I’m Homeless and Blessed

Am I the only person in Lake Charles to be displaced by Harvey? To be fair; it's not all Harvey's fault. The storm just brought to a head all of the problems I've had with my house. It's amazing how a person's fortunes can change in the blink of an eye, isn't it? Let me tell you what I'm talking about.

I lived in a rent house downtown. Pretty little place and it's quite cozy. There are only a few minor problems with the house. For starters, the hardwood floors have buckled. I don't mean a little. I'm talking these floors look like a roller coaster ride. I stay in shape by walking from one side of my living room to the other. If I walk back and forth for a few minutes, I have performed a great cardio workout.

Well, that floor problem has been going on for years and the folks who own the house have been telling me for years that they are going to fix it. So far, they came out and looked at it and said, "wow, that floor is really warped." No kidding! I barely know how to nail a nail, but I know a warped floor when I see one. Take a look at this:

The next thing I discovered was that the roof leaked. During the downpour we got from Harvey, I noticed a puddle on the floor of the dining room. I looked up to see water seeping from a crack in the ceiling. Needless to say, the ceiling in the dining room is not a pretty site. While I was checking to see if the roof leaked anywere else, I discovered mold. Now, I don't know anything about mold other than it's scary. But wait, that's not the end of the problems!

During all of this insanity, it was discovered that there was a gas leak under the house! The gas had to be turned off until the whole place can be reworked and brought up to code.

Well, when presented with all these problems, the property management company that owns the house they came up with a great idea. They took a look at all the problems and decided that their house, their mold, their buckling floors and their gas leak was my problem.

At my own expense, I moved out of the house over the weekend. The problem is that I haven't had a chance to even look for another place to live so, in essence, I am homeless. Now before someone feels sorry for me or starts a telethon to help me out, let me tell you something. I lead one amazingly blessed life.

When my friends heard about my plight, they circled around me. Before I knew it I had more than enough volunteers to make an all day move just last a few hours. I am so Blessed when it comes to friends. Another of my friends offered to let me live in her lake house until I can find another place. It's a little hard to complain about being displaced when your living in a lovely lake house in Big Lake. It's beautiful out there. Of course, being human, I didn't know just how lucky I was until I got a call from a friend in Beaumont.

Yesterday, I was sitting around feeling sorry for myself when I got a call from my friend, Joe. Now, Joe lives near Vidor and they got hit really hard. Joe not only does not have clean water to drink; he has no water at all. Seems the storm shut down his water pump. They don't even have water to take a shower or flush the toilet. Now, that, my friends is not a situation I'd care to deal with and it made me think about how lucky I am.

Compared to my friends in Texas, I have no problems at all. I actually lead a very blessed life. I'll find a place to live and move on. Meanwhile Joe and all of my other friends get up every day and try to make a go of a bad situation. Let me tell you, it really opened my eyes to how good I've got it.

So now, I'm looking for a house. Have you checked rental prices lately? Good grief! I had no idea we had so many gold plated homes in Lake Charles. I saw a pictures of more than one house that looked like the paint was all that was holding it together. Yeah, they want $1,200 a month to live in a house that is probably in the same condition as the one I vacated.

If you know of anything out there, let me know. In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to suffer and enjoy the view from the porch of the lake house. Perhaps I'll have a nice, cool Mint Julep while I'm sitting there and rocking on one of the giant rocking chairs contemplating just how rough I've got it. Poor, poor me.