in caves if we lived by that philosophy.
BS. I can’t AFFORD to ‘shoulder the burden of increased insurance costs.’ Do you even live in Florida? Do you have any idea what has been going on in the residential insurance market in the last twenty years?
How’s your doubled homeowner’s premium with less coverage with a dodgy insurer coming this year? Welcome to Florida.
Yes. My insurance on a farm in central Florida, not where any hurricane or storm surge will have a major impact, is $8400 per year. And it’s a 12% deductible for certain types of damage that are typically associated with hurricanes.
Sometimes I wonder why I bother with insurance when I could just buy a liability policy. After all, in 10 years I can pretty much pay cash to fix any damage if I don’t buy insurance.
My daughter can’t even get homeowners insurance here in central Florida.
So no, Florida is not a typical insurance market and Alligator agar is correct.
In a few years if they do after Ian what they did after Andrew and Charley, I’m going to have to choose between having insurance or not, as I will not be able to afford it.
Don’ t forget the city of New Orleans that sits below sea level. Lived on Florida coast most of my life, paid homeowner insurance for over forty years and have never filed a claim. Living can be dangerous but I choose to live where I want to live.
Thank you, Sharon. How easy it is to offer solutions like this to others, especially when they’re in the midst of such a traumatic event’s aftermath.
As one who lived through the Nashville flood of 2010 and had to restore and redo our home, I know a little of how unhelpful these well-meaning comments are. Many people thought all of us who live in or near a floodplain should just move. It’s not that simple. Did some relocate? Yes. Did some rebuild? Yes. Did some die or divorce afterward from the stress? Yes. I believe people should be able to make their own decisions about what to do.
As for insurance, we regret ever accepting a dime from FEMA (the amount was trivial compared to our loss expenses). We were blessed to get help from friends, family, church, and also our own resources (good-bye to that land we hoped to purchase).
Everyone has risk associated with some aspect of life. Let’s focus on helping as Sundance is, one step at a time. I can tell you that even the smallest assistance and especially simply hearing the stories can mean the world to someone going through this.
You should be able to buy insurance to live anywhere you want to, but the government has no business subsidizing it to distort the market forces that would keep barrier islands from being developed. I am not aware of any federal plan to subsidize fire insurance in the forests or tornado insurance in the Midwest.
This.
In 1998 my neighborhood in Pittsburgh, PA, Mt Washington, was hit by a freak tornado..it was never supposed to happen..it did.
Nope. When your greed, arrogance, and stupidity drive you to build multi-million dollar structures on a sandbar in hurricane country and then expect that you are entitled to homeowner’s insurance, that is entitled and narcissistic.
These people doing this in Florida have driven out nearly all homeowner’s insurers. The rest of us suffer doubled and trippled premiums to cover barrier-island Barry and his wife KAREN’s losses. It is getting nearly impossible to obtain homeowner’s in FL. I and all I know were dropped last year for NO reason. I had to scramble and even then I have less coverage and double the premium.
I don’t GAD about fires or earthquakes or tornadoes, or the bone in your foot. Those are not losses directly as a result of choosing to build on a sandbar in hurticane country.
Um no. We all live in areas prone to natural disasters. My flood is your mudslide is someone’s fire is someone else’s earthquake.
What about those who live 100 miles from the barrier islands but suffered flooding? How far away from a water source is enough for you? I guess you don’t want anyone to live along the entire west coast of the US because of the danger from earthquakes. Can’t live in the midwest because of tornadoes. Where is safe for you?
I didn’t notice that you included Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, the Jersey shore or Long Island, NY. Those nor’easters hit there as well as hurricanes. Why are you so selective in your vitriol?
Exactly. No compassion.
Have heard this argument for decades now.
The other side of the coin is this,… what about all the people who build on inland river flood planes all across the USA.
Inland New Jersey has the most basement flooding, per FEMA stats and the folks in Sacramento, CA flood even with their levees there.
