IRMA - PART TWO

OUT OF THE EYE

Mrs.T's story continues.  Many of you were captivated by Part One of her encounter with Irma.  And although it has been over a week since she returned, the episode still holds a grip on her.   As the eye passed through there was more to come:

As the sky darkened, the noise of the wind increased to a small roar.  Wanda served everyone a glass of water.  The building would shake or tremble when debris or water crashed into it,  We had a small flashlight for comfort more than illumination.  The two guest ladies, Nickie (R was not sure what spelling you preferred.  - dt)  and the other one I didn't know, were talking to Wanda about mutual acquaintances.  The four guys and I said pretty much nothing.  I noticed that water had begun to seep under the doorway.  At first it was still a sheen, then an inch, then two.   The storm surge was rising.  I began to imagine the water rising over our heads and us floating out to sea.  BOOM, pause, BOOM, pause, BOOM, pause - the waves shook the building. I looked down and the water was rising over my ankles. Victor was sitting in the chair next to mine. I held out my hand to Victor,  "Do you want me to help you up, Princess?" he asked.   Victor always called me princess.  "I want you to hold my hand," I replied.  "I am a little nervous." "Of course," Victor answered.  I sat there holding Victor's big, strong, brown hand.  BOOM, pause, BOOM, pause, BOOM, pause.  The water continued to rise.  Eventually the sound of the waves quieted and the the water stopped rising.  I thanked Victor and he assured me I could hold his hand any time.  Slowly the water receded and the wind abated.

I don't remember lying down. But when I woke during the night, I was lying on one side of the bed with Ally beside me in her carrier then Wanda, and then James.  Ally gave a dissatisfied yowl.  "I know " I whispered comfortingly, "I know."  Everyone else was sprawled around the room with pillows and blankets on chairs and the floor. This was how it used to be when we visited aunts and uncles when I was a child.  It is going to be okay I thought as I drifted back to sleep.

When I awoke I heard Victor muttering something about 'looter' as he clanged about in the room next door.  I concluded that he was bringing his pots and pans, and stuff upstairs in an effort to save them.  I think it was James who said something about Rebecca.  And Wanda said, "I'll take care of her."  Would someone want to loot me I wondered.  Would they think I was a rich white person?  Silly looters.

Wanda brought in my breakfast.  It was ½ cup of oatmeal, three cookies, ¼ of an apple, and a cup of tea.  The oatmeal was made with cold water so it was kind of soggy and chewy.  The tea was hot they must have had a battery operated coffeemaker. (Probably a small propane heater  -dt)  Under the  circumstances it was better than I would have expected.  I thanked Wanda sincerely.  I think maybe she was pleasantly surprised, having expected complaints.  I figured Wanda was feeding the four of us so we each got ¼ of an apple.  She was an excellent quartermaster for our meager rations which had been pooled among us.

"Rebecca," Wanda explained " a lot of the hotel has been blown down and torn up.  So James and Victor and I will be very busy trying to clean it up and save what we can."  "I want to help," was my immediate response.  I'm afraid there is lots of broken glass, and nails and things and if you got hurt we could not get you to the doctor because the roads are blocked.  I want you to stay in your room today and lock the door.  Don't let anyone in but James or Victor or me.  "May I have the radio to listen to?" I asked.  "Of course, Wanda replied..  It worked on batteries and had only one station.  When I got tired of it would I turn it off to save the batteries.  Did I need anything?  Wanda left me two bottles, one of Coke and one of water,  If I got hurt or anything I should stick my head out the window and yell real loud.   Nobody was fooling me.  You don't need to lock the door to keep[ out broken glass.  It was those looters.

I looked out the back window and saw a lot of young men wandering around.  Several of them had bags or backpacks.  Victor was arguing with one who slunk away.  Three or four got together and started rooting through the debris where the restaurant had been. (Part of Sebastian's  -dt) Every so often one would stop and put something in his bag.

I turned on the radio.  The news was first.  There was no electricity on the island.   It had all been intentionally turned off before the storm hit.  This would prevent accidents and make it easier to turn power back on.  Second there was no water.  People should use seawater to flush toilets and bottled water to drink.  It was against emergency law to sell food, water, or building materials at inflated prices.  There was a $200 fine for each offence. (BVI uses US dollars -dt)  Third, there should be no looting.  The police had emergency powers.  There was a strict curfew from 6pm to noon.  All schools were closed.  All commercial establishments should observe the curfew.  The airport was closed.  All three harbors were closed.  The hospital was open.  More news in twenty minutes.  Then there was light island music for a while.  When  you got sick of that there was gospel music for a while.  Then there was light classical music.  After that there was a repeat of news.  It was the same except it listed two roads that were now open.  Do not go to the hospital unless you are sick or hurt the radio commanded.  Also the Queen is thinking of you and is sending help.  The Queen is sending Royal Marines and Engineers and supplies.

