I WANT TO GO HOME
I was not too worried about Mrs.T. She had called me after her arrival and briefed me on the situation as preparations were beginning. She indicated that the hotel seemed well-prepared; I misunderstood that she said there was a storm shelter. More importantly, Rebecca seems to always muddle through. She is resilient. And she has a 'I-am-a-nice-person' aura and people always like her - someone would be certain to help her out. Rebecca would eventually pair up with Nickie, her Guardian Angel. I did worry a bit that she could run out of medicine and then her mental state would change. But otherwise I figured she would be okay. But yes, I did try to contact her routinely although I knew the communications had been essentially destroyed.
Irma has passed. The people of Tortola, similar to those of USVI and now Puerto Rico, were less than satisfied with the response of their government, the 'B' in BVI. But Rebecca and the small band at Sebastian's needed to push ahead and get through each day. And Rebecca wanted to get back to Philo. She and the others did not yet know about Maria and how small was the time window for her to leave. Here is the final installment of her vacation adventure:
When I was allowed outside I walked along the beach picking up shells. Beachcombing was fabulous. (Sebastian's is quite literally on the beach. -dt) I have never seen so much coral of many different kinds on a beach. There was brain coral, tremendous globes. There were great sheets of sea fans. There was elkhorn coral and many other kinds. Shells were everywhere. They were nice big shells that were of many different kinds. Of course there was housing debris everywhere I didn't pick up tiles, but then it would take weeks (probably months -dt) for the tiles and sea glass to be polished by the waves.
At night we had a supper of little rolls with a small lump of tuna with sweet pepper. This was our first protein in several days. It was delicious. We also had cookies and fresh figs. For drink we had tea. I am not really sure exactly what food we had which day; you get the idea we were eating light but somewhat bland meals, Wanda left me the ginger snaps and peanut butter so I munched on that now and then. They drank wine every night. Anyway we got by.
The day after the road opened Wanda called me excitedly to talk to her friend. This lady had a phone that worked. I don't know for sure or if she had a satellite phone or what. She had a stenographer's notebook full of messages people wanted sent. I wrote down Dan's number with the message 'Rebecca is okay'. I hoped it got through. (I did get the message -dt) Wanda had already called someone but we did not know if it got through. This seemed more possible.
One morning the big yellow shovel was back. It was digging a humongous hole in the land across the road. Then it started dragging all kinds of debris and putting it down in the hole. They are going to bury it I thought. But no; they lit a big fire. Since it was down in the hole it did not spread. That night as I looked out I could see a line of big fires all along the beach. There was always a person or two watching the fire and throwing on more stuff as it burned down. Although by this time the Royal Marines and Engineers were there, I was impressed by how hard the local people worked clearing the roads and cleaning up after the hurricane.
One day a person named Keith showed up to see how I was doing. Keith worked for the tourist board. Wanda and I told Keith that I was almost out of medicine and also I would like to go home. There still were not any commercial flights, only military and charter. Well Keith would take me downtown and see what he could work out. (Sebastian's is some distance from the major city, Road Town. -dt) First Keith took me to the hospital and got me in line to see the doctor. Keith was going to get in the line for gasoline. If I was done with the doctor I should wait at the hospital and he would pick me up. Well in a couple of hours Keith came back but I was still waiting. Keith got me a sandwich and some water. Then Keith was going to get in the line to buy water. When Keith came back from buying water I was still waiting but getting nearer the head of the line. When I saw the very nice doctor she gave me a ten-day prescription for all of my medicines except one for which she substituted something else. Then I had to go to the pharmacy to wait in line to buy my medicines. All of them together cost $33, which I thought was quite reasonable.
Then Keith tried to find out about getting me home. There was a rumor that there was going to be a boat to take Americans home but no one knew for sure or any details. Then Keith tried to find me a place to stay downtown near the dock. One dock was open by then. But there was no room in the inn or in any hotel either. Keith took me back to Sebastian's.
The next day Wanda was going to take me to the dock to try and get on this hypothetical ship home. I had too much stuff to carry a long distance by myself and everything had to fit into one bag. I agreed to leave my fins and most of my diving stuff. Wanda promised she would mail them to me later. But I had to get rid of more stuff. I picked out a nice collection of shirts and underwear that Wanda would give to some needy fat lady. I deposited most of my funds in the bank of Rebecca. I was going to deposit my credit cards there too but that would be uncomfortable. Wanda said they could be replaced if there were a problem. But I flatly refused to give up the shells I had collected.
Wanda drove me to the area of the dock and left me in the car while she went out to scout around. There was a fair number of people hanging around but no line and no one knew if there would be a boat or not. The ferry office was closed. Wanda met Nickie who was waiting for the boat. Nickie was one of the ladies who sheltered with us during the storm. Nickie agreed to help me and try and get me on the boat if one did appear. I was beginning to feel like the bad card everyone passes around in the game Old Maid. The benches were all full so I was sitting on a thing they tie ship lines around to secure them to the dock; I forget the word for it. (Mooring post -dt) It was very hot. After a while some guys picked up a bench some old lady was sitting on and moved it so it would be in the shade. Nickie chased some kids off it so I could sit in the shade also.
