What a ride...

Saturday/Sunday
Had a great ride today,
in spite of blue roofs, piles of sheetrock, FEMA Trailers, I worked my way to 25 miles this weekend and it''s not much but it's a start back.
For the first time in a long while the air smelled fresh and clean, the road was clear and
the course was level.. My MP3 player was blasting Foghat and endorfins were releasing
like balloons at a political rally. Felt great. Legs were good, weather was cool and sunny,
and 15 miles an hour was in my pocket. . Katrina who?
10 things I do while Biking to embellish my ride.
1. PRETEND I'M FLYING A JET FIGHTER
2. RUBBERNECK AND LOOK AT EVERYTHING AROUND ME
3. LOOK FOR LOOSE CHANGE IN THE STREET
4. SING OUT LOUD WITH THE MP3 PLAYER TILL PEOPLE STARE AT ME
5. STAND UP ON THE PEDALS WITH MY ARMS OUTSTRETCHED AND YAWN
6. WHEN GOING THROUGH TRAFFIC I KEEP LOOKING BEHIND ME LIKE SOMEONE'S
CHASING ME.
7. IF A CAR PASSES ME WHILE I'M DRINKING I TURN MY BOTTLE TOWARD THE
SIDE OF MY MOUTH AND SPRAY THEIR WINDSHIELD
8. STOP AT THE CONVENIENCE STORE AND ASK DIRECTIONS TO MONTANA.
9. COUNT THE NUTRIA ROAD KILL ALONG THE CANALS
10. DON'T ROLL THROUGH WATER IN THE STREET, YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM.
later,
gary

update....

Finished the final ceramic floor today for th e spare bedroom, now if there's a hurricane in New Jersey and anyone needs to evacuate we can accomodate them, or if there's a earthquake in California we can take in a room full. I still have a great deal of trim work to do , but we're in livable conditions and beginning to feel at home again. 4 of my neighbors have FEMA trailers,
there neat but small. Seem cozy to me but I don't have to live in one. Molly says there too tight .
The carpetbaggers are leaving town and the scalawags are taking over. . The trees are almost all ground up , the trash is mostly picked up in Metairie and the contractors and wanna be contractors, and has been contractors, and never were contractors are making a bundle.
Anyone that can hold a trowel is now a sheetrock expert. Roofers with one eye and vertigo can
't get to the next job fast enough. Thank God for these fine people rebuilding New Orleans while New Orleanians are Femacation..
Here's a refreshing thought , Hurricane season is only 6 months away.
Have I learned any lessons, yes,
1. don't leave, my house can take it.
2. stock up weeks of food and water because no help is coming.
3. MRE's are a good thing.
4. blue tarp your roof before the storm hits..
5. sleep on the floor so you'll know when the waters rising.
6. I've always kept an axe in the attic.
7.. Start your insurance claim before the storm hits.
8. Order sheet rock and roofing once you learn the storm is a definite hit and avoid price hikes. .
9. Make sure everyone in your family has a cellular phone.
10. Don't turn off the pumps..
later
gary

Home at Last.

Home At last,,,,,
Yes we are home at last, feels good, ....
the bed room is done (see pic, the one with the bed), the ceramic floor I installed so there's no carpet to rip out, I raised the front bedroom furniture to new FEMA flood standards, and finished my office (the green room).
We have one more bed room to do then we're done. I have been bike riding in spite of everything, did 15 miles yesterday. Haven't had much play time, work work work, but we.ve recovered, I hope that others that are disposed get back in their homes as well.
The only thing that speeds up recovery is to do as much as you can yourself, set goals ,and be resolved to get there.
There are 4 FEMA trailers on my block. We had a lot of help , starting with Uncle Elster and Aunt Esle taking us in in Baton Rouge , Neil getting us a room there, Neil and his in laws, Danny, and Nat stripping my carpet and moving furniture and covering the roof, Diana and Kevin helping me strip the house, Neil , Kevin and Rusty helping me cover the roof with blue tarp, Neil and Stacy helping me rebuild , Dennnis across the street helped me with the ceramic tile, Mom for taking Marie and I in so we'd have a place to live while we worked on the house and Marie for supporting, helping and encouraging me to push onward.
Therre's no way we'lll ever repay them but I don't think repayment is what they had in mind,
It's just what family and friends do. I'll be blogging more often now that I have my "fortress of Solitude" back..
later
gary