Bone Tired

I am exhausted — mentally, emotionally, physically.

Michael and I got to our homes. We took pictures and tried to assess the damage and retrieved some belongings. We rescued Oot, Michael’s daughter’s sugar glider.

All before noon.

Then we drove around the city and checked things out. We took pictures of friends’ houses: MaPó, PJ, Todd Stanislav and Gerald Boodoo. We’ll post those pictures as soon as possible, but it may be a few days, as our internet connectivity is somewhat limited at present.

After that we made our way to Molly’s in the Quarter and had a couple beers.

So: What about our house? I’m not sure what to say. I was braced for the worst. It was not the worst. The house is still standing. It appears to be intact structurally — but who knows. The upstairs is dry and relatively undamaged, though there’s a nice big whole in the roof where the attic fan used to be.

As for the lower floor… Almost a total loss. It appeared to have taken on five feet of water. Everything was slimy and moldy and gross. The only items salvageable might be a few things on high shelves.

We were lucky to be able to get to our homes at all. My insurance adjuster drove all the way from Mobile only to be refused entry at the checkpoint.

I didn’t do any cleanup to speak of. The task is so huge it boggles the mind. But the longer it’s delayed the worse it will be.

We will probably hang around one more day waiting for Michael’s adjuster, who is incommunicado, and head back to the Midwest on Tuesday.