Moving Companies, tornados, and good-bye

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We arrived back in VA on April 18 and the cats were very glad to be "home". They walked the yard, checked out smells, and seemed very happy to be back. Our big job was to finish packing, clean the house, and prepare to move out. I had contracted with a moving company to move us for what seemed a reasonable fee. They would not pack (except for furniture and a few other items) so we had to make sure it was done right. After 7 moves with the government and another 5 on our own, we felt comfortable and competent that we could get it right.

I had contracted with Mayflower moving in January and the move coordinator, Tyrone, came to the house, gave us a binding estimate, and walked us through what was expected. We went to the warehouse several times and he provided us with excellent used boxes of various sizes--whatever we needed--and paper for wrapping. When we got back from AL, we asked Tyrone to come again and give one last look. He agreed we were on track and would have no problems. Then he told me he had arranged for their "best driver" to oversee the loading and delivery. (I wasn't born in a cabbage patch and know when someone is blowing smoke up my skirt, so I took that with a grain of salt.

We finished packing and Kim and Kris came over Sunday afternoon the 24th to help. Biggest issue was getting all the gas out of the motorscooters so they could be shipped. Kris rode mine for about an hour, going round and round the neighborhood. Our next door neighbor came over, learned I needed help, and gleefully offered to drive the scooter until out of gas. The cats were very wary this whole time, watching things getting boxed up and not at all happy. When we kept them in the house Sunday morning, they were very upset and concerned. Finally we finished packing, and the scooters out of gas, so we all headed for a motel where I had reservations. Cats would stay in the room there while the movers loaded the van.

Monday morning the van pulled up early and William McNair, the driver introduced himself and crew. One older loader and two young strong boys to tote and haul and carry. These guys hustled! They loaded the front porch with everything from upstairs and then began lining the driveway. William went down the line inventorying each box, piece of furniture, and stick. Tyrone had told us that my computer desk, a large corner desk from Office Depot, would have to be disassembled. Movers could do it or I could. If they did, there was a risk of not getting it right. So we had taken an hour or two to carefully take it apart, label edges, and put in one spot. The pieces came out separately and were loaded where there was room. As the day wore on, and the truck kept getting fuller, William kept shaking his head. Seems he was also supposed to pick up another load to add to ours and deliver that first. He was pretty sure we were going to fill the van up. I went and got lunch for the crew (and us) and they kept working. Kim and Kris wanted our washer/dryer and had rented a U-Haul truck to take them back to WV. Kris also wanted some of the Japanese Shoji doors we had in storage to make screens for his business; he own the United Healing Arts Center in Martinsburg, WV where he does holistic therapy and massage therapy at the VA center and Gold's Gym. So when we got to the doors, he picked out a number and we loaded those as well. Shortly after, the kids headed back and we continued to watch the loaders haul stuff to the van. They finally finished in the dark at about 8:30. What a long day--over 12 hours!

Tuesday we ran errands, did laundry, and John got his retiree ID card at Quantico Marine Corps base. We repacked our luggage, relaxed at the motel, and made ready for the drive to Alabama. Wednesday morning early a friend had been hired to do a good cleaning of the home prior to renting and she arrived about 8 am. We let the cats go through the empty house and it was sad; both looked, walked around the downstairs a bit, and quickly wanted out. They knew everything was gone and change was coming. (They got in the back seat of the car and didn't make a meow. They seemed very depressed and upset the whole way back.)

We also looked around and I was reminded of something I had written in 1990 when the family left Adams, NY for Japan. I wrote a series of articles about life in Japan and one of the early articles dealt with leaving somewhere you had lived and loved for a long time. In that article I said:
When everyone had left, we walked around the house, looking at what Robert Fulghum, in his best seller Everything I Need To Know, I Learned In Kindergarten, calls "cosmic compost". We reread that short section from his book, laughed, cried, and closed the door. It was time to get back in control and move on. At last what had seemed a dream was reality.

