Which Do You Want to Hear First?

Mateys, the Captain has some good news and some bad news to tell you today. Which do you want to hear first?

Okay. First, the bad news.

On Friday night, the First Mate was at our marina partying with some co-workers on a houseboat. The wind and rain (we’ve had a lot of it recently) picked up and suddenly changed directions. But they thought nothing of it. They just grabbed stuff that might blow into the lake and continued on.

The First Mate is always environmentally conscious.

 

A short time later the first message came in. One of the piers at the marina had broken loose.

Captain’s Note: Now, this happened earlier in the year with the sailboats at the end of Pier 4 – twice! – so I didn’t immediately get excited.

But it was identified as the pier that Captain Whitebeard moved his sailboat to after Pier 4 broke away. So I sent a message to him.

He had already been receiving messages from others. Turns out three piers were hit by 70-80 mph “Straight Line Winds” and the scene was something akin to a demolition derby as piers broke free and crashed into one another.

A pier separated from the gangway.

That pier doesn't belong there.

Neither do those sailboats.

Crash!

Piers holding “the big boats”!

Fortunately, relatively little damage was done to Pier 4. The steel gangway is twisted and the derelict sailboat slips on the other end were removed yesterday. But because of damage to the rest of the marina, the whole place is shut down.

Crews worked all weekend to put the pieces back together, but more storms on Saturday and Sunday nights un-did a lot of the work that was done.

Which brings us to Sunday night.

The Captain and First Mate had a church picnic that afternoon. I was leery of it because of the weather.

It rained hard at 1:00 then cleared off. Maybe the Captain was wrong.

But sure enough, as we were finishing up with food, someone cried out, “Tornado Warning in effect until 5:30!” It was already 5:00. Everyone quickly broke camp and headed home. As we were driving east, the sky looked ominous and we were getting reports of tornadoes on the ground. We pulled into a church – one the Captain’s churches – let ourselves into the basement and waited for the storm to pass.

Captain’s Note: A couple other trucks followed us and we extended shelter and hospitality to them as well.

In the name of Jesus!

Upon arriving home, we received news of a neighboring marina hit by a tornado.

Ironically, I had called there on Saturday to see if they had an available slip to which I could move The Tiki Hut until we heard more news from our marina.

Alas, no room.

Which was a good thing. Because the carnage left behind by the EF-1 tornado in that marina on Sunday afternoon was simply horrifying!

Captain's Note: Who the hell PISSED OFF Poseidon?!? 

Libations will be forthcoming. As soon as we can get back out on the water.

Now for the good news: The Tiki Hut is safe!

Credit goes to the krewe tying strong lines to the pier and to the proper placement of fenders.

…and to sheer luck! The storm either passed over us or passed through us with little resistance from the numerous pontoon boats docked around us.

We did lose “Tiki”, who now presumably lies in quiet repose at the bottom of the lake.

Captain’s Note: We began an immediate search and found “Tiki II”, which will grace the docks wherever we might tie up in the near future.

But now comes the time of decision – and it’s coming up fast: We don’t yet know the status of our marina, if or when it will open again.

But our slip rental payment for the coming year is due on Friday.

Ever diligent, the Captain had planned to pay this on the day of the storm but was delayed by church emergencies.

As one might guess, there are now dozens of boats looking for new homes along the lake. Most marinas were already full. So far we have not found suitable space for The Tiki Hut, and marinas that appear to have space are simply “taking names” and “we’ll get back to you shortly”.

I like the marina where we are, but I don’t want to pay a full year (on Friday) if on Monday the marina announces they will not be operational this summer.

Your Captain is a patient man, but I have been working hard to get The Tiki Hut ready for this summer.

What to do?

Health Update

As I left you last time, mateys, the Captain was preparing for a CT Scan when hit with a phenomenal price tag. 

Here’s what has happened since…

On Monday, the Captain went to his scheduled ENT appointment to have a “scratch test” done to check further for allergies.

You may recall the Captain had a “patch test” done at the dermatologist’s office a few months back that revealed contact allergies to Formaldehyde, rubber products, -caine-type drugs (Novocaine, etc.), corticosteroids, gold, and a host of other chemicals.

In all, 130 chemicals made the list.

Imagine trying to screen for all of them in every product you use.

Neither that information nor the steroid creams the dermatologist prescribed made an impact on the skin rash I was fighting.

Captain’s Note: I am firing that guy!

Captain’s Note #2: The good news is that after more than a year, the rash has largely subsided with no explanation.

Last Monday’s scratch test checked for allergies to more common, everyday substances: cats, dogs, horses, chicken feathers, pollens, etc.

The test pricks were applied and I sat for 20 minutes while the substances did their thing. A few turned red and a small rash began to develop around some.

One blistered!

Guess which one that was…

They are right here helping me write this post.

Then came Round Two to better define the findings.

 

So, in addition to all the chemicals discovered by the patch test, the scratch test demonstrated that the Captain is allergic to virtually everything that walks, crawls or flies, and everything that blooms and grows outdoors.

I love my life!

Here’s where it gets good.

That CT Scan that I canceled had originally been scheduled to follow the scratch test to prevent me from having to make another trip into town.

As I suspected, the woman on the phone didn’t really cancel the appointment. About 1 ½ hours later I received a call from the Imaging Center telling me I had missed an appointment; if I would like to reschedule, please call XXX-XXXX.

Captain’s Note: If you miss an appointment, you are automatically charged $50.

So I called XXX-XXXX.

You’re damned right the Captain called!

I explained the situation to the person on the other end of the line. She checked my records and said the person who had called me a week ago Friday had been mistaken. My portion would only be $75, not $939!

Would I like to reschedule?

I did.

She also removed the missed-appointment fee.

Captain’s Note: And she sent a note to her administrator to report the previous call. That person will be reprimanded.

The CT Scan took place this morning. Scheduled for 10 a.m., I was in by 9:45 and out five minutes later.

What did the scan reveal? 

 

I have no idea.

"Dammit, Jim! I'm a Captain, not a Doctor!"

The Captain has an appointment next Monday with the ENT to look at the scan and determine the next course of action.

Stay tuned!