BCN Remains Live; but I Have Issues with Matthew | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: Stay connected to BCN for all of our many Hurricane Mathew updates.

I write this as I still have some juice within this new laptop's battery, and I am using my phone's hot spot, which is excellent as almost always.

    Beaufort County NOW, its massive wonderment stuck on a server far away from the personal horror that Hurricane Matthew hath wrought, will remain viable, a testament to our steadfast will to exist; however, my publishing duties will be spare, for a bit; hopefully for just a short while. The causation of our immediate discomfort, Beaufort County was pummeled by the hurricane, especially your humble publisher.

    I lost two trees, and one hit the breezeway's canopy, which has a flat roof; however, taking out that flat roof, only after hitting the side of my house, tearing off part of it's shingled roof, fascia, molding, a few bricks - you know, just the regular hurricane damage on experiences when trees fall in the wrong places. Repairs will be forthcoming after the insurance adjuster gets a look at it, which I hope will be soon. Remarkably, the tree hit my house about 30 minutes before the power went out, and now, nearly 16 hours later, the power remains out.
The old pine was felled by a down-burst around 8:00 pm, October 8, 2016: Above.     photos by Stan Deatherage    Click image to expand.     The damage where I walk: Below.
    Furthermore, if that was not enough, the industrial strength pump that I purchased just two days ago to pump my utility basement, should my power go out within a rain event, was completely defective; cracked water chamber, which I discovered after two hours of setting it up, getting it running and trying to prime a pump that will never prime, never pump. So, I pumped my basement the old fashioned way, I hauled 5 gallon buckets of water out of the basement until I was assured that electrical service and the high efficiency water heater was not in jeopardy.

    It was a Hell of a night. It was a long night into the wee hours of the morning. And through it all, I never cursed: my situation; the retail provider of the defective pump, and in fact, I felt privileged to have the opportunity to use my able body and supple spirit to do my jobs, even with the tall Carolina pines, hurtling rock hard pine cones and limbs down upon me, as they swayed in the 65 mile per hour gusts of Hurricane Matthew's outer bands. In fact, I would wager that down-burst gusts of much higher wind speeds took down my tall, ancient pine and the maple far from my house.

    Morning would bring less wind, no rain except a steady mist, and eventually ... sunshine. As good fate fate would have it, my very good friend Marty Boosinger has loaned me his "$125.00 Big Lots generator" to finish pumping the basement (I keep an electric pump there at the ready). My electric service, my high efficiency water heater will be saved. Thank-you Marty. You are a good man. You are my good man.

    Without pause, BCN will stay up, it will stay fast, efficient in its purpose, but I will be absent from time to time. Still, I will report in as I find time, and BCN will continue, in my irregular absence, to supply its platform to a plethora of information, knowledge worthy information. That will not change, never change as long as I draw breath, and most probably beyond.