And we’re not talking about Yellowfin Tuna.
October 1st It’s normally the time to plant my garden, and pretty up the yard; a time when we imagine a few degrees cooler temps in the morning. Instead we are sweating, clearing debris, viewing the brown piles along the road and golf cart path, and when fortunate, getting back a few loads of that beautiful hardwood mulch. Brown has never been my favorite color, I don’t even think it is a color. I for one could use some relief… The good news is it's been raining the past few days and we have gotten re-leaf. It feels like Spring with all the new shoots popping out. I rather like driving around the Reef on Sunday to survey the progress that's been made. First of all it's a lot safer, fewer heavy trucks and service vehicles with which to share the road. You are also more likely to see someone you know in a golf cart and stop to chat. I remember seeing Teresa Holmes two Sundays ago, we stopped in front of the Chapel. I knew this was not going to be the kind of anniversary year she had envisioned as Chairman. I asked how it was going, she’d been here since Day Four AHI. She said she had amazing and talented people on both sides of her and from above, referring to her late first husband, who instilled in her the principles she abides by: the willingness to work hard, and to learn all there is to know about a subject. That combined with her relentless spirit; she seemed ready for the task. Teresa texted me over a photograph taken shortly after she arrived. The photo was taken in front of the Inn, all boarded up, the bell stand desk empty. As she stepped behind the desk; her expression says it all. “This is the saddest thing… Ocean Reef without its people.” Everyone is doing hurricane related tasks, from the top level leaders, directors, and management to every Associate, many performing job assignments outside their normal range. The Ocean Reef Community Foundation on Day 17 AHI began conducting help sessions for anyone in the Community who had a loss. A team of pros are literally translating both in language and in terminology, the very confusing government forms for FEMA and other forms of aide. They are filling out the applications online, and determining what help is available. There were a number of firsts this Third Week AHI, Barry Reed turned the “Closed” sign to “Open” at the Raw Bar on Friday, and Reef Treats opened for Ice-cream for everyone, including the students of the Academy, whose first Day of school was at the beginning of the week. More than once AHI, I have heard an ORC Associate say, “I have never been as proud, anywhere I have worked, in my entire life, as I am for this organization - OCEAN REEF CLUB - ” Good people are making it happen. And with a smile, for that we say thanks; and the worker responds with an even broader smile, “I don’t have a choice.”
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I am a lineman for the county and I drive the main road
Searchin’ in the sun for another overload
I hear you singin’ in the wire, I can hear you through the whine
And the Wichita Lineman is still on the line
“Wichita Lineman” written by Jimmy Webb 1968, first performed by Glen Campbell The common Man… the blue collar Hero. Billy Joel said ‘Wichita Lineman’ is “a simple song about an ordinary man thinking extraordinary thoughts.” You just can't assume that you know what's going on in somebody's mind. So how great was it when I got to talk to the linemen who were repairing Ocean Reef’s main power line; as they removed, replaced and reattached electric lines on the concrete poles lining Marina Drive, that had been broken, in some cases on both the top and bottom, by suspected tornado activity. Meet Justin Farmer of Harlan County, KY, home to coal mine workers and country musicians. He operates the boom that lifts the massive poles into position. Seated at the controls, his beautiful and battered American flag ripples in the breeze. I listen carefully as he speaks in a heavy southern accent. Me: Who do you work for? Justin: Lyman Me: Lyman? That’s the company? Justin: No, I’m a Lineman. It’s the Brotherhood of the Linemen. It’s a line of work. Our motto is “ I am my bother’s keeper.” It’s because we spend so much more time with each other than we do with our families. Keeper, meaning protector or defender, and someone you respect enough to poke fun at. For a lineman, It is hard to know what day it is. This particular crew works for Davis H. Elliot Co., Lexington, KY, and just came off Harvey damage in Tennessee, two nights on the road not knowing where they would be after Irma, traveling and sleeping in a Walmart, Jacksonville, FL parking lot. Laughing, Justin tells the story about how we pulled in and two guys went into the Walmart, bought themselves hammocks and strung them between utility trucks. In the morning Justin woke to find one guy had tied his hammock to his truck. At this point in telling the story (he could hardly contain his laughter), Justin said he took out his pocket knife and videoed a “pretend” cutting of the hammock rope as the guy slept. I explained, I’m taking these photos, and I’d like you to see them in my photo journal. Justin pulls out his phone to write the web address, and it took a while to convey the letters, dots and slashes in the right order. Justin apologizes, “I can’t write real well, that’s why I do this job.” I say, “I am sure you could do this job in your sleep.” He replies, “That’s when you die. A lot of things we know have been written in blood, by the people who have given their lives to keep us safe.” Rules written in blood. Holy global warming exhaust! I am being blown away by this guy’s sage wisdom. In order to stand the utility poles upright, called “plumbing the poles”, two guys are positioned at 90 degrees, eyeballing the straightness. And when I say eyeballing, though one guy is holding a string stretched vertically in line with the pole, the other was just looking it it with his two eyes. I say, how can you do that? He replied that he has an astigmatism in both eyes, so he can plumb the poles without tools. So, “You were born for this job!” He replies: “No, ma’am I didn’t know about it until two years ago.” Being without electricity, it’s a little thing, but it can really change your entire day. Heroes. Justin says they hear from the people they are helping that the linemen, who are out of town, far from loved ones and family, are their heroes. But no, he says. The real heroes are you, the displaced, you are the one’s not in your home. Justin: “I’ve never been interviewed by a real journalist.” Me: “I’m not. Or maybe I am.” I was trained as a journalist at the University of Florida, however like the hurricane, my career was blown off track by a family illness. I explained, I became my mother’s keeper until she passed, in the summer of 1979. Because of this storm, I rediscovered a part of myself that had gone dormant for 40 years. Thanks Justin for coming into our community, patching us up. Making us whole again. Carol Ellis “It’s as if Ocean Reef didn’t put her make-up on” - Katie Uhl, Communications, description of ORC as she entered the front gate for the first time POST IRMA.
It's day eight since the storm, and in a strange sort of way things are starting to return to normal. ORC Associates are filtering back in, setting up temporary shop, complete with power and internet in the Membership Office, They are fielding calls from members, having conference call meetings with the Board of Directors, and most importantly reuniting with their fellow associates, many who are still dealing with IRMA’s effects; consumed with issues related to their homes and the still fresh emotional effects of the prolonged evacuation. As they greeted each other at their first lunchtime back, I witnessed hugs and tears, smiles and laughter. Looking back to the time before evacuation, for Katie, the severity of the situation sank in, as she posted a daily update on the ORC member’s webpage. September 8th, HURRICANE UPDATE 4: “We are all so very concerned about our beloved Ocean Reef Club so we want to provide a detailed update regarding our view of what will likely happen… at this point a number of the hurricane models show landfall directly over Ocean Reef. We want to be straightforward on this, should this occur, we will be facing enormous and perhaps catastrophic damage to the club and community” Katie was not the only one with tears in her eyes as she exited the front gate, not knowing what would be left upon her eventual return. It was also the members, associates, and the business men and women, whose lives make up the fabric of Ocean Reef. Before everyone left, the Club made sure each associate had enough funds to make it though, by issuing their paycheck a week in advance of the bi-weekly pay schedule. Though things were uncertain, ORC did not want their employees to suffer due to lack of work. The following photo journal depicts where we are now, taken Sept. 14th through Sept. 17th. As I write this journal, 85% of the power has been restored to Ocean Reef. We are still on a boil water notice. We are still incredibly grateful. And we will be stronger for it. |
CAROL ELLIS
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February 2024
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