Hi guys, thanks for your concerns.
I'm not sure how much I should say at this point, except that I am indeed safe (but maybe not so sound) in Illinois. My grandmother passed away last Sunday after nearly 95 wonderful years of life. She was an utterly amazing woman, and thankfully she did not suffer, even in the end.
I was scheduled to retun to Cayman this Sunday morning, but the airport had been closed since Saturday evening. I'm not sure when it will be reopened but I'll go back as soon as I can, one way or another.
There are 3 people in my house and I was in cell phone contact with them until about 12:30 this afternoon. The damage to the Island and in general and to my house in particular, has been severe. About half of my shingles had been ripped off, along with the tar paper and gutters. This means that the house is leaking like crazy, through the roof, the sheetrock ceilings, and then through the whole house in-ceiling speaker system, lighting fixtures, a/c vents, etc, and into the living space.
The windows in my garage, each of which are 6 feet wide, blew out and thus everything inside of that area is subject to the destructive winds. The flood waters were about a foot under the level at which they will invite themselves in for a permanent stay. In time, I suspect that most of the other windows would have blown out (by now) but there is no way for me to confirm this.
I am hoping and praying that my roof will stay on and thus the lives of my friends inside will be spared. I drove many of the nails that secure the so-called "hurricane straps" myself when the house was constructed 7 years ago, so I know that everything is up to code, or beyond.
I asked my friends in the early hours this morning to secure as much of my audio gear as is possible, to relocate the headphones, amps, speakers, etc., into closets, and to box up my CD collection, computers, and the like, but only to the extent that they feel safe in moving around the house to do so. As with most people, they have no idea what all of this stuff is worth, but I was careful not to give them the impression that it is in any way worth more than their safety. Things can be replaced.
My apartments are on the South side of the Island and only about 0.1 miles from the sea, whereas my house is on the NorthWest side and 0.3 miles from the sea. I was not able to contact any of the tennants, and sure hope this means that they found a safer place to ride out the storm. I suspect that the apartment building itself will be a total loss for insurance purposes.
Ironically, when I was passing through the airport in Charlotte on my way to Illinois, I picked up a copy of a new biography of Jim Morrison of The Doors, and happen to have also packed with me some of their discs. Reading about how nutty this guy was has helped me to maintain my sanity. Not knowing what will happen next is the hardest part for now. I know that the Cayman Islands will never be "the same" but I can't wait to get back to this place that I love - to find all of my friends, and to start rebuilding. "Riders On the Storm" will get me through the night, because I know that we in Cayman are a resiliant group of people and will somehow get through it together.
(If nothing else, my XP-7, UE-10 Pro, and Sony D-EJ2000 rig has survived!!!)
