10 weeks, 4647.5 miles later

[gerisullivan]

The Zeppelin Hangar is standing, which is always reassuring to see regardless of the fact that I knew it was long before I turned down the driveway.

I came in through Monson. All the online photos and media coverage I saw of the tornado destruction there are but pale memories compared to the reality of what I saw today, after three full weeks of clean-up. Wow.

Tornado track close-up, annotated This is a portion of the photo NASA's Earth Observatory posted a few days after an EF3 tornado cut a 39-mile swath through West Springfield, Springfield, Monson, Brimfield, Southbridge, and beyond on Wednesday, June 1, 2011. This image gives you a closer look at the annotated part of the image.

My other two reasonable choices for getting to Toad Woods from the Mass Pike also involve crossing the tornado's path. They're both closer to home, but the damage along those routes isn't likely to affect me as directly as the damage in Monson will. Adam's Market in Monson, my nearest full grocery store, is closed due to damage and isn't expected to reopen until late August.

Instead of a 13-mile round trip to Adam's Market, I'll have a 26-mile round trip to the Stop and Shop on the far side of Sturbridge. And that will start tomorrow, just as soon as I empty and clean my fridge and freezer. I can tell from the shape and feel of the refrozen vegetables and other contents that everything completely thawed while the electricity was out for a few days. In the fridge itself, even the butter smells rancid.

At least the phone is working again. It was still out when I tried calling three days ago.

I'm getting off easy. Really, truly easy. And tonight, I get to sleep in my very own bed. Tonight as in now. GoshWow.

Comments

[galtine1.livejournal.com]

Can appreciate the lack of power/phone for super-extended time periods. I do not want to go through that again (aftermath of 2007 fires).

I hope that if you need to file a claim for damages, that you also include loss of foodstuffs -- we did (frozen, fresh, smoke damaged) and it was honored by our insurance co. (Farmers)

[redbird]

Home is good, and thanks for the update.

[prydera.livejournal.com]

Glad you got home safely! I've been up at Sturbridge quite a bit and through Springfield and even the damage those two places floors me. I don't really have any reason to drive through Monson and I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not.

Eep.

[flinx.livejournal.com]

I am glad to hear you are home again, jiggity jig, and that the rest of your trip was uneventful. It looks like the events behaved like an un-housebroken puppy that greets you at the door, tail-wagging, with "presents" scattered about the house.

Also, I'm glad that you managed to drop in an see Anne & Rosie in passing, and sorry that I couldn't get away from work. :}

[madfilkentist]

Denise in Springfield said that the houses on both sides of her were hit pretty badly, but hers was missed. Ghu must be protecting the fen!

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

Three miles away? That's not too many. And may the next one (and of course there will be another) be at least three miles the other side of Toad Woods.

(And yes, there _is_ a Moral Dilemma here, but on balance -- if bad things are going to happen to good people, I'd rather they happen to good people I don't know than to ones I do know.)

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

We couldn't find any Springfield fen when we lived in West Springfield. Attended two PiCons, and everybody was from out of town!

Geri, I'm glad you made it. Does this mean the freezer's defrosted, at least? It's good to be home, and I'm happy for you.

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

Yay! You are home and everything is reasonably well. Glad the stuff in the freezer refroze -- no doubt much less traumatic to clean up than if it hadn't.

[lauriemann.livejournal.com]

Glad you made it home, and sorry to hear you'll have that long a trip for groceries.