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Our little mud hut in the middle of nowhere has the value of about 1/1000th of my children and my better three/quarters. So, the OROGs know that it is quite an important fixture in my life and in the patrimony of the family. So, last night, we noted on the long-distance radar out of Brownsville (yes - it barely reaches to that point where the Quinta rests in front of the Sierra Madre) that moderately heavy to very heavy rains had continued to fall there for almost twenty-four hours. The estimate of total rainfall seems to be in the neighbourhood of 10 - 12 inches. We shall know more about the specific amount later.
In any regard, two of the beams that support the roof/ceiling in the parlour seem to have been burned, where they are exposed to the exterior of the rear of the house, due to a bit of "climbing lightning" as it is said in the area. That is lightning that hits a tree and then leaps to the lip of a house. The two beams will need to be reworked and reinforced with lengths of 2 X 10s of equivalent value....about three feet for each....and bolted onto the "good parts" that remain in the interior of the house. It is a pain in the neck, but the result is essentially an even stronger than strong support for the roof and ceiling. It is even more important because the area where the beams join the east wall is also adjacent to the chimney. It is mandatory to maintain absolute stability there.
We have no real structural damage, just the injury that causes a geezer the same kind of anguish as when his child falls off his bicycle and breaks his fingers in a hideous fashion....or when his daughter is lying in bed with a burning fever from the Dengue...and having no way to pass the suffering from her to me.
Anyway, there we are. We have had to defer from making observations about the political and cultural situation due to this moderately important emergency. We appreciate your indulgence.
El Gringo Viejo
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