So it’s about 9:30PM the night of the hurricane, power is
off, and we’re at the height of the storm. Two massive oak trees have come crashing through our back
deck and are beginning to lean on the roof of our house. I look out our kitchen door with my handy
flashlight and can see they’re still coming…kind of moving in slow motion now. There’s a branch about 4 inches in
diameter that looks like it was sheered off at the end. It’s about six inches from the center
window in our family room and it’s coming. To this point we’ve had no water in the house and I plan to
keep it that way. With no power (7
days thank you), and howling wind and rain, I come up with the brilliant idea. I’ll go out to the garage and get my
telescoping pole, which has a blade saw on the end of it. With this extremely sharp tool in hand,
I’ll simply walk out onto the deck and take care of business. (For some reason, quite often I
feel the need to repeat this, but I did graduate from a place of higher
learning with honors)
So I announce my plan to save the homestead. I think my son’s first comment was, “Good
Luck with that.” My wife began
questioning my sanity. There was
also talk of the need to have a stun gun (all I really remember is a lot of
four letter words, and one five letter word: IDIOT). Picture people wrapped around my ankles as I try to make my
way to the garage. Long story
short, I’m told unless I want to end up in divorce court I should stay in the
house. The branch winds up
literally against the glass but does not break it. But in my defense, I’d like to take a poll of all male
readers to see how many would have thought my idea was a good one.
Miraculously three days after the hurricane, a bunch of
fearless guys have completed dismantling the two trees and they’re off the deck
and house. The only problem is
that the deck is a good twenty feet off the ground and a major section of the
railing is completely gone.
Much too dangerous, so something needs to be done. I decide with my son’s help, we’ll find
the multiple pieces of decking and with nails, rope and duct tape, we’ll
reconstruct what’s required to ensure I don’t have an Inspector Clouseau
episode off the deck. As we get
the major sections of railing back onto the deck platform, we find that some
have thick uneven pieces that protrude off the bottom. No problem, I go into the garage and get a handsaw and decide
to cut off the uneven pieces. But
they’re difficult and it’s taking forever. I decide to go back into the garage and get my power saw to
finish the job quickly. But the
garage is a complete mess and I can’t find it. I reluctantly go back out and work at the hand saw
again. It’s still taking way
too long and now I’m really ticked off.
I storm back into the garage and if I have to turn this place upside
down, I’m going to find that power saw.
I’m a raving lunatic at this point. I want to know why this garage has to be such a @#$%&
mess all the time. And I’ll accept
any reason…other than it’s my fault.
(Of course if you were to look at my work desk, you’d easily know why)
I finally find the saw; grab an extension cord and head out
to the deck. We’re going to see
some action now. I get all set up
and my son looks at me and asks, “Hey Dad, don’t we need power to run the power
saw?” Luckily he can run
really fast. Actually I burst out
in laughter…I might have cried shortly after, but that’s not important.
Bottom line is, with the help of my new best friends from
State Farm, my family and I have a lot to be Thankful for.
Always Remember: Hug Your Family and Cherish the Good Times!
