May 13 – “Oh my”

I met another roof inspector at the church yesterday for what I assumed would be another hour-long inspection.  After the big hail storm ma few weeks ago, the insurance company is in high gear to get everything taken care of.  Believe that?  Yeah, I’m not so sure I do either.  They already sent one guy out, but I guess they didn’t like his recommendations.  Or maybe they are just requiring a second opinion.  Do inspectors have a bidding process?  Just seems strange to me.

This one was different from the last in a few ways.  Started out with the appointment time.  We set it up for 8:30.  I received a call from the inspector at 8 wondering where I was.  I told him he was early, so he checked his schedule book and finally agreed with me.  I assured him I would be there in ten or fifteen minutes.  He said, “Oh, don’t hurry.  It’s still early.”  Funny guy. 

This time there were three of them.  One introduced himself as the inspector.  A second, who arrived much closer to nine, proudly declared himself to be an engineer.  He wore one of those headset pieces so he could dictate his notes to the hidden secretary he carried in his pocket.  Not sure but I think her name was Siri.  The third didn’t say much other than, “I’m with them.”  I finally figured he must be an assistant to the engineer.  He carried the ladder around.

I showed them around to the spots we saw leaking the day after the storm, opened all the doors they needed opened, and excused myself.  I went on upstairs to sit around with our Arlington buddies and wait for the crew to complete their task.  Little did I know that they wouldn’t leave until after 11.  I have no idea what they found or why it took so long.  They are supposed to send us the results. 

I did enjoy the time with Mona and David and their family.  Mona desperately wanted to find a metal detector to do some serious treasure hunting while they were here.  She was convinced that there had to be residue left in the sand from Hurricane Ike, just waiting for her to uncover it.  She couldn’t find a metal detector, but they still wanted to do some beach combing.  Chris had told them about the Kemp-Ridley sea turtle egg-laying, so they went sea turtle egg hunting on the beach the night before.  Sadly … no results.  That afternoon, armed with new information, I texted them with an all-new recommendation/warning for their tourist extravaganza.  It involved a slightly different type of “treasure” they could add to their list.  I didn’t want them to be too concerned if there was a lot of extra traffic around.  Seems a dead body had just washed up on shore not too far from the church.  I did get a response from Mona.  “Oh my.” 

Hebrews 12:28-29 says, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’”

Father watch over the family of the man who drowned.  Grant peace as well to the ones who discovered the body and the first responders who dealt with the situation.  Amen.