Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Emergency

Aloha Welcome Friend!



 When you live on a boat as we do
there are many Ups
& Downs.




 Sometimes the glass is half full-

Sometimes it is OVERFLOWING!








Sometimes, It looks like it's ALL going
down the tubes.

<°)}}><


><}}(°>       <°)}}><


It was three in the morning.

Laying awake in uncharacteristic fretting,

I heard a strange noise.

Then the unmistakable sound of water;

water rushing.

Rushing IN!

I sprinted to the dock and shut off the water line

coming aboard.

Then I listened.

What I heard chilled my bones;
The sound of 
water!


My problem was my hull, not plumbing.

By this time (blog invisible) husband was plugging in a pump.

I tore a new (emergency backup) pump out of its box.

As the incoming water rushed in triumphantly

the watery tide turned against us.


"This is it. This is it,"  I chanted,
rushing around gathering
everything of value
everything of daily utility:
clothes, grandpa's watch, medication. . .

What would YOU be grabbing?


As I loaded my car, Kitty watched safely from her accustomed place on deck -
no worries a foot from the dock.

Hubby had called HFD
and the giant yellow truck with the matching official surfboard on the side
was tearing up the night and spilling red wails everywhere.

There they were HERE;

Fire Fighters.  Hawaiian Demi-Gods. 

Six feet tall and very calm.

They regularly climb on roofs in high winds

to save people's homes.

You know about the helicopter rescues,

and of course the fire fighting.


They had a pump


a pump that saved us from going down

in an estimated 30 minutes.


So as water rushed and sang triumphantly

through a seam in my hull,

two small, and one BIG pumps tried to over-sing the water.


The two small guys ran non-stop.

Eventually, the big pump could be shut off for 20 minutes at a time.

Without it we would have been homeless.

The Coast Guard was very  nice but mostly interested in ocean hygiene.

They brought no diver, just papers to sign.

I began to calculate the cost of properly disposing of an old 47 foot cement & steel boat.


The pumps and rushing water were like a  never-ending drum roll, teasing me to jump out of my skin.

I haven't been that stressed in some time.

I didn't make it to the inauguration (see post above).

I did watch in (Bizarrely) on TV: using electricity while water sang its

bloodthirsty victory song. 

(without power: NO PUMPS!)

I began to feel guilty
about the confession I MADE in that post just above;

YOU now know that I'm a hateful scoundrel 

(now you GOTTA see that post! :)

and my 'fall from grace' was being extravagantly punished

with a dazzling immediacy!

Or maybe not.

Emergencies can bring out some weird stuff

along with the "best in us," eh?

And there are no atheists on sinking boats.

Hubby's diver who knows our boat eventually showed up.

His mom has cancer and needed something;
Everybody's got a story.  No?

Eventually the river stopped, leaving a lake to dry.

The sea had lost this one. 

For now.

We worked and carried all day.

I cried a little.

I thought of blogger buddy  Travis 

who lost his home in a fire

and blogged about it.



Hubby, Kitty and I

started talking about moving on

after 18 years afloat.

I cried a little more.

But we slept in our own bed,

wearing slippahs (Slippers - the rest of the world calls them: flip flops)

to walk the damp carpet.

My clothes and etc. are in a tangled pile. 

But Hubby made it in to work today.

I even got my modems and internet hooked back up

(look at ME!).


So that's why:

this late post NOT about:

today's Pearl Harbor ceremonies

and the dwindling number of aging veteran/survivors.


That's why no post today about the new Governor's 

surprisingly spiritual speech

about Joy, Gratitude, and Hawaii

that quoted the Dalai Lama and Dietrich Bonhoeffer .


But I gotta blog.

   Gotta touch thoughts and hearts with

YOU.


Emergencies put things in perspective.

I'm grateful for all the little things we take for granted,

like the phone or pen we reach out and grasp 

without having to search for it.