Shall we make this building prohibition punitive all across America or just for the “Coasties.”
Or, shall we let market forces be the determining factor, instead of a Bigger Bad Fed Govt and its decrees???
As we drove by, my 90 year old grandmother told me back in the mid ’60s that the people building their new house next to the mouth of a bayou on the beech in Pascagoula, MS were crazy and would be wiped away. She was right, Camille did exactly that.
Common Sense should prevail, but everybody wants a piece of the Beech Life.
Today, with the FEMA flood maps, homeowner/flood insurance is prohibitive on the MS Gulf Coast. So, only the tall condos are coming in and building on the Coast now. So, the world’s ‘Investor Class’ is taking over now.
My mother’s 2 story French style family home on the MS Sound in Pascagoula was built there before 1850 and withstood every hurricane including Camille, but Katrina’s 33′ storm surge put it down and into splinters. 155 years was a pretty good run, IMHO.
My father’s family in Gautier, MS, 3 miles away across the bay and the Singing River opened a saw mill there in 1860 and built their West Indies style large homes with Heart Pine and Cypress lumber from his saw mill on high ground.
My great, great grand father, Fernando, had married the grand daughter of the Biloxi Indian Chief, and I think the Native Americans must have told him about the 500 year flood plane lines, because every home he built is still standing where they were built and have survived every hurricane that has hit and battered Gautier for over 162 years,… again, a damn good run and too many hurricanes, no?
BTW, Fernando’s French motto was – “Too Strong Never Broke!”
There are many sides to this argument, still.
As far as letting “market forces be the determining factor, instead of a Bigger Bad Fed Govt and its decrees”, it actually does make sense for the gvt to be part of determining factors if government dollars are going to be involved, including on the insurance side. As far as the inland flooding, I think this goes to the original point that was made about development in known high-risk areas – – and yes, there are ways to stratify and quantify that.
Nation Flood Insurance Plan policies are not given out for free like too much Fed Govt gimmie dat vote buying give away$.
Home owners pay annual premiums for their flood policies, and most policies are purchased due to mortgage company requirements to get their loan.
Your proposed idea “to stratifying and quantifying that” is called,… “Hey Big Brother!”
More Fed Govt regs is antithetical to the American Spirit that has made this Nation the greatest in known history.
Market forces will work better than dictates from a current Tyrannical Fed Govt bent on dictating our lives due tho their hyped Climate Change hoax to force Socialism down our throats. Enough!
Thanks for the wonderful family history with the building lesson.
You are most welcome, our Gautier home is still in our family, now owned by me and my 8 siblings, the 5th generation and we all have grand kids and me now, a new great grand child.
It’s on 12 acres with 1,000 feet at 12-15 ‘ elevation along the Singing River near it’s mouth. Has an artesian water well, about 100 live oaks with ivy and Spanish moss and it is a very beautiful place with large pink blooming azalea and camellia bushes.
It used to be called ‘The Old Place’ when my grandmother (Mama) opened the houses and grounds to tourists when I was a kid.
The young black kids that lived nearby, the Stevenson boys, were our best friends who helped us mow and rake the grounds (Whew) and then grandmother would allow us to play baseball on the big open grass field that was once Fernando’s orange orchard that he sold his oranges from to Solari’s deli/market in the French Quarter via his large sailing sloop.
He would trade there for essentials,…coffee, flour, etc., and a barrel of Bordeaux wine to take back home.
Mama would ring the big bell off the kitchen house that called us kids in from work to eat her baloney ‘sammaches’and tater chips with Kool-Aid on the wide veranda porches that ringed the main house.
Then we were free to go fishing in the river or swim there and swing on a big rope on the riverbank oak tree and fall into the water.
Huck Fynn and Tom Sawyer never had it so good. That was the mid ’50s and none of us kids knew what Race was,… we all worked and played hard together and had a ball all Summer long. The blackberries we picked on the river bluff were the best ever and Mama’s cobbler was delicious.
