Sally's Key West

Hurricane Flood Map

This map comes from the City of Key West website.

Click here for the flood map in pdf. 

Find your property on the map and you'll find your flood likelihood. Have fun!

Abundance in All Things Good

Dear family, friends and colleagues,

Here's wishing you a happy healthy new year's eve dance! May 2006 bring abundance in all things good to you all.

We will not be having our annual cocktail party tonight - we are out of town and will miss being with you! See Hal's KWTN column Love and Death in Fantasyland. It's a bittersweet holiday!

We have much to be grateful for. Our health, our family, and our friends top the list. See you next year!

Love & Peace,
Sally, Hal, Mo & Ryan

P.S. We lost all our paperwork - 10 years of records - in the Wilma flood. (Hal's office is the only ground level room.) That was distressing but I had my computer backup of many years' worth so I didn't totally panic... Until Thanksgiving weekend when my hard drive crashed and I lost everything else. Out of the blue. No discernible reason. My past is toast. Nothing left of it. There's a message in here somewhere but I'm a little slow on the uptake and can't figure it out.

Meanwhile, I've been able to rebuild much of my contact list (and my picture folder which, of course, is the critical item!!!) Some of you will receive two of these... sorry about that! If I've reached you in error, my apologies. If you want to stay on the list, please send me your updated info (or you can join www.plaxo.com - it's free and our information is automatically updated without retyping. There's a brilliant idea!) If you want off, click unsubscribe or let me know and I'll remove you from the list. Thank you!

Wilma Survivors

Welcome to Wilma World

"How did you do in the storm?" is the phrase around town. Everyone is asking, everyone is telling. The story of our lives is now told in two distinct sections: B.W. (Before Wilma) and A.W. (After Wilma). We are currently a town of very very tired people, some of us still completely overwhelmed. It's looking like many households will be for awhile. For every clean-up task you complete, four more appear. It's pretty daunting.

But everyone is putting one foot in front of the other. I ran into my friend Mimi who lost EVERYTHING, she was smiling and asked how I was doing. Jack, who also lost EVERYTHING, told me today he is taking it one day at a time. Wendy had 6' of water in her house (she lives in the neighborhood where the video was shot). She is still in shock. She won't be home for months, is looking for a place to live and some comfortable shoes. When your entire house is flooded, it's like rebuilding: you take out the wet walls from the ground up to about 4' which means taking out all bathrooms, kitchens, all furniture, doors, everything. Then you rebuild, repaint, refurnish. I just left a CBS house that had only studs from the floor up to 4'... It is estimated that 60% of the homes got some flooding and these are just four stories. There are plenty more.

The video? Very very real, get it at Wilma video. Right after the storm, you could see a rough draft online. I spoke to Mr. Marrero and he said he'd had over 5000 downloads of the video in the first two weeks and it crashed the server... they have completed a DVD and offer it for sale. Awesome.

For all Wilma Survivors in town, there are two excellent survivor parties coming up. The first is tomorrow night, Saturday, at Blue Heaven starting at 7:30pm. The Survivors (Quint Lange, Din and Woody Allen, Elmo Hooten) are in town and will be playing, $10 entry fee gets you a Caribbean Pork Dinner with all the trimmings and a chance to dance under the stars. All proceeds benefit Womankind - don't miss this, it's one of the best parties of the year and practically free! I'll be there serving drinks and calling out raffle prize winners. Please join us!

Next weekend, Skipper Kripitz is hosting his first "Rarely Heard Piano Pals" at St. Paul's, Sunday 11/20 4pm. It's a hurricane benefit party, $10 donation at the door, students 19 or under free. This sounds like a very good time!

We are surviving. The only bad news is that I'm experiencing life on the pointy end of a Code Enforcement boot. I'm posting the full Lenny Bruce version on my blog. (Of course I have a blog. I'm chatty Cathy in print.)

The long and short of it is that I pulled some drywall that wasn't my own and was red-tagged. According to the city anyone can do that in this time of emergency. I called the Code Enforcement Guy and gave him an earful. I'm stressed, what can I say?

Beware fellow citizens, even if you are within your rights, NEVER NEVER EVER tell a CE Guy what you are thinking because now I'm the only person in town who has to get a licensed contractor to hang drywall. Mr. CEG determined he can't allow me to do what everyone else is allowed to do because this would hinder his ability to do his job in the future. Would that be his job of harassing working citizens? Sloppy drywall hardly seems like a safety issue.

Have you tried to get a licensed contractor today? HAHAHAHAHAHA. My first 18 calls to contractors asking for drywall help for this 500sf cottage netted howls of laughter, and/or "we're not taking anymore drywall work - call me in two weeks". Gary the Carpenter, God bless him, took pity and sent a guy over who is now working to finish the job and get my tenants home. Gary is my personal hero.

