It must have been 1969 when a hurricane ripped through Atlanta. I was
working for an insurance company in MA then and, like many others, had
to go to Atlanta on "storm duty" to inspect insurance claims for
damaged houses.

I recollect pulling up to a two story house with only about half the
roof shingles remaining, even though it had obviously not been very
long since it was put on. A graying lady (mid 60s?) welcomed me and
asked if I needed anything to assess her claim. I asked if she had a
ladder that would reach to the roof and she said there was one around
the side of the house. I got it and placed it up against the roof and
was preparing to climb up when she started to climb up before me. I
said she didn't have to do that but she said it was no bother and she
wanted to make sure I saw all the damage. I told her I was capable of
finding all of it and I didn't want her to put herself in any danger.
She looked hard at me from half way up the ladder and said, "Who do
you think re-shingled this roof two years ago to begin with?" Always
admired that old gal!

FoggyTown

On Apr 13, 2:53 pm, "FoggyTown" wrote:
It must have been 1969 when a hurricane ripped through Atlanta. I was
working for an insurance company in MA then and, like many others, had
to go to Atlanta on "storm duty" to inspect insurance claims for
damaged houses.

I recollect pulling up to a two story house with only about half the
roof shingles remaining, even though it had obviously not been very
long since it was put on. A graying lady (mid 60s?) welcomed me and
asked if I needed anything to assess her claim. I asked if she had a
ladder that would reach to the roof and she said there was one around
the side of the house. I got it and placed it up against the roof and
was preparing to climb up when she started to climb up before me. I
said she didn't have to do that but she said it was no bother and she
wanted to make sure I saw all the damage. I told her I was capable of
finding all of it and I didn't want her to put herself in any danger.
She looked hard at me from half way up the ladder and said, "Who do
you think re-shingled this roof two years ago to begin with?" Always
admired that old gal!

FoggyTown


That reminds me of my great aunt Ruby. She was the toughest old woman
I ever knew. At 92 she was still living solo and getting around just
fine. The only thing that slowed her down (and began her slide toward
passing away) was a broken hip from when she was removing her
Christmas lights from her house. She didn't just lay there, though.
She got inside, locked the door, and made a phone call to a relative
in another state using a rotary phone that was mounted 4' up a wall.

I think I'll have a drink in her memory tonight. She's missed a great
deal in our family.

-Nathan