I'm deeply grateful to the Pawaa Station Fire Fighters,

my neighbors,

the voters,

my new Governor

and my old husband.

I'm grateful for new beginnings,

just a BIT more planned

than grabbing and running

into the night. . .


What are YOU Grateful or Fretful about today?



"This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival...
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond."
~ Rumi



41 comments:

Friko said...

Phew!
I am so glad you made it in one piece, all three of you and the boat too.

You can't be in too bad shape because you wrote a brilliant post about it, funny, exciting and nail-biting at the same time.

Hope you'll dry out soon.

Unknown said...

What an adventure! I'm grateful for oh, so many things and fretful lately about the possibility of some tremendous act of aggression, such as a terror attack somewhere in the world. I know those thoughts are such a bummer...we all agree on that...is it possible to both be grateful AND fretful?

Thank you for this post, Cloudy. :-)

Teresa said...

I'm so glad that you're all okay. Hang in there!!

Yeti said...

Likewise!! You all take care..

Fida said...

I am grateful you made it, and hopefully will be able to keep your floating home swimming.

"And there are no atheists on sinking boats." You made me laugh inspite of your disaster!

I grabbed the passport when fire tongued around my house. Thankfully, helpful neighbours and the firefighter killed it before it got a hold of my house.

Be safe, Hawaiian flower!

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

I'm grateful you are all right and that you still have a 'roof' over your head. What an experience. Danger does concentrate the mind. Interesting to observe what we reach for when everything is in jeopardy. Hope the seam gets fixed and that you and husband feel secure in your abode.

黄清华 Wong Ching Wah said...

What an "adventure"! glad you and your loved ones are all safe. Happy Wednesday !

Anonymous said...

Cloudia, you should read my blog today. Here's a quote from my blog post: "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it is called present."

Amen.

Anonymous said...

Half past two in the morning over here, as exciting as a movie indeed; glad you are all fine.

Please have you all a good Wednesday.

Nancy said...

Wow, Cloudia. What a night, huh? And to be sitting and blogging about it today seems a miracle.

I have always wanted to live on a boat. It's on my bucket list. But your story is something to think about. What if that had happened out to sea? I guess we all take chances every day, but today, dear Cloudia, is not the day you will lose your home. For that, I am grateful.

Rosaria Williams said...

Oh no! Soooo sorrryyy!
Ouch,
you can't have this kind of excitement and not show scars. Glad you survived and are up and about.

NYC taxi photo said...

Wow, puts things in perspective, I sit back reading your blog and say, ahh that's the life, but all places have their moments of pressure. Cool that everything's good, how did you get the boat sealed up? always in the water it all seems miraculous! and hey, what a trial, but you get a cool story to tell eh.

Full-On-Forward said...

I'm grateful for a Friend like you who has an UNSINKABLE SPIRIT!

I'm grateful we had money to buy an extra heater as it is going to be 15-17 degrees tonight, and maybe break a record held since Weather has been recorded here--since 1897!!!! Of course Weather has been around a little longer!

I am grateful for an AWESOME GOD- who out of tragedy and trials, fosters Faith Muscles!

Hugs to you both!

John

Windsmoke. said...

I'm so glad all of you are ok and didn't lose your boat and possesions there's nothing more frightening, hang in there.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness - my heart was in my throat. So glad to hear that all turned out well!

G-Man said...

CLOUDIA??????
I'm so sorry...
I did a Pearl Harbor post for you.
(((HUGS)))

Pietro Brosio said...

Cloudia, I'm so glad you are all safe and ok. What an adventure!
Have a beautiful day!

Dina said...

Oh Cloudia! Thank God you and the boat are still above water!
Can it be fixed?

What a video! The last scene is particularly chilling.
If only Israel had such firefighting equipment. We are still in shock from last week's fires.
Living in the middle of forests myself, I always have a backpack ready to grab in case of sudden evacuation--money, documents, flashlight, water, knife, TP, and room for the laptop.