Oh, one of our neighbors who lived across the street from us in Pascagoula also played with us there and he grew up to write several songs about those happy, halcyon days,…. Life Is Just A Tire Swing is one of them by the popular troubadour you know now as Jimmy Buffet.
His grand father who lived on Lake Yazoo next to my grand father was a Tall Ship Captain,.. hence, Jimmy’s Son of a Son of a Sailor. Jimmy left college to sing for tips with his guitar on the corner of Bourbon and Saint Louise streets in the French Quarter and worked his way to Nashville, then Key West and then the world as a famous entertainer/crooner. He was a great kid back then, and ‘The Road’ has never hurt him, as it has so many other famous singers.
Fernando built his houses in about 1860 with his sons (had 9 kids, like Dad) with no architects, contractors, subs or laborers. He never owned a slave, he did his own work with his sons.
The Indians he was related to by marriage told him to clear the ground for the house, put down a think layer of sugar sand on the footprint for it then build a giant bonfire with trees to cook down to a layer of thick charcoal,.. then build the houses on it.
Why? The sand drains the water away from the heart pine and cypress beams that he cut at his saw mill down the river several hundred yards away, and the charcoal would wick the humidity away from them as well, to help preserve them and his heart pine plank flooring.
Ingenious, no? The walls he filled with a mixture of Spanish moss, shells and clay mud to insulate the house that had several tall fire places.
The main house is sited to face the Summer Gulf Breezes that blow in from the South West Gulf and the oaks provide it the shade that keep it cooler. The gallery, or veranda ceilings on all four sides all have cast iron ventilators to help the breeze vent the heat out of the attic and house.
The Kitchen/Dinning house was built about 12 yards away and was connected by a covered breezeway to keep the kitchen heat away from the main living quarters. Again, ingenious and practical.
These men were far more resourceful, pragmatic and capable than many men today.
They did all of this all by themselves with their own manual tools and they also produced wooden mast (their niche) for tall sailing ships, planks, etc. and later train bridge pillings at their sawmill.
Cutting the timber for their mill in the Pascagoula swamps was extremely strenuous and dangerous (alligators, snakes, mosquitoes, heat, etc) work using oxan and chains to pull the felled trees to the bayous and river to float down to their mill. Cutting them with a 10′ two man saw was hard work, as well.
In the evenings, Fernando would sit on the veranda corner next to his bedroom and enjoy imbibing French wine from a crystal glass in the cooling breeze. He screenred in that corner of the veranda to keep the mosquitoes and deer flies out,…. and he had it Made in the Shade, after a hard day’s productive work.
I am just a punk compared to my great, great grand father, my great grand father, my grand father and my father. Yet, no complaints here, I feel blessed to have been influenced and raised by these men.
I could go on and on about the stories about this Old Place over the last 162 years, many very entertaining, like during the Civil War, etc,.. but I’ve taken too much of your time and SD’s space already.
In closing,…today, my brother and sisters and I rent this place, La Maison Gautier, out for weddings and Corp Meetings/Picnics/Political Rallies/BBQs,…. cuz we have to pay for all the annual up keep, insurance and taxes, right?
American Pickers has filmed a tv show episode there and the US Navy has had many ship commission parties there for Ingalls Shipyard across the bay.
Reagan, the Bushes, Lady Astor, Colin Powell, Cheney, and many other Pol Big Wigs attended those Naval Ship Christening ceremonies there.
Sarah Palin had a political rally there as the Veep candidate as well as Senator Trent Lott and other Congressional candidates. No, I never was there to meet any of them, I was always busy running my PR/Ad firm and publishing biz in Houston.
Where our ancestors something and is this Country Great, or what? Indubitably Yes, IMHO!
Except for one thing Bob. The whole purpose of buying insurance is to protect yourself against a risk.
I live in an area where wild fires can occur.