It was nice the Queen was thinking of us I suppose.  After all old ladies have to think of something.  I thought they really meant the government of the UK.  But I could be wrong; I have read about all these Royal charities. Maybe some of that was really coming our way.  I was tired of  the radio.  I took out  my little sudoku book and did a few puzzles.  And fell asleep.

Lunch was six cookies, a handful of walnuts, and half of an orange.  We got a small glass of orange carrot juice to drink.  It was enough.  I asked how it was going.  James reported they had two rooms cleaned and boarded up.  Victor mumbled something about looters.  Could I help?  No not today.  Victor remarked that it would be better when the Marines got here.  Those looters were afraid of them.  The Marines had big guns.  No one was afraid of the police.  Was there anything I wanted?  I asked for books.  After lunch I went to sleep.

When I woke up I thought about looters.  After every emergency there seems to be lawlessness.  If your house is blown away and when you go to the store they charge you $6 for a gallon of water,  there seems to be a certain Jean Valjean justification for looting.  (Of course things are always more expensive on an island even in good times  -dt)  But last week in the BVI there was a makeup store called Glam that was emptied from floor to ceiling.  Explain that.  At Sebastians looters took TVs from some of the rooms even  though there was no electricity and would not be for months.

James and Wanda and Victor were afraid of the looters.  Fourteen people had moved into one of the downstairs rooms and declared it theirs.  A bunch of young men came and went at will in another room.  White people in general were a target; white people who had lived there for while, like James, seemed to be exempt to me.  In Jost Van Dyke, a smaller island in BVI,  there reportedly were armed gangs of young men who were going into homes and stores and taking what they wanted.  We all waited for the Royal Marines.  

Supper was six cookies, ¼ of an apple, and some walnuts.  We had grapefruit soda to drink.  One of my pills that I take for anxiety had gotten wet and crumbled to a powder.  I was distraught.  Wanda scraped out a little bit of the powder into my hand and told me to eat that.  I felt much better.  Wanda could handle anything.  I had my own room to sleep in.  James and Wanda were next door and Victor on the other side.  I slept restlessly.  I woke  in the night and heard men's voices singing.  It turned out that some of the looters had found liquor from the bar and were having a party.

The next day a big yellow shovel came and spent time pushing all the trees and broken buildings and trash off the road.  The shovel belonged to the brother of a lady who lived down  the troad.  We were no longer trapped.  I saw one of our neighbors getting a delivery.  A boat came in fairly close to shore.  A paddleboard was put down beside it.  A bunch of boxes were loaded on the paddleboard.  A guy from the boat swam to shore pushing the board where someone was waiting to get the delivery.  Now the road was open Victor and James went to town to see if they could get anything.  It took them hours of waiting to get water and gasoline and an odd combination of groceries.  They found three pounds of spaghetti and two jars of pasta sauce.  Also two cans of tuna fish, a jar of beets, and a box of kitty litter.  Wanda was very good at making a little go a long way.  We decided to have a pasta party.  James was going to invite some of the looters in an effort to make friends with them.  We were all excited about having pasta.  Our chef Victor found some herbs to add to the sauce.  James reported it was pretty calm downtown and Wanda could go shopping next time, but not me.  Sigh.

As you have read above, after Irma's passing began the new phase of the aftermath.  Rebecca still had a few more days on Tortola.  She had to deal with some other challenges there including getting back to the mainland.  She will finish that in Part Three.  Writing this should have a cathartic effect.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Mrs.T Mexico had an 8.1 quake offshore of Oaxaca and Chiapas and was felt all the way to Mexico City.  Our friends L&J visiting the capital at the time were literally shook up by it but thankfully unharmed.  And since then there was the 7.1 temblor right in the capital which left hundreds dead.  Our hearts go out to all that suffered.  Bucerias has not been impacted.

As we have witnessed, shortly thereafter Maria devastated Puerto Rico.  Rebecca says Tortola looked even worse after Irma.  Although not directly hit, Tortola was also traversed by Maria - a cruel one-two punch.  Much smaller Tortola has many fewer resources than Puerto Rico.  We await an update on their situation.

And we do not want to forget our friends in Houston impacted by Harvey.  It seems a distant zephyr now.  But we know they are at the beginning of a longer recovery.  Fortunately access is much easier on the continent.

We need to respect Mother Nature.  Could there be more hurricanes or quakes in the offing?

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

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