Bob Kessler
New member
Early on afternoon Sunday, April 15, 2007, I had a client at my studio. It was raining heavily. After the conclusion of the session I drove my client back to the train, checked all of the places I usually do that warn me about high water, saw that all was well and returned home by 5pm. I made a sandwich and turned on the Yankees game. I checked the weather and local “flood” signs every 15 minutes or so. At about 6:30 a flash flood inundated my neighborhood. I ran down to my basement studio and in three trips managed to save my G5, my client drives and my personal drives, and a few microphones. The power was still on, and the brutally cold water was rushing in so fast and was getting so high that any more trips would be dangerous. I have since found out that they opened the flood gates at the dam as the dam itself was in danger of collapse.
At about 7:30 I was evacuated from my home by a front-loader and spent the night in a shelter. I managed to get a call through to my wife who, with my daughters, was spending the weekend at her parent’s home outside of Atlantic City, and then I spent a sleepless night on a very uncomfortable cot.
I finally got back to my home about 2pm on Monday and my neighborhood looked like a miniature version of New Orleans after Katrina. There was about three feet of water remaining in my basement. My wife and daughters finally arrived to what remained of our home about 3pm on Tuesday, having remained in New Jersey until the declared state of emergency was rescinded Tuesday morning and the highways re-opened.
I must say right here that the Police, Fire Department, gas & electric companies and the Red Cross did an amazing job looking out for the safety and comfort of everyone evacuated from my neighborhood, and since my return home they have all been constantly knocking on doors asking about our welfare, helping to arrange clean-up, doing inspections, repairing boilers, re-connecting electricity, etc. Many of these people have been working 20-hour days since Sunday.
I have spent yesterday and today watching my entire life disappear into a dumpster. The studio, about $50k worth of gear, etc., is a complete loss, along with my book, CD and vinyl record collections and many family