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georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
Sorry about that, not bad

Excellent. :)

If the warehouse & related didn't get bashed or flooded they'll probably rebound pretty quick (in relative terms).

Plenty of "daily life" hassle ahead for the people who work there, of course, and the shipping services they use will probably be rough for a while because they must recover too, but all in all it sounds like it could have been MUCH worse.

Stupid hurricanes...

Don't they know that NOBODY likes them? Why can't they go play on Mars or the Moon or something...
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I'm glad to hear Smoking Pipes didn't get trashed by Ian, and now I hope flooding doesn't sneak up on them either. Right now, nearing noon on Saturday, Ian is tracking very close to Dr. Grabow in Sparta, N.C., so I am hoping they are spared flooding. I believe Dr. Grabow is our largest remaining U.S. briar pipe maker by volume. Heavy rain in and around the mountains can be fierce.

A few years ago, Dr. Grabow was hit by a rare North Carolina earthquake that dislodged some of the pipe making factory's machinery, though they put it back together and were in production within weeks, if I recall correctly.

In central N.C., our power went out yesterday, Friday, about 4 p.m. I believed the power company's robot phone bank and assumed it affected only 38 households, but that was only our particular outage. When I went out for take-out food, I soon discovered the highways were strewn with debris and limbs from trees, and several of the bigger complicated intersection traffic lights were out of operation. So, all the way from Ft. Myers, Florida, that monster was/is still churning, and the flooding problems will go on for some days yet, and the rebuild in Florida for months and years. The sirens were sounding all over town last night here in N.C. Still no phone service to Ft. Myers.
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Still no phone service in Ft. Meyers. It just rings busy. I think the cell phone towers are out, and the land lines are perhaps mostly down. I did leave an email for my cousin and his wife. Then resorting to real basics, I wrote them a short letter explaining they aren't being neglected, though I suppose they know their phone doesn't work.

My cousin John was an only child, so his parents were remarkably generous in having me for weeks-long visits, once when I was ten-years old in Westlake, Ohio, and later after I'd graduated high school at their place on the river in Alva, near Ft. Myers, where John and his wife still live, with their son, his wife and grandson in the area. So I'm essentially hoping to hear they are all okay.

My post-high school visit was the most horseback time I've ever done, not extensive, but daily. John would ride their handsome brown horse, and I'd ride one of their friend's horses that boarded with them, a black horse that was known to scrape riders off on overhanging limbs. I took a light reign with that old boy, and we got along just fine, maybe because I weighed almost nothing. He may not have been sure anyone was there, though he did cooperate with my direction.
 
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didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
9,895
31,635
34
Burlington WI
I'm glad to hear Smoking Pipes didn't get trashed by Ian, and now I hope flooding doesn't sneak up on them either. Right now, nearing noon on Saturday, Ian is tracking very close to Dr. Grabow in Sparta, N.C., so I am hoping they are spared flooding. I believe Dr. Grabow is our largest remaining U.S. briar pipe maker by volume. Heavy rain in and around the mountains can be fierce.

A few years ago, Dr. Grabow was hit by a rare North Carolina earthquake that dislodged some of the pipe making factory's machinery, though they put it back together and were in production within weeks, if I recall correctly.

In central N.C., our power went out yesterday, Friday, about 4 p.m. I believed the power company's robot phone bank and assumed it affected only 38 households, but that was only our particular outage. When I went out for take-out food, I soon discovered the highways were strewn with debris and limbs from trees, and several of the bigger complicated intersection traffic lights were out of operation. So, all the way from Ft. Myers, Florida, that monster was/is still churning, and the flooding problems will go on for some days yet, and the rebuild in Florida for months and years. The sirens were sounding all over town last night here in N.C. Still no phone service to Ft. Myers.
A North Carolina home is on my bucket list. Absolutely loved it. Nagshead to be specific.
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Hurrah! My Ft. Myers cousin and family finally surfaced when I called yesterday. Their house on the river, built by a savvy contractor who elevated it extra feet, did not flood. The only damage was the propane tank on their upgraded generator that got floated off its moorings out into the yard. My cousin could turn off the shut-off valve, and a repair crew came to re-mount it. So they stayed mostly electrified and air conditioned, with food in the freezer, through it all, and could help some neighbors who did get flooded. An answered prayer. And thanks to an otherwise good generator and hurricane shutters, a smart contractor, and some hard-earned experience with hurricanes since 1959. The phone line broke off after about 30 minutes, and I'll call them again to finish the call, but I am greatly relieved.