July 2008
The Rolling Home

Here we are, July 2008 already.  We haven't updated the website since February.  And what have we been doing all this time?  Well, we almost finished our
"Casita" at Fort Clark Springs.   We bought another lot, or did I tell you that in the last update?  We were just about to finish laying the tile in the bedroom and set our toilet (an important addition to the house) when FEMA called John and asked him to report to Little Rock.  Off we went.

This was our second deployment to Little Rock, AR.  We were there in 2006 for a tornado right before we went to the Indy 500.  This time, it was severe storms, tornadoes and flooding. Later, we added an incredible hail storm in Ft Smith to the list of bad things happening in Arkansas this Spring. 

John spent the first month of this deployment doing preliminary damage assessments in 13 different counties in Arkansas.  One of the counties was Plains.  That is where the town of Des Arc is located.  As John left Des Arc one afternoon, Jim Morrow of the Weather Channel was arriving to do a live shot.  John says anytime the Weather Channel shows up for a live feed from a location, you know you shouldn't be there!  He spent four afternoons in boats doing these PDAs. Many places were under water due to the large amount of rain that fell this spring.  Monroe, Plains, and Cleburg counties all had such severe flooding that the damage assessments had to be done by boat. 

John and Libby also had to spend four evenings and afternoons in tornado shelters while deployed on two different disasters in Arkansas this Spring.  The first week they were in Little Rock, the tornado sirens were wailing and they headed for the office at the North Little Rock KOA.  John still had on his FEMA attire and some of the folks expressed relief that he was there with them.  He reminded them that he only shows up after something bad has happened, so it isn't to comforting to see him in a shelter!  One day he had to shelter in the rest room in the Joint Field Office and another time he had to shelter in a bathroom in a Disaster Recovery Center in Benton, AR.  The last time he and Libby were in a shelter, it was an 8x8 concrete underground shelter in Harrison, AR.  There were 14 folks in that little room!

After doing those PDAs in 13 counties and managing 6 different Disaster Recovery Centers, John was released and he and Libby headed for Indiana.  That afternoon, they bought new tires for the RV. Between the $2700 for new tires and the $300 to fill the D with diesel, it was a nice round $3000 day.  On the other hand, new tires feel good and we are not all that worried about weather cracking for the next few years.

After just a few days in Indiana visiting relatives and old school chums, John was deployed to Springfield, IL for some of the midwest flooding.  He has been here for a month now and it appears that this deployment will last at least another 30 days.  One interesting interlude in Springfield is that John had to go in for a heart catheterizion.  It was no big deal and now he knows how his heart arteries are doing.  (ok is the answer)  Great medical care here in Springfield.

The Rolling Home is hopefully heading for New Mexico after Illinois to visit with the Striblings for a few days before heading back to Brackettville to finish the "Casita" and play some golf.  John also intends to take some wood carving classes this winter and Libby may head for the pottery shop when she gets back to The Fort.