After a whirlwind of shopping and packing supplies (bleach, tarps, heavy-grade masks, pump sprays, hundreds of garbage bags, etc., etc.) Paul left this morning for Joseph Street.
Even with the detour he had to take around the city (I-10 over the Lake is still out of commission and there is no getting into the city from the East) he arrived in a little over 3 hours reporting a smooth, light traffic, drive. He called as he pulled up and I got the first-hand impressions.
Our house:
Is generally in very, very good shape. Some long stretches of missing siding and lost shingles. No paint on the house. Both pines in the backyard destroyed. The remainder of the fence left after Cindy is now leaning on our neighbor’s house. The other neighbor’s brand new fence is in their yard. Inside, musty, but better than expected. Fridge salvagable due to Walt’s early clean-out. One of the a/c units wasn’t working (safety had tripped), a quick fix from Paul. A lot of beeping from smoke alarms whose batteries are dead (bummer, we didn’t think of this so he didn’t have 9-volt batteries!) He flushed the household water to the street for 15 minutes or so and reported it looking good (no discoloration or sediment). We have gas and power. He made my day by saying that many of my houseplants (including my first orchid, the only one to survive the move from Michigan) may actually be saved.
The neighborhood:
In Paul’s words, the city is “a war zone.” He said that things looked good from his vantage driving in River Road (which runs along the riverside levee into uptown from Jefferson Parish)… until he realized that every power and telephone pole he was seeing was brand new. The smell “changed” about a mile out of the city and although he says it isn’t as bad in Uptown, is still striking. In reference to the debris and the clean-up ahead, he said words like “unimaginable” and “unbelieveable.” Trash, flies, sealed refridgerators, debris and rotten garbage is everywhere. He felt he could be there all week and still not finish the clean-up around our little house and tiny yard. (Our yard is roughly 30 x 120, with 23 x 80 of that covered by house… not a big space!) A walk around the neighborhood gave him hope and brought a great upbeat tone to his voice: neighbors were everywhere, cooking out, swapping drinks, and cleaning up… he described a regular evening of conversation and friendly faces.
We are very hopeful of getting back as a family by the end of the month at the latest!
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