This week, not content with a stop work order and 5 visits to the property so far (can't the man find any useful work to do?) I'm told Mr. CEG intends to serve me with a notice of violation for working as a contractor without a license. This is a felony. A felony is punishable by death. Or a few years in the Big House. I'm in hiding now. If he finds me, I'm afraid he will try to staple gun the thing to my chest. The man likes his staple gun. Anyway, please send cigarettes, I will need them in prison.

Real estate is waking up to the A.W. market. A few of you have asked after Pollyanna. We administered mild shock treatments, she died on the table once and saw God. Turns out God IS a woman. Pollyanna is recalled to life, still groggy and on some wonderful medication. I'll keep you posted on her progress.

Something incredible happened overnight: the ruella is blooming again. It was under 3' of saltwater, it was so brown and dead-looking. But there are purple flowers out there today. The periwinkle is coming back, the buttonwoods all seem to be thriving. It's possible Key West could be glorious by the new year. This will definitely help the recovery move along. Come for a visit, keep sending the white light.

See you at Blue Heaven on Saturday night,

Sally
...in sunny Key West Florida!

Overwhelmed by Wilma

I refer to photos on my website but they are no longer up. When I can find them, they will return!

Hello everyone,

New town is a wreck and Pollyanna is in a coma. I have photos on my website showing where neighbors have piled their belongings on the sidewalk. All of their belongings: carpets, sofas, appliances, dressers, mattresses, pictures, boxes of stuff. Cars line the streets, cars that used to run. It ain't pretty. We are pretty overwhelmed here, just beginning to assess the damage. People are tired. I am tired just looking at it and I have nothing in the street except a mattress.

The photos were taken today, Saturday 10/29, on about five blocks of homes... You see streets and streets lined with people's stuff. It wears on a body. My neighborhood behind Publix, the entire neighborhood behind Kmart, the one across from the high school, Riviera Drive homes, basically everything on the Miami side of White Street up to Big Pine. In Marathon, our airplane was totaled after sitting chest deep in water... so it seems pretty certain that Big Pine suffered as well.

One to two inches of water ran thru our house, didn't sit, just soaked the rugs and ran out or dried up before we got home. Our rugs are all hanging over the 6' high chain link fence surrounding our yard. I never thought I'd be happy to have a 6' high chain link fence. Ever. But there you go. It was all part of some master plan, this chain link fence...

Our street is littered with debris from our immediate neighbors. I was looking out my front window earlier, watching Patria and Jorge across the street carry more stuff to the sidewalk (yes, a week later, more and more stuff is piling up). They smile and wave. Sit for a minute on their porch, then go get more stuff. We have survivor guilt.

Wilma surprised us all. The flood maps have been warning us, telling us this was bound to happen once every 100 years or so, but we look at our yards in disbelief: "heck, we never get a puddle in a Big Big Rain." As if that meant something. Even the old conchs, older than me, born and raised here, have never seen anything like this. The water came three and four feet deep over N Roosevelt Blvd, across Captain Bob's parking lot, over Niles' parking lot, into our neighborhood and thru it to Flagler Ave.... which apparently got to enjoy two surges. On Big Coppitt, the water was 6' deep from the ground up. On Key Haven, friends got into boats with their children and motored over two sections to a neighbor's stilt home. I'm sure it was a sight to behold and I'm forever grateful I wasn't here to see it.

Kmart is closed, Rainbow, Sears, Office Max, Albertsons, Radio Shack... Some of my friends lost everything and watched it happen. The funny thing, well not funny really, about a flood is that you think "oh this toaster (car, central ac, whatever) is ok, it's working" and then two days later it's not ok or not working or catches fire when you turn it on. So you don't stop assessing damage in your house for days. No washers, no dryers - that's hard. Clothes are wet, salty, only 3 laundromats in Key West... No mattresses, sleeping on the floor or on a sofa that smells like fish. Hal is cooking dinner now - most of my friends and neighbors don't have a stove, a fridge, hot water heater... the basics. The appliance stores - Reed, Kohlage, Sears - were swamped as well so no new appliances in town yet. Today is the first day the grocery stores have gotten deliveries. Fresh lettuce never looked so good.

People here are amazing. We haven't hit the wall yet, still more reality to come. But everyone is pitching in and making do. My neighbors are in the street now, talking and laughing at 10pm on Saturday night... The tourists are still coming, they want to be here. The weather has been equally amazing: cool, breezy, sunny. If you have to empty your house onto the lawn, you want this weather. I wore a sweatshirt all day today.

Last night we went down to sunset. We haven't done that in years but figured, hey, we'd pretty much be alone. Will Soto was there and we went right over and plopped down, eager to be entertained. HE is amazing, so so SO funny. We laughed and laughed, saw a gorgeous sunset, had a much needed break from the stress. Highly recommended!