Nickie asked me if I had a phone. I told her I did but it did not work; it had gotten wet in the hurricane. It used AT&T. At that time that was the only network that worked on the island. Nickie is quite technological. She took my phone apart, wiped off all the parts with a hankie. She took out a big box (The battery -dt) and two little boxes (The memory -dt) and then she put it all back together. The phone came on but said it needed electricity. Nickie asked if I had my charger. Amazingly I did. (Yes, amazing -dt) "Don't worry," Nickie said, "I'll get some electricity!" Shortly after that the two ladies who ran the ferry office arrived and one of them was Nickie's aunt. We got plugged in and took turns calling everybody. First I called Dan. We both had been worried about each other. I could only say I was okay and was waiting for a boat that might come to take me home. Nickie called and told her grandfather approximately the same thing. Nickie is an American citizen but her family is from BVI. (Her grandfather was in Miami -dt)
But before we could make any more of our many phone calls something very exciting occurred. Nickie's aunt got a phone call with more official info. There was going to be a boat - it was a cruise ship - to take distressed Americans home from St. Thomas. There was a ferry to leave Tortola to take passengers to the ship; only American citizens could go. You must be on the LIST. About then Keith showed up. He knew about the list but did not know how to get on it.
Well we were both American citizens, but how do we get on the LIST? Auntie did not know. A number of bribes were offered by crowd members to no avail. Updates came through periodically. Green cards did not work. No dogs or pets were allowed. Service animals were allowed. Some people said they had called the embassy for help. The crowd was restless. What about Australians? An American school group had a few students from others countries - what about them? Finally another call came. People at the ferry office could sell tickets to anyone on the LIST or anyone who could show them a valid US passport. Of course Nickie soon got her ticket and grabbed my passport to get a ticket for me. But here's the thing: I was already on the LIST! To this day I don't know why. (Probably due to her trip to the hospital -dt) The phone number of the LIST was announced and was immediately tied up.
We still had to wait hours until the ferry left. It was supposed to be there in two hours but we were afraid to leave so we did not miss it. It was so very HOT! Two different people gave me bottles of water. This made a total of four bottles I had drank. I think either the people of BVI are very kind or I looked like a desiccated wreck - probably both. We heard that we were going to be on a cruise ship. I was ready. (About this time I receive a call from Nickie's grandmother and another from Keith asking if R was okay. -dt)
Finally the ferry came. There was some to-do with people who were not on the LIST who tried to get on the ferry. But we had tickets and were official. The ferry's name was Native Son. Nickie carried my bag which was kind of heavy what with shells and all. And I dragged hers which had wheels. Nickie and Wanda were especially nice to me. (And commendable work by Keith. -dt) Sometimes it is almost worth it being old. Nickie and Wanda are both young and enthusiastic. Nickie is an auditor.
At the dock we saw another of Nickie's aunts and her grandmother. There were lots of hugs all around. Nickie wanted to go and pick up stuff to take back but Grandma said "Absolutely not; you are not taking a chance on missing this boat!" So there were more hugs and Nickie and I got on the ferry to St. Thomas.
In St. Thomas we boarded the Norwegian Sky after being checked off the LIST. They immediately gave us sandwiches and pop which we and everyone else ate enthusiastically. We were told this was a snack; supper would be later. Watching our fellow passengers I figured I was not the only one who had been eating light for the last week Then we went to our room to take showers. OH SHOWERS!! It was wonderful! I think we would have both taken second showers if the announcement for dinner had not come.
The cruise ship was large and confusing but Nickie has a great sense of direction. (Something Mrs.T definitely lacks. -dt) The food was plain but plentiful: sandwiches, hamburgers, and hot dogs at every meal. Lots of fruits but no dessert unless you count jello or nut bread. At first we were so grateful for food we didn't care. The ship was paid for by FEMA but after a couple of days I was ready for a menu change. (Fortunately the ship reached Miami about then -dt)
Evidently someone had decided that no one could say we were enjoying entertainment because we weren't. I can understand no floor shows but no movies seemed a bit extreme. By the second day they relented and reopened the children's program for the sanity of everyone. What really annoyed me was that they locked up all the books in the library.
Meanwhile Nickie and I were making phone calls telling everyone we were finally coming home. Nickie was calling determinedly trying to find a flight home for me from Miami and I was taking lots of showers. Astoundingly Nickie succeeded. After we docked I had only a short flight and I was in Columbus. I thought about kissing the airport floor but I figured I couldn't get back up. And then I kissed Dan.
There you have it - Mrs.T happily reached home. We hope you all enjoyed and were informed by this first-person account of Irma. Nickie has thoughtfully called routinely to check on Rebecca; it seems that she really does have a new angel looking over her. The editor looks forward to meeting her sometime. We hope to communicate with Wanda and James soon to see how recovery is going. Please keep these and the many other folks affected by recent weather events in your thoughts and prayers. They have many months of work ahead to get back to normal.
A technical note: We now have approximately 300 correspondents in our distribution list. Emailing is a bit complicated and sometimes someone is missed or overlook. I apologize if you did not receive all three parts of the Irma saga, but you can see them - and other adventures - at the blog page. Please let me know if you are changing your email address or if you would like to be removed from our list. And you are welcome to distribute our stories or recommend other people to add.
Best wishes to all.
Our winter home beckons.
Dan and Rebecca
www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com
Sent from Outlook