I don’t live on a mountain or in a forest.
They also grow apples and lately grapes all over the region. If the cost of fire insurance is too high, if the cost of living here becomes unaffordable, I will leave and the insurance company will lose a customer.
If the insurance company does not want to take on risk they are in the wrong business.
I’ve noticed in CA fire areas, and forest areas, insurers have stopped underwriting or priced the policies to the moon, leaving those who fully intend to live out their lives in such areas in quite a pickle. They can leave, sure, but with a huge tax penalty. They can stay and cut their lifestyle back to pay for minimizing risk at userous prices, if available, or forego insurance is not otherwise required to have it.
I’ve followed a couple stories out of the Camp Fire, which destroyed Paradise, and it’s pretty brutal all around, both the insurance part and the rebuilding part. Many apparently find rebuilding to be logistically and economically impossible and, with the current milieu, end up with land that is essentially worthless. Heck these days one can’t even legally park a RV on their land in some places.
I would expect many Floridians to face similar challenges in the aftermath of Ian. In the old days, stuff happens, people come together, a new barn is raised, a new cabin built and life went on, perhaps with a cross or two out in the field to mark their deceased’s graves. Now it’s all so complex. Better? IDK.
Since you mentioned developers and quick bucks …
Wasn’t Manhattan built on a fault line?
The fault line run right up the middle of the Hudson River
You seem to be the only voice of reason and rationality on this thread. All else is just emotional spew and whataboutism.
Rush lived on the ocean. He said he did not buy the insurance.
The purpose of insurance is the unexpected or unpredictable. Hurricanes on the ocean are neither. They are inevitable.
Nice attitude, not.
Yes! 👍👍🙏🏻🙏🏻
I remember the 5th day of no power or water (we have a well) after Isabel. We cleared our street so that we could get out to the store but without power, we were tired from the extra efforts of hauling water from the creek, cooking on a little propane stove and making sure the kids were washed up. We laid down a little after sundown and rose with the sun each morning. It’s not a good time. But the calvary is coming, Sundance. The utilities will be restored, you just have to make it through each day the best you know how.
The love and humility to create safe harbour for those in need.
Gods message is the starfish returned to the waters of life one at a time.
thankyou for the wonderful and moving updates!
Starfish is a keystone species..
……Tidepools will DIE without the starfish.
They help control mussel populations which will expand to quickly exclude other species.
Sea Stars, through their predation of mussels, balance structure and species diversity ..
Keystone species in nature is a surprising and interesting read.
The starfish is a great metaphor.
Little things can solve BIG problems…
Here’s the new conference.
It must be giving pain to Tampa 10 to see the comments under the vid…Major Pain.
Outstanding report from Gov DeSantis to Floridians. So much improvements, so fast. I have never seen this fast of a recovery in any major hurricane,… Kudos to all involved.
Said Chick Fil A’s relief truck is coming to Fort Myers today, (Yum, for hungry workers)) and that Elon Musk’s Starlight internet system is up and running at all of FL State PODS (points of distribution) for people to get free wifi and internet access.
As a Veteran the welcome phrase that made my ears perk up was “Sense of Urgency.”
This is becoming some of your best writing.
The point about the service workers is not a short term situation, many “get by” during the summer waiting for the “season” to help for the rest of the “get by” part of the year.
Palm trees still have fronds. Glad to see the winds didn’t get near as bad as the forecast. Florida was lucky and dodged a bullet. Sad part of the over hype is people will think they lived through all mother nature has to offer when in reality there could be not a frond on a tree. The low lying areas flooded causing a majority of the damage. Look back to Andrew and realize it can get much worse.
Andrew? Lol. Michael sez ‘Hold my beer.’
No the response to Andrew was at a snails pace. I spent a month without power in the Keys and we really didn’t have much damage from the storm. It took weeks for the power companies to organize. They have learned a lot over the years. Stacks of trucks staged and ready. Andrew was a lawless free for all for the first few weeks. Eventually the national guard showed up and started to restore some order.
