More flood news.
2005-09-18
11:47 p.m.
Just got off the phone with my brother. He and a friend were able to get into my mother's home this weekend and have a better look at the damage.
Oh my God, it sounds even worse than I can picture. They had to shovel a path through the mud in the garage and some places in the house to be able to walk through without fear of Mom falling in the muck. (He said he was pretty nervous about falling in it himself, because it is so slick.)
His description of the neighborhood itself is unreal, too. It truly sounds like a war zone. He said a lot of people are walking around with towels over their faces because the smell is so bad.
Inside, everything is growing mold, including the walls, and he recounted more stories of large, heavy pieces of furniture that have moved from room to room. Unbelievable.
He said the full force seemed to hit my mom today.
They tried to retrieve some pots and pans and silverware. Every pot and pan was full of water, and the cabinets were just falling apart as they opened them. When they opened the silverware drawer, the silverware was rusted and full of mud. Also, every drawer in the refrigerator was full of water and mud.
All the artwork my mom has collected through the years is ruined. And it wasn't that she was a big art collector, but she did have two artists in particular, Bev Doolittle and Patti Bannister, that she really liked and had collected several prints of each artist's work. All the family photos are gone but one that was above the fireplace mantle. It's a very, very old photo of my grandfather as a young child.
Her car was in the garage, and my brother said the water line stopped just short of the ceiling in the inside. He was able to retrieve her employee ID badge from it, but that was it. Everything is ruined.
The post office my mom works in is closed, too. Apparently they had a couple feet of water there as well. Her supervisor stopped by yesterday to see her, and he said she could come to work in their satellite office, but the main office where she works won't be open for at least two months.
Today one of her co-workers stopped by, and my mom told me tonight she didn't even recognize the co-worker. That upset her just as much as everything else, but I said I was sure the co-worker understood, having just seen Mom's house. The shock had just set in, and she was seeing co-worker out of place and out of uniform.
The co-worker told her the satellite office is a zoo, what with too many people in such a small office and also a lot of displaced employees from other offices around the area. Mom's changed her mind about going back to work. She's got over three months of vacation time saved, and she said she didn't feel like she could deal with a zoo there and the destruction at home.
My brother's house doesn't have cable yet, and probably won't for a while, so my husband made DVDs tonight of some of their favorite shows...Survivor, Big Brother, Biggest Loser, etc., and I'm sending them out tomorrow. Mail service is sketchy at best in their town, but since my mom works for the post office, she'll get her mail, I'm pretty sure, if it can be done. :)
Those of you that know my mom, do you have any suggestions for other things I should put in her package? I'm sending some of their favorite snack foods. Mom told me she also lost all her earrings I'd made her, so I'm putting some more of those in the package. I asked her tonight to please tell me what she'd like, but she couldn't think of anything in particular.
When I receive the pictures from my brother, I'll post some here.
Over and out.
5 comments so far Fi - 2005-09-19 01:18:51
How heartbreaking for them. I hope your mum copes OK.
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chocolate chaos - 2005-09-19 05:37:14
how about sending her some photo albums full of pictures? sounds like she must have lost those too
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grizmom - 2005-09-19 09:03:05
I agree PC, pictures, pictures, pictures. We also have many of her, Dad and Grandma if you'd like copies. I would say jewelry is also a good bet. What are her favorite things? What (in your mind) would she want the most that we could replace for her? We're here for all of you, we just don't know what to do.
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Lizzzygizzzy - 2005-09-19 17:46:57
Your description of your Mom's house and my brother's are so similar! The smell will absolutely gag you. I was terrified that I would slip down. That brown gook is so thick and stinky I was certain I would die if I fell down in it.
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loki-katt - 2005-09-20 18:50:57
Check with your brothers and other relatives and see if copies of old family pictures could be obtained. The hardest part about starting over is completly losing the past. There's no way when you flee a storm to predict what you're going to come home to. If there's anything that Mom and Brother need, please tell them to call and I'll see what I can do for them. I can get my hands on several things fairly easy. Send Ms. Willie and Mike my regards...I'll be praying for them!
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