The one possession
…what would you miss if a rising water surge destroyed your home?
Richard and I are in the dregs of another move. It’s a long, unremarkable, story why, yet the process of unpacking boxes, and the memories they evoke, is fascinating.
What does one do with a CD collection? In the last move, I tossed a Bose Bluetooth portable sound speaker because I couldn’t find the charger cord. In this move, I found the now-useless black wire with the unique plug designed only for that device. Stuff, stuff, stuff. And more stuff. All of it - just stuff.
My brother, Tom, and his wife, Robbie, on the other hand, just evacuated their home in the Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg area of Florida as Hurricane Milton heads right for their area. It is considered one of the five strongest hurricanes on record in the Atlantic, meaning the prospect of losing everything they couldn’t fit in their car is real.
In a sibling text exchange today, the one regret he says he has is that he didn’t grab the rabbit painting he made at the age of six. Our folks had it framed and it hung in the family room for decades.
Thousands upon thousands of people are going through this heart-wrenching drama, as they brace for losing priceless family relics and possibly their largest personal asset: their home.
Sure, any of us who have places near sea level should know better. It’s especially hard to feel sorry for second-home owners who bemoan their loss. I get it. But that’s an overall generalization and not the full story.
One of the haunting reports that lingers in my mind after a Florida hurricane in an area not far from us there, was of two men who lived on an unpretentious little island. Their cabin was destroyed by the hurricane. They had nothing.
They stood in their front yard, and in an apparent murder/suicide pact used a handgun to end their lives.
Our condo building was impacted by that same hurricane two years ago. The homeowners association board was in top form, getting needed repairs, and drywall removed before mold could destroy the property. It was a costly, imperative process to save the building. This volunteer board took a lot of complaints from some second-guessing owners who questioned their decisions. And, here we are two years later, and the insurance company is stalling payment, canceling mediation meetings, and ignoring a responsibility to their clients. The association (us homeowners) have to take out loans to pay the vendors for their work, and those interest payments (assessments) are piling up.
How naive was I all these years, believing that having insurance was the responsible thing to do because if you pay your premiums the insurance company will help you through catastrophic loss. That’s the deal. Right?
Well, there isn’t an Easter Bunny either.
Good news. I just heard from Tom that his neighbor was able to secure the rabbit painting.
To the Easter Bunny myth…
Painting by Tom Gammack, when he was in first grade at Greenwood School, in 1949.
The game plan of what valuables to take is not a new thought for me. When I was a child our grandparents farm and home were flooded by the Big Sioux River several times. Once TZ and Ma (my grandparents) had to be boated out so clothing was their only "carry on." In reality the possession they cared about was the farm. Each flood devastated their buildings and machinery as well as killed Black Angus and scads of chickens. My grandparents were gritty and regrouped after the devastation of each flood. Their home never lost a musty smell and had sparse furnishing and amenities. Thinking about their minimalist ways reminds me that stuff is stuff. They were always just content to be back at the farm looking east at the loess hills, living their way on a dusty back road (now called Shamrock Avenue), and having crops grow. Nature is the ultimate teacher. Today and the past week I have remembered my grandparents as I read and see news reports of so many impacted by nature. The best thought is to pray and hope that people have strength and grit to regroup and move forward.
Another very talented Gammack! I am glad the painting has been rescued. It definitely falls into the category of “irreplaceable”.
Be safe Tom and Robbie.