My housekeeper Renata's husband, Greg, is in Iraq. She emailed him pictures of the storm water, the streets lined with debris, the trees without leaves and said "isn't this awful?" He wrote back "It is beautiful. It is green and beautiful. THIS [Baghdad] is awful."

Wilma brought disaster, but she was no Katrina. No Superdome, no gunfire, no attic tragedies, no abandoned pets, no looting. So far it looks like most of us will dry off and continue on. As my friend Gil pointed out while Wilma was passing his beach house in Rhode Island delaying his return to his Key West home which suffered quite a bit of damage: "All god's children done got troubles." In a few weeks, we will have a handle on Wilma's wake, the surprises will stop - that will be welcome. For now, it seems we are damp but not drowned. Write back, send love and prayers.

Sally
Sally O'Boyle in sunny Key West!

Wilma's Wake Update

The next morning...

Driving to Waterworld...

Good morning!

We are headed home, 7am and 40degrees here in north Florida. FREEZING. Found out late yesterday that our house did flood so we have to race home and dry out before the mold sets in. Thank God it's cold! Our CBS house is waaaaay out in newtown behind Publix: a perfect shot for the water coming over N Roosevelt out of the bay! My friend Dave walked thru and said it looks like about 4" washed thru, there's still 1/2" of water in my bedroom.... YUCK.

Our house is 4' off the ground, 2'-3' higher than our neighbors so they must be devastated, the whole street. Our pool is a swamp. Nice. Other parts of town - the beach neighborhood, Laird, Rose, Johnson - those guys are LOW. My friends in old town seem to have escaped... no flooding on Grinnell by the cemetery, none on Center Street by Truman. No water in a house by Ambrosia at Packer and Virginia. But that's all I've heard about.

Fantasy Fest is officially postponed. For up to the minute info, go to www.keysnews.com - their front page is a good source of accurate info. And some good photos - see the story on "new town flooded". Great picture of the Sears parking lot under water in a big way! In 30 years, we've never seen water come over the boulevard... my conch friends say they've never seen anything like this their whole lives.

On a positive note (sorry to be such a Pollyanna), this is our 100 year flood. Statistically, we should be flood-free for the next 100, right? Hal is mumbling something contrary, but I shall ignore him. He can write him own newsletter.

So on the road... taking a new generator (the old one is flooded and probably doesn't work) and a new wet/dry vac. We are lucky to be going home to this, knowing pretty much what to expect in our home, instead of waking up to it. Or being up all night suffering the wind and watching as the water rose after the storm. THAT would be nightmare. At least we are well rested... Pray for my neighbors. Many of them will need a lot of help.

Maybe we'll buy some extra blow-up beds.... We are all going to need sleep.

I'm sure this ruined all Hal's ugly shoes. What a relief! Apparently his golf clubs are fine. We will keep in touch - please do the same. More soon -

Sally
...soon to be in sunny Key West!

P.S. It's hard to reach people there. I've made contact with some land lines, some are out of service, some cell phones are working (for once, Cingular seems to be working when Nextel is not... there's news). Email is good if there's a generator around. Keep trying!

Wilma's Wake

Newsletter written just after Hurricane Wilma landed...

You've got good news and bad news...

Wilma blew into town right after we blew out so we missed the excitement. Now we are missing 24-48 hours of no electricity and water up to our eyeballs. Wish I were there. I've spoken to a few friends. The flooding is deep and far inland, more than we've seen in 30 years.

And that's the bad news. Jason and Susie who live across from the high school said the water is 2" deep in their house, almost waist high at the door. My friend, John Wells on Seminary Street one block on the new town side of White Street and 3 blocks toward Truman from Flagler, says it came 1/2" from his doorway. His house is about 4' off the street - that's deep. That's inland. The water is now slowly receding.

Harriet Street is flooded, canoe ready right now - that's smack dab in the middle of the island. My friends there did not get water in the house but darn near. Sonny at 19th and Eagle didn't get water in the house, but there is 2' in the middle of the street right now. Joni slept in her 3rd floor attic apartment on Grinnell right near the cemetery... cozy all night, lost the top off a tree in the backyard, but otherwise all good.

The storm itself was not bad. Most everyone I've spoken with said they slept thru it, Key West to Naples. Penny is in Miami, as is Vanessa. It was windy but no damage and no flooding there yet -the west side of Wilma just passed over.

Uncle Brian is in Naples with his mom and their condo is so hardy they can't hear anything inside! They all slept like babies. Wilma was there, came and went, between 7am and 9am. UB is headed home tomorrow to empty out our fridge!!! We'll be home Wednesday night or Thursday.

