Hi guys,
I came over here after seeing a somewhat disruptive post on the KTrange concerning people here trashing keltecs -- it appears to me an individual named keltec was actually the one being trashed because of his disruptive posts on the rohrbaugh forum. Sorry that you guys were subjected to such a "new member".
While here I saw this thread. I must say, that I'm at a loss for words that many here have had me in their thoughts. So, I thought it relevant to give you a post-Ivan update.
Things are progressing here -- but slowly. I had the fight of my life with my insurance carrier (and I'm IN the insurance business!). The first floor of the house was washed through by the storm surge (seeing the recent vidoes of the tsunami makes me feel fortunate), and I'll have to eat the cost of repairs myself as it was not a covered loss. The Enterprise rental car that was in one of my first floor garages for "safe keeping" when the storm made landfall was a total loss. Fortunately, since it was a business rental, my company's auto insurance covered the loss of the car.
The second and third stories of my house suffered significant damage from the windstorm of the hurricane -- and subsequent rains the weeks following. Basically, the entire living area required a total gut and rebuild. Here's where I had my fight with State Farm to determine what was covered. I was initially assigned an inept adjuster who had the position that a 50' wall of water struck my house causing the damage to the living area. Totally absurd, since I was in the house through the storm and had documented with photos the height of the storm surge -- limiting it to the first level.
By playing "hardball" (prepared to secure an attorney for a fight in court), I was reassigned to a supervising adjuster who has fairly adjusted my claim (covering everything from the roof down to the ceilings in the garage). He even extended coverage to me for a couple of firearms that I wasn't able to protect from water damage -- thus providing a little insurance money earmarked for a gun purchase (the one on Glock Talk that went terribly bad on the seller's part...but, that's another story.) In addition, I was fortunate to meet a couple of contractor brothers -- great Christian guys -- who have set up a base of operations in a travel trailer next to mine (I'm giving them water, electricity, and telephone -- and a place to stage materials). They are going to take on my project at a "cost-plus" basis, saving me a considerable amount of money on the total repairs in a post-huricane market of limited labor, inflated costs and material resource shortages.
With that said, progress is slow. I do have a new roof (countless people in the area are still relying upon FEMA "blue roofs"), the missing siding/walls have been replaced, windows and doors are on order, and the interior has been gutted of the sheetrock and insulation. Today I began treating the exposed studs and woodwork with a mildecide so we can begin replacing the insualtion and sheetrock in the coming weeks.
While everything was off the walls, I opted to remove the existing polybutylene plumbing (bad stuff -- subject to breakage with age) and replaced it with CPVC plumbing. Also, I'm running multi-media cable throughout the place (thinking of the future).
I have become quite comfortable living in the travel trailer placed in one of my driveways (less space to keep clean). Since it is just me, this is a liveable option. Those having to do it who have families, I feel for.
During the first few weeks following the storm, the members of the KTrange were generous and thoughtful enough to start an unsolicited "disaster relief" fund. My pride did not get in the way, as the cash to acquire necessities did come in handy. In addition, I did liquidate several guns, feeing up some cash -- and passed on the R9s when the one slated for me was ready. The guys/gals at the KTrange were great -- the friendship from strangers meant more to me than anything material. In appreciation for their generosity, I have offered my Sub2K to the forum admins for use as a fund raising tool in the form of an auction or raffle to raise funds for the operation of the forum. Midiman, KeysBear, and Flyer are working out the necessary details to make the fundraiser happen.
After passing on the R9s -- and not becoming an "official" member of the Rohrbaugh club -- I didn't stay in touch on the forum. I am pleased to see the forum is going strong -- that Rohrbaughs are continuing to ship out -- and that the Rorhbaugh brothers have been able to move into more suitable production facilities.
I'll try to stop in occassionally to see how things are going. Hopefully, I'll get to hold and possibly shoot someone's R9s in the near future. Thanks again for all the thoughts and concern. Life will return to normal -- it will just take a little time.
Bill
aka Flyandscuba