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MAGA Carmine speaks….
Thank you for posting this. The residents there are in good hands with this gentlemen and his fellow LE officers. May God bless them; Praying for Floridians.
Love his take charge attitude. We need more men like him…..a real man.
I may not comment much while you go through this, but I am praying for you Sundance, and all Floridians.
Same. Thanks for saying what I was thinking
Prayers for you, your family, your friends, your neighbors and all those in need of help. Godspeed in the recovery process.
Still surprised the Corp of Engineers isn’t yet putting in temporary docks and a bridge or two to Sanibel and Captiva. I suspect one of the problems is the insurance companies. Get some D6’s and 966 end loaders in there to start piling the debris and burning it – in a week it will be a lot better. Then the roads and utilities. Diesel generators can easily power the islands, and work lights can light up the place for multiple shifts to work.
Retired Magistrate here: I think your idea is excellent. However, I don’t think the problem is the insurance companies; the problem is the government. To much red tape and lack of coordination due to territorial infighting. Our government has gotten so big that it can’t perform the functions that are necessary in natural disasters such as this. It also doesn’t help that we have a dementia patient in the White House who is being controlled by outside influences who don’t want things fixed.
My husband and I continue to pray for the residents and linemen who are doing everything they can to get utilities up and running again and clean up the mess.
Spot on analysis, “Hammer, meet Nail Head!”
Happens every time,… Red Tape and local Fiefdom Chiefs squabling and dropping anchors on recovery, the bane of Katrina recovery in Louisiana,…. while Gov Barbour was making hay fast in his Katrina recovery in MS,… where Katrina actually hit, in Gulfport. I know because I was in North Gulfport when she rolled in.
Not only is the White House “controlled by outside influencers who don’t want things fixed,” but often our own government inflicts the damage in the first place. Think Covid, lockdowns and mandates.
Furthermore, reclaiming coastal areas from private ownership is part and parcel of UN’s Agenda 21 “climate emergency” brouhaha. Lately there have been too many *unnatural* disasters.
DeSantis is having FDOT do it. They are already working on it. He also got the Guard to fly linemen to the islands for assessment/repair.
Awesome! The Guard can do a lot early on.
Thank you Sundance
Would be kinda simple. The gov’t loves to spend money. Instead of sending it to Ukraine, how ’bout we tell business owners to go ahead a put their people to work cleaning up and FEMA will cut the checks to help them make payroll as they get their building cleaned up and ready prepped for construction work to begin.
Mobile food truck????
Too bad the gov’t isn’t good at running things like a business. These disasters and their costs prob fall within an actuarial table which would be easy to fund so that money is just available. But I guess they couldn’t send billions through the Industrial-Military-Tech complex to enrich their friends.
Don’t forget about 10% for The Big Guy…..
That can, and should, and mostly is, all being done by the private sector there. DeSantis is impressive.
Very,… so far. The MSM must be clinching their teeth in vexation.
| Essential information for SWFL residents recovering from Hurricane Ian |
“As Southwest Florida begins to recover from Hurricane Ian, we are working to collect essential information for Lee, Collier, Charlotte, DeSoto, Hendry, and Glades County.”
https://nbc-2.com/news/local/2022/10/04/swfl-cancellations-closures/
For those who may not be familiar with the story Sundance referenced about the starfish…
A man was walking on the beach and saw a young boy picking up starfish which had washed ashore, and who was gently throwing each one back into the ocean.
“Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” he asked.
“Because the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don’t throw them back, they will die,” said the boy.
“But don’t you realize,” said the man chuckling to himself, “there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it? You can’t possibly make a difference for them all.”
The boy bent down, picked up another starfish and tossed it into the ocean.
“I made a difference for that one,” he said.