Good luck with the cleanup, the fixing or the moving to a new way of life on land.

bichonpawz said...

Cloudia! I am so very glad that you and your family are all right and still have a home!! I did not know that you lived on a boat. You must have been freaking out when you heard that sound!!! I am thankful that you had your trusty back up pump and that you both sprang into action and got things moving so you could save your home. I hope that you will be able to pick up the pieces and be living your life again safely. Prayers and hugs coming out to you from NY!!!
Jeanne

magiceye said...

phew....
glad you and yours are safe..
best wishes in rebuilding..

namaste /\ from mumbai
aloha!!

David Cranmer said...

I'm grateful my Blogger friend and family are ok. I can't even imagine the work you have ahead of you.

RONW said...

hey wake up, Cloudia. All this isn't happening.

the walking man said...

I am grateful that i have learned not to be fretful.

Betty Manousos said...

Awesome picture of that glass!!!

Great quotes as usual.

ALOHA!!
xx B

Betty Manousos said...

What an adventure!
I'm so glad that you are all okay.

B xx

Akelamalu said...

Crikey Cloudia what a terrible fright you must have had! At least you, hubby and kitty are safe - everything else can be replaced can't it?

My thoughts are with you and I'm sending Reiki to your situation. xx

Junosmom said...

Cloudia,
Sorry to hear of your troubles. I am hoping something good comes of all of this. Where will all this take you?

Charles Gramlich said...

Wow, that must have been an exciting, and terrifying period there. I'm glad it didn't turn out as bad as it seemed at first, but I hope you can get everything straightened out pretty quickly.

Carol E Wyer said...

Oh my goodness. I was gripped as I read this post. Thankfully you are alright. Hello from a snowy UK. I have stumbled upon your fantastic blog and have added myself as your latest follower.Please do drop by my blog and maybe follow if you would like.
Warmest wishes.
Carol from www.facing50withhumour.blogspot.com

TALON said...

Cloudia, I'm so glad your home is safe (and soon will be dry again). That must have been terrifying thinking it was all going to go down...

What you say is true - emergency situations do bring out sides of us we're not too acquainted with.

Myrna R. said...

My heart is with you. I know these types of emergencies have a way of making us come so alive, but also making our stress levels rise to unknown proportions.

Hope you find some serenity as you proceed with decisions.

Take care.

Out on the prairie said...

An exciting moment in your life.I'm still trying to think of a boat made from cement.

DeniseinVA said...

What am I grateful for today? I'm grateful for the HFD, but on the top of the list I am grateful that you are okay and that you did not lose your home. What a fright, I got goosebumps just reading this today Cloudia. Glad all turned out well my friend.

Cloudia said...

Thank YOU
for the friendship
concern
prayers
Reiki and

good wishes!

Jo said...

Oh, CLOUDIA...!!!! Omigod, you poor thing. I am just glad you did not sink with YOU in it...!

I guess that's what I'm grateful for. :-)

Cheers!

Jo

Travis Erwin said...

So Glad your story has a relatively happy ending. Water logged belongings is exactly happy I suppsoe but it beats fishing them from the watery depths.

And yes. blogging does provide a healing outlet for our emotions.

the walking man said...

Quick Marge grab Bart and stuff him in the hole. We don't want to move the couch.

Ileana said...

Wow! It's good to know you were able to get the help you needed...and then write so cleverly about your adventure. Sounds like it could've been much worse.

"There are no atheists on sinking boats." I like that. Glad you're safe and stressfree again!!

Brian Miller said...

oh i am so sorry...i am glad you were able to say it though i know it probably caused all kinds of damage...so i hope you recover...prayers and thoughts

Kay said...

Good gosh, Cloudia! That is incredible! It's almost unbelievable! I'm so sorry! Thank goodness you guys were OK and that people came to help.

Cloudia said...

Mahalo Dear!