The Indianapolis Star had a great story on the front page of its Sunday edition. It was very well done.
I looked at the stats for this site and noticed that there has been over 3000 page views. I started this to put some thoughts down and give some info to folks. 3000 views? Talk about pressure. I better bring my "A" game.
Living at Mom and Dad's has been great. We are living like kings. Some things are hard, though. I forget that I don't live on Fieldfare any more. I have turned toward our house many times this week and had to turn around or go out of the way to get to my parents' house. First it was funny, then it became annoying, now it makes me sad.
We found that the insurance company has agreed to demo the house. Never thought I would be happy to hear that my house will be bulldozed. Now we are waiting for the city to allow the engineer to go in and build walls to support the roof. When the roof is supported then the restoration company can get in and get our stuff. It seems that the city is using my front yard to pile debris that they are searching for parts of the gas appliances from my neighbor's house. We have to wait until they are finished there before the house is released. Initially I was angry that they used MY front yard to pile the junk they are sifting without my permission and then I realized that it didn't really matter. That was one more event to remind me that I was never going to live in that house again.
Last night I went to my 25th high school class reunion. It was a lot of fun. One of my classmates was in my neighborhood fighting the fires and searching houses. His station is at White River Parkway and Kentucky Avenue. That is quite a trip for them. We have talked to so many firefighters that were in our neighborhood. I am convinced that those guys kept my house from burning and stopped the fire in my neighbor's house so he could retrieve his dad's Purple Heart and flag along with picture albums. Saturday, their cat was found behind a couch!
That reminds me of Elvis. He is still missing. Every day we can't get anyone in to the house makes it tougher for him. I am sure he is hiding somewhere. I wish someone could go in and look behind couches and under the beds for him. We are still holding out hope that he will peek out and be found. He is really an annoying cat - anytime I am reading or watching TV he wants to lay on me and put his face in mine and demand attention. That is annoying because I usually would rather read or do whatever I was doing instead of scratching his head. Right now I wouldn't mind being annoyed.
We continue to receive offers of help for anything and everything. We've been able to divert some of it to others, but it still comes in. It is humbling and makes us realize our blessings.
There is a private Facebook page for Richmond Hill residents. (by the way, it is Richmond Hill not HillS, Lori says we could only afford one hill so that is why it's singular) That page has been a place for us to share stories, information, vent, complain, and everything else. It was begun before the explosion and has been wonderful for us to keep in touch as we are all spread out. I am glad it exists and I think it's been good to help the community to stick together.
One hard thing for me personally is to sit here and watch my beloved Steelers play the hated Ravens without any of my Steelers gear. It is all in my closet, exposed to the elements. I am missing my Mean Joe Greene jersey something fierce. I am wearing a black hoodie instead, that's all I can do. LOVE the Steelers' throwback uniforms. Horizontal stripes are not slimming, Casey Hampton.
After the first week we are essentially in the same situation. We are not living in our home. We have things in the house that we still can't get. We are not sure when we will be able to get to our stuff. Elvis is still hiding. We are healthy. We are happy. We are blessed. This will be a pretty special Thanksgiving.
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