~~~
I can’t imagine a more apt metaphor for the Herculean efforts of so many selfless people on the ground in Florida, each making a difference to one devastated individual at a time. Each helping hand a blessing for another. The spreading of the love Christ has for all of us, from one to another who is in desperate need. Godspeed to all who put their own lives on hold to come to the aid of those whose own lives lie destroyed in the aftermath of this monstrous hurricane.
I had forgotten the story Sundance referenced, thanks for the reminder.I was reminded of this 1963 simple science experiment and a TV special on keystone species.
In one TV segment they showed an island stripped of vegetation, because it was missing a KEYSTONE species…but that’s another story…back to the starfish… A Starfish is not a fish. …
“The Ecologist Who Threw Starfish”
https://nautil.us/the-ecologist-who-threw-starfish-235831/
…..even in 1963, one had to go pretty far to find places in the United States that were not disturbed by people..
How interesting, leik. Of course I knew they weren’t fish. I look forward to reading the link you provided, and I have bookmarked it. Thank you.
Time-lapse video of storm surge…
Fort Myers:
Sanibel Island:
Power systems in the hardest hit areas will take longer. It is not just power lines…it is the whole system. Putting “hands” on the components alone is truly more complicated! However, gathering more hands is not complicated. With more hands more rocks can be moved. If it is not possible to actually bring in a whole new system (substation and then everything after) today, those rocks can be moved.
We cannot imagine the massive emotions or physical exhaustion. Anger is a result of frustration, unanswered questions, and exhaustion. I cry when I see the destruction of lives and I wail when I hear an elderly mother in Pine Island who is trapped and cannot be near her deceased daughter. No, I cannot imagine the fear, pain, exhaustion, frustration, horror and yes, anger.
I am old, a 1000 mi away. I can still pick up rocks. However, I am best used as a prayer warrior. Holy Spirit says prayers are needed. Oh God! Why are many standing around? I pray your Spirit speaks to these folks and they move into action. Move the board of “deciders” that their hearts be turned to the task at hand, and not that of the costs. If roads need to be rebuilt in order that supplies can be replenished, I pray those bulldozers start to scrap the ground, followed by trucks with portapotties, food trucks (like we see in our cities), generators plus fuel to offer cooling stations. And Lord, I know there are many people who can pick up rocks, offer an ear, and carry a burden so those who have suffered can rest for awhile. Your people are tired, they are fearful, they are burdened. I will not cease in my pleas for you to bring deliverance and peace for all those who are suffering…those who have not been able to bathe, rest, those with aching bodies, and sadness. I pray that the minds and thinking of those with resources move quickly into motion, aid and show signs that help is truly coming. Move people into motion. Clear the rocks, start the repair. Talk to the people. Tell them the truth…no excuses. Thank you Lord for your mighty Spirit and Your great wisdom as prayers are answered. Respectfully in the Name Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Amen.
Southwire here in Carrollton, GA is filling 2 tractor trailers with disaster relief supplies in the walmart parking lot.
Just what makes that little ole ant…
“High Hopes!”
A bad movie, but the women in the Sinatra and Dean Martin movies of this era are so gorgeous it is astounding. (Matt Helm?!)
No doubt men showed up just see them.
Perfect answer.
I’ve read here how workers are needed and are hiring for Ian clean up. I don’t know the facts of what was posted here. If workers aren’t applying, it’s most likely because of current hiring practices. Most jobs nowadays are applied for online. Once you get the job it’s your responsibility to get there, feed yourself, and go home.
Is this what these employer’s are offering?
I’m in the destruction zone with no transportation, a flooded home, insufficient food and water, and can’t charge my phone & no internet. How can I apply?
If I apply and get hired, how do I get there? My car is either flooded, damaged, no fuel, and debris filled roads. For sure no public transportation or Uber/Lyft.
What is there for breakfast, lunch, & dinner? Water to drink? Shower? Where to sleep? Who will care for my kids & family members?