On the road by 8:30, we pushed hard to get down there before evening. On the way, we had a call from our contractor. Severe weather had come through and we had no power; he tried to put more flooring in, but with out power, couldn't. We listened to the news and realized a huge line of tornadoes and strong thunder storms was raking the south. As we approached Chattanooga, we began getting high winds and heavy rain. We have a CB in the car and switched to the NOAA weather radio. Yes, tornadoes were in the area, though we were pretty sure they weren't close to us....yet. Then hail the size of quarters started coming down and we pulled off the side of the road, along with the 18-wheelers. In about 10 minutes it passed and we continued. When we got to the Alabama line, there were no lights on anywhere. Pretty ominous. We switched to a local FM station and heard of the many tornadoes. Then they warned of one coming north on State Route 75 from Albertville through towns only a few miles from us and heading towards Rainsville. We had stayed in Rainsville in November and realized the storm was headed right for us on I-59. I got off the interstate north of Fort Payne and sped south. Trish actually spotted the cloud to our west and we knew we had missed it. I cut up SR-35 towards Rainsville, assuming there would be minor damage and I could take SR-75 south to our new home. Wrong! Rainsville had been devastated with huge loss of life and major property damage. (The radio stations could only report the path of the storms; they had no idea of the impact as no reporters were in the field at that time.) So we were turned around by police and had to find another way home.

When we got to Crossville there was no power but the area was relatively unscathed. The house was fine and the RV and pickup were OK as well. We hooked up water to the RV, got the generator started, cooled off the refrigerator and freezer, and went in the house. (New flooring looked good, but at the moment, we were more concerned with all the food in the refrigerator/freezer inside and getting it out to our coach.)

The following days were filled with doing little as we had no power. I called the moving company and strongly recommend they delay shipment until some cleanup could take place. This time Tyrone said it was up to the driver. I pointed out that we were in the midst of a Federal Disaster and curfews were in effect all over. At least one looter was shot by a business owner and it was justified by the police. It was not a necessity to deliver our goods right away. But the Mayflower company chose to ignore my recommendation and sent the driver anyway. On Friday, William called and said he could not deliver on Saturday as promised because he could get no help; everyone he called (when he could get through) said their folks were busy digging out from the storms and besides, with no electricity, no one could by gas because the pumps weren't working. (We were sitting comfortably in our RV, using the generator to run the microwave and coffee pot and watching TV for a few hours in the evening. We worked around the house, straightening up and getting ready for whenever the moving van would come.)

Finally Monday morning William called and said he would try to deliver but still had no help. There was no way Trish and I could unload 24,000 pounds and move it up the stairs, so I went across the road to the neighbor's house. We had met Sharon earlier in the week and I asked if her son or any of us friends were available to help unload. I could promise them $150 cash for the day. Sharon thought a nephew might be available and made some calls. Yes, her nephew and a friend, high school seniors, were out of school and so would be happy to make some money.

William arrive about 8:30 and with effort got his rig in the yard up to the garage and with the 2 high school boys, began unloading. These boys hustled!! We kept telling them, "Pace yourselves; it's going to be a long day." I went out three times for Gator Aide, lunch, and more Gator Aid. At one point, Sharon and her husband, Brian, came over after he got home from work and pitched in. Finally, in the dark, at about 9:00 PM we finished. Those boys were beat! The house was crammed with boxes and furniture and most of it was in the dining room and part of the living room because the floors weren't all in yet. It was a long day but most everything arrived safely.

As part of Karma, when the moving van pulled up, it was about that point that the power came back on. This was also the same day they announced Bin-Laden had been killed. So it was a joyous day all around. I'll tell more about the tornadoes and getting set up later. But now at least we had our furniture and could start to get our lives back in order.

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Photos

Front porch is a staging area
The two young men who were prime movers hauled everything down from the upstairs and put in on the front porch to eventually move into the van.

Kim and Kris help load
Kim and Kris came over to pick up a washer and dryer and some shoji screens for Kris to use in his Healing Center. They were a strong support and it was hard to say good-bye.

Empty (?) garage
For our entire time, we could barely fit the motor scooters in because of all the boxes. We had forgotten how big the garage really was.

HHG arrive in AL
Before coming in the drive, we had to dig the mail box up and move it so the truck didn't crush it. It's over 250 yds from the road to the house.

HS student helping unload
Because of the tornadoes, the driver couldn't get professional help to unload. Fortunatley our neighbor found a nephew and his friend to come help.

We have an attic
Because we have a large attic, we don't have to fill the garage.

Domino finds "his" bed
Our mattress is set at the back of the room as the contractor continues laying the hardwood floor. Domino found the bed and claims it as "his".

Comments

[Danielle Bartlett]

good to hear you made it - to retirement - that is and to AL too.
enjoy reading the blog, glad you both made it safely to AL