The good news? Dave, who sells cars, will be very busy the next few days.... And Fantasy Fest is a go... there will be a party atmosphere this weekend! I'll keep you posted. Key Westers are a strong bunch. Get up, dry off, sweep out and get on with it. I am anxious to get home and help out..

See you at the parade. I'll be selling beer at Duval and Front for Rotary. Stop by and swill a few, enjoy the beautiful weather we are so famous for. Take care, stay dry. Life is good.

Sally
...in soon to be sunny Key West!

The Truth About Rita

Newsletter written the morning after Hurricane Rita slid by...

Lovely Rita skims Key West

So many of you called and emailed worried for our safety, for your property, asking were we ok. My mother in law was beside herself due to the media coverage. We told her to turn off the TV. The power was out for 8 hours, but the breeze was cool and the generator kept the fridge cold. Of course, we had to eat the ice cream immediately because this was, after all, an emergency. You can't waste perfectly good ice cream. What if the generator failed???

Key West is good, despite the newscasts. This morning on TV I saw that ice, water and canned goods were being helicoptered in to aid in the rescue and recovery effort. Huh? I think Albertson's, one of the big grocery stores, is open...

Here's the truth about Rita: it was a nothing storm. It was windy, not particularly rainy. A few limbs blew down, lots of leaves blew down, a couple of actual trees at the Golf Club (and I know a few owners who welcome this event). There was some flooding at Laird and White Street, in that beach neighborhood between White and George near Atlantic Blvd. Some of those yards flood in a heavy rain. Otherwise, nada.

The media needs to take a chill pill BIG TIME. They are whacked, nuts, completely over the top. They need to save the hysteria for Galveston. The newscasters were so clearly devastated when Rita didn't even make hurricane 1 status before waaaay late in the game. One 'caster was on Duval Street yesterday and exclaimed (yes, exclaimed): "LOOK. A puddle!!! This puddle was not here a minute ago! It starts here [he puts his foot by the curb, water coming to about 1" up his shoe] to HERE [sweeping motion about 2 feet into the street]." We were all rolling on the floor at that one!

It is rare that a hurricane claims the life of someone who has acted or been taken care of responsibly. If we thought our lives were in danger, we would leave. Most hurricane victims drown and there's just not enough water surrounding the island to create a catastrophic flood! Katrina didn't provide the water that devastated New Orleans - Lake Ponchetrain did. In a Cat 4 or 5, our roof may blow off and, if that hurricane is a rainy one, all our stuff would be wet and ruined. There are worse things that can happen frankly.

Key West would not be subject to the looting and violence that big cities have experienced. We are a small town, a community of neighbors who take pride in their city. My opinion, but I've lived here over 25 years. I'll stick by that.

Is riding out a hurricane risky? Yes, minimally. I'm as likely to die in a hurricane as to be killed in a terrorist attack. I'm thousands of times MORE likely to be hit by a car as a pedestrian. Hundreds of times more likely to drown in a bucket. Thirty times more likely to be stung to death by insects. OK, I'll stop now... that's too icky. So we could stop walking, throw away all our buckets and avoid bushes and anthills. I can certainly live thru a windy day in exchange for living in such a spot as this!

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Katrina victims and with those in TX awaiting Voluptuous Rita's visit... I promise more cheery topics next time!! Till then, stay dry, stay safe, stay away from anthills!

Sally
Sally O'Boyle Realty in once again sunny Key West!

A Mighty Wind

Newsletter written during Hurricane Dennis...

Dennis who?

The wind, she's a blowing! Dennis is down to Category 2 and is sliding right by us. The wind is pretty unbelievable, whipping past the windows. We have our shutters down with the windows cracked to let in air, lost electricity about 9:30 or so last night. Trying to write this before the battery on my computer quits! The boys (Hal, Mo, Ryan and Uncle Brian) and Aunt Peg played poker by candlelight till about midnight. I was up till about 2am when I knew for certain Dennis would miss us. Bless the mountains of Cuba, knocks all the wind out of a 'cane. Well, most of it.

The wind from this Cat 2 is pretty macho. Don't know if I could drive my Honda CRV in it and if a coconut hit me, I'd be a goner. But no trees uprooted, only one planter knocked over. So we are good, a little sticky, waiting for Uncle Brian to get up, plug in the generator and MAKE THE COFFEE!!!

We have a huge covered back patio and we left everything as is out there, it's so protected. So we have a nice outside sitting area, overlooking the pool with the lawn chairs floating in it... that's pretty comical. Katha, the Chicken Lady, gave us two chickens about a month ago... they survived just fine in the backyard in their cage. Busy pecking even now, not crowing. A baby rooster learning to crow is pretty cute. That's all the news. I just heard a neighbor's generator go off... maybe it will wake up UB!!!

See you all. Stay safe, keep in touch!
Sally
...in usually sunny Key West!