Friday, September 14, 2007

Instead Of

Apparently the government has officially declared Wit's End dead. No usable land is left from the original acreage. Maybe we should have a funeral for this dream spot. We could all sign the side of the shack that, amazingly, is still standing as the land slips away. We could play "Taps", or "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes. Or round up a Jing Ping band! If you would like to deliver the eulogy, let me know. In lieu of flowers, send school supplies to the Ministry of Education.

So we are once again looking for a property that might fit our needs. Maybe we will call a new piece of land "Instead Of". I am not sure "Wit's End II" would be prudent. We did see a couple of nice pieces today, but it is very hard for me to operate out of an adult, rational problem solving mindset at this time. Things have been too emotional, too difficult since Dean blew through. I am just sooo ready to have this drama behind us. Just gimme some dirt with a roof over it.

Of course there are lots of people who are in worse shape than we are. Up next to Wit's End, David and his Rasta neighbor are about to watch their houses go down the hill. I wish someone from the government could arrange to move those houses to safety. But the government is pedaling as fast as they can. There are so many needs to try to meet on this island right now.

livingdominica: ok, everyone join in the responsorial: "Dirt and a roof, dirt and a roof. All we need is dirt and a roof..."

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok, I am game : "dirt and roof, all we need is a pretty dirt, a green living roof and some walls in between - with doors and windows and a door stop for the pooch".

Anonymous said...

Dirt and roof.
Dirt and roof.

I'll be saying this to myself now, all weekend!

Anonymous said...

I feel so bad for your neighbor. Is he going to dust himself off and try again?

I was working in San Francisco when a entire neighborhood in San Bruno slid off a hill. Act of God the insurance companies claimed.

Is the government letting you pick your new property and then reimburse you? That would be great.

Jen Miller said...

I am so glad to hear you guys chanting and improvising on the responsorial!

David is elderly and may not have the resources to start again. His health is not good, I really fear for him. We have told him repeatedly he can stay with us, but he is really devastated.

In theory, government would purchase land to replace Wit's End which is why we are out scouting again.

But we don't know exactly what that means. They have told us they will assign a value to our property first. If this figure does not match our investment, we might have to go the route of legal wrangling, which we would rather avoid. That would take a loooong time.

So we are looking for the Wit's End replacement piece, plus a tiny bit of land for us to purchase where we can put up a cottage to live in if this gets to be too long in the tooth.

Canuck said...

Dirt and a roof, dirt and a roof, a green living roof, some curvy walls, dirt and a roof...and I sent the school supplies this past Wednesday!
Also sending 'vibes' to Mother Nature to spare the rest of the hill and your friend's homes.

Jen Miller said...

Thanks, Canuck! We are excited about the school supplies, and positive vibes are definitely needed here!