If I’m outside the destruction zone and get a relief job, how do I get there, have food & water there, and commute back?
Are these employers offering transport, food/water, and shelter? If these are provided and less wages?
So are these employers even addressing the issues the potential workers face. If I have no internet, no power to charge phone (if it’s still available to me), how do I learn of these “opportunities” ? How I get up in time & how would I get there? Would I be interested if I have more urgent needs? Are these employers offering transport, shelter, hygiene, and food/water?
Perhaps Sundance or someone reading this post can reach these employers and tell them that it’s not business as usual to hire people under these difficult, complicated circumstances.
Good point and thank you.
These days we’re too bloated with bureaucracy and ‘managers’ with too many rules and regulations, resulting in too few ants to move the rocks.
Traditionally, the military and guard would handle a lot of the logistics you referred to in your post, transportation, food, shelter, necessities for disaster workers, both military and civilian. In the past the Red Cross and its volunteers helped. I did that gig for awhile when young back in the 70’s and 80’s.
IDK what’s going on now.
Samaritans Purse have been running commercials since yesterday asking for help people not just money they need an army they said. So wish I could.
Many hands make light work.
Nehemiah 3:8
“Next to them Uzziel the son of Haehaiah, goldsmiths,repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.”
Help. What is the most impactful Florida charity, we can donate to?
Some have suggested the tip jar at the top right side. S/D will take it from there.
Samaritan’s Purse is a good one. But according to Dee in FL two posts above yours, they need hands more than money. Still, money is better than nothing.
I am an independent catastrophe claims adjuster. I’m here with a team of senior large complex commercial claims adjusters. We spent yesterday in Rotonda West where the eye wall of the storm sat for about 5 hours. I have been in this industry since 2007. I have never seen anything like this.
Any word on the condition of Estero Island? My grandparents had a home on Randy Lane. They are both deceased but I have many memories of spending my summers in Fort Myer’s Beach.
Thank you for this update Sundance. I like your analogy of the ant. It reminds me of Proverbs and how we should consider the ways of these little creatures who have no captain, overseer or ruler, but still gather their food in the harvest.
We only lost power for 9 hours, internet for 24 hours. I cannot complain. Will be praying for Floridians and hope the people affected by this disaster stay strong.
I am not hearing about where donations can be best directed. Can you include suggestions in next update?
Samaritan’s Purse is always a great charity to donate to, and so is Baptist Men.
By the way, if you’re “not hearing about where donations can be best directed,” read through the hurricane update threads–several other good organizations have been mentioned repeatedly. Also, there’s a tip jar at the top of this page.
This is how it’s done.
Sending Team Ant to Sanibel & Pine Island!!
Thanks for the update. Do you feel that the Gov. RDS is doing enough and quickly enough for the impacted areas? From what I am reading he is but maybe you have a diff. prespective.
Moments like these is where we see the true nature of Americans, their community, support and love for eachother. Not the nonsense and rot that is in DC.
My friend sent videos of her house on Pine Island..wish I could share.
Things will most likely move smoothly until the government gets involved. The best thing the government could do right now is to just get out of the way.
Yes, and drown the lawyers. The specter of litigation in our lawyer-driven society has galvanized many who would otherwise be happy to organize and help. That’s reality as I see it. Too many rules and too many lawsuits. That’s what America has become. Rules and money over people.
Too bad we can’t get blanket immunity in disaster zone work like big pharma got for the clot shot they pushed onto tens of millions. Interesting how America works.
Living Stones build themselves up as altars of sacrifise,
in the fives, tens, hundreds and thousands – Living.
Through faith, hope and charity. It is The Way – The Way
From Proverbs:
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
Matthew 13:9-16
9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.
13 This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.
As minute/s men, hour/s men, and even day/s men 🙂
Chin Up – And keep that chow line moving private.
