From October 28, 2005, Day 6 Post Wilma

Where to begin? It is the end of Day 6 – Post Wilma. I wrote in a journal some of the things we went through during the affair, actually right after the affair, and I may throw in some excerpts here and there. I have to say this: the Mexican government, with all its turmoil and issues (what government doesn’t have turmoil and issues?) rocks. It is Day 6. This time last week we were just getting the first bands of what was the biggest storm on record for this part of the country, perhaps the whole country (as I write this I have no internet connection so I cannot check the facts). We had a Category 4 hurricane (at times Category 5) hovering over us for 30 hours. The thing wouldn’t move. It battered at us relentlessly and it is a wonder more windows didn’t break. Believe me, there is broken glass all over this city and yet I am still shocked.

After a brutal Friday afternoon and night, followed by an eye that lasted about four hours or so, and then another hellacious Saturday afternoon and night, Sunday morning we poked our heads out to a windy but sunny world. It was like waking up in a war zone. The kind of destruction this thing wrought was amazing. There was a lot of flooding so our way around was hindered somewhat, but we piled into the family truckster and brought me home to see what kind of apartment I had left.

I was lucky enough to have no broken windows, just a lot of water everywhere from the refrigerator of course, and rain from under the doors. I had the help of the four tourist friends that stayed at the Cerutti’s in lieu of a shelter, and we swept out all the water with squeegees and brooms and then just let everything dry out. Obviously I had no power or water, the whole city was out. Power lines were hanging everywhere and there was debris wherever you looked. I ran into Ernesto from the lavandaria and he gave me a hug and said, “Gracias a Dios, we are alive.”

That day and the days following it were amazing to see. People appeared immediately with machetes and chainsaws and brooms and rope, pulling away the dangling tree limbs and sweeping up the debris, placing it in the medians for the army to collect. The neighbors helped one another clean their entry ways and offered assistance in patching broken windows. Nobody sat around waiting for the government to do something. This is our home, we did it ourselves.

I understand that by Monday night there were regiones with power already. Power. After one day. Freaking amazing. Trust me, this hurricane was gigantic. The fact that the regiones were getting power at such an alarming rate is a testament to the devotion this city has to its people. These guys got up with the sun, worked all day in their neighborhoods, centro, and the zona hotelera, and were able to come home at the end of it to lights and a shower.

It took a while for SM 31 to get power, and I can live with that. We got it today, Friday the 28th. We also had some water so I am able to get some things in order. Tomorrow morning I get to scrub the refrigerator and I can’t say I am excited, but it will be nice to have it clean. The Ceruttis got power today too, though they had a generator for a period of time yesterday. It’s hard without it. It seems like when the lights came on things seemed a little bit better. I am very aware that there are hundreds without homes, people in casitas with a palapa roof that blew away, and I will never complain about the lights being out for a week in SM 31, because I have a home and I am safe and well and so are all of my friends. Well, most, I haven’t heard from Eder yet and it worries me a little.
As for the zh, that is a story for another day. I have pictures, a lot of them. It is heartbreaking. To see the pictures and know the pain, it makes me want to cry. But I don’t, because Mexico is a strong and proud country, and they earn that right to be proud for every day that they spend making this tragedy go away.