Budget Dry has pushed me up on their schedule. Luther will be here today to clean out my sump pump. I must empty the 2 dehumidifiers. When I step into the apartment, I step ankle deep into more water. Everything is wet again. We have had rain for days. The ground is saturated. There is no place for the water to go, except into low places...my in law apartment. The place must be accessible for the sump pump clean up.

I get my small pool pump, plug it in, attach the garden hose and let it go. By the time Luther gets here, the place is sans puddles.

Luther cleans the pump. He checks the battery and pronounces it dead. The salt water has shorted the battery. It must be replaced. He replaces the battery, runs the hose into the sump and flushes the pump. It is now safe to turn the pump on. Wow, it runs and runs. All that water was sitting in the drain lines with no way to get out. It is brackish. Luther keeps pumping until the water exiting the line is fresh water. All done and ready to work...and here is the bill for over four hundred dollars for an hour's work.

The bad news is that my insurance doesn't cover the cost of any of this. Ernesto will have another bill for me...and another one to purchase insulation and sheet rock...and another bill for repainting...and another bill for cleaning...this one not from Ernesto, but from a cleaning company. Is there no help for me? There is a handbill on my door. It says to call FE MA. So I do.

Several days later, a young girl comes to my house. She reviews my insurance, checks that utility bills are for this address in my name. She checks my ID. Yes I am who I say I am. Yes. I live here. She is an insurance adjuster. I bite my lip to not chat with her about my experiences working for The Hartford Loss Control Department. I see that the pen top laptops are now lighted. That is an improvement from when I used them.
Johanna inspects the property and leaves. What does this mean? Will I get a grant? An interest free loan? Probably not, but I will see.