Hold Your Head Up-Argent-1972-(Long Version)
A Vlogger on Naples beach – showing the aftermath of Ian and the devastation. Sad! What I found quite astonishing, is the number of Palm Trees still standing.
I think that the Biden administration should lift the gasoline crisis for the reason that Florida needs help. Whatever it takes. Otherwise, I consider these people sociopaths.
A huge thank you to all the linemen, tree trimmer. First responders, etc. this is our first day of power. No internet, cable, tv etc. Comcast said it would take 30 days. At this point I dont care… feeling blessed By God Almighty we made it though. Living in south naples, it’s a total disaster zone. We were surrounded by 10 feet of water. Our home made it through, but many were not as fortunate. Many will be coming down. So many people have lost everything. I haven’t been able to see the surrounding area just local comments from local police, etc. just wanted to thank all of you for your prayers and love from this beautiful treehouse family. God bless all of you.
Be Ants, Not Grasshoppers.
Steadfast!
Sadly, I have a 70 HP diesel 4X4 tractor with front end loader sitting here doing nothing, but HERE is in Canada, and that’s a long haul to there!
Now, there’s a real reporter! Continued prayers for these people.
It sounds like boats with motors and gas are needed for these stranded folks to get them off those islands to where there are more resources.
In our wondrous Western culture of infinite plenty, what gets done is what needs to get done.
Most of us have lived through circumstances where there was not money “in the budget” for things, until there was.
I worked at a bank, where sensitive documents wound up in the trash, and suddenly there was money in the budget for a security guard to stand watch on the dumpster 24 hours a day.
We live in this absurd world, and most of us cannot imagine anything else.
Hope and pray we get to die in this fantasy land.
I love the ants analogy!
Here are some ideas:
1) Yes, local residents should be hired as much as possible. If anyone here knows any Florida or DC government officials, that person might show this article to the official. Or someone might organize an unpaid cleanup operation, with local residents doing the work.
2) I wonder if Scott Presler might organize a cleanup somewhere in Florida.
3) When debris is being hauled away, does anyone look through the debris, to see if there’s anything useful in it? For example, uprooted trees can be chopped up for firewood. The debris might have some metal pipes and sheets, which need cleaning and straightening, but which can be used. Appliances can be taken apart, and used for spare parts. Etc.
An owner of a store that sells hardware and spare parts might want to go to wherever the debris is being hauled, to see if the debris has anything that he/she wants.
Being Dutch born it baffles me why anyone would want to live mere feet above sea level without barrier protection. Before you all pile one I realize basically the whole state lives with that reality. Aside from dykes could not building codes require all coastal housing be built on piles at minimum? That itself would save some at ground level but would not solve the terror of hurricane winds ripping those structures down.
It’s a choice to live there but also a calculated risk. Thankfully patriots are tough and will rebuild their homes and lives. No easy answer as to choice of location.
bverwey
The Dutch who have reclaimed most of Holland from the North Sea via ingenious, practical planing, engineering and hard work are great at it.
The rest of EU didn’t want the low lands that they have developed for centuries now.
When I flew into Skipol in Amsterdam, I saw tulip fields growing between the runways,.. very resourceful – waste not, want not. Their Movable Storm Barriers keep the North Sea storms out and their canals are commercial hwys.
Ironically, in 1978 the Dutch came to New Orleans to study our pumping system, the best in the world then,… before the corrupt politicians let it deteriorate before Katrina due to no funding for maintance.
Now, we go to the Netherlands to study their engineering.
I loved Amsterdam, great Indonesian chefs/cuisine and the art museums are some of the best.
I am afraid that modern Americans are now days far too consumed with Convenience and Immediate Gratification to ever apply the lessons the Dutch have provided the world now.
I red on some site that this storm was man made and aimed at Florida.
Is this at all possible?
I know there are people in the world who would do this if they could do it.
The question is….. can they?
Has our ability to manipulate the weather reached this point
or is it just a wild conspiracy theory with no reality attached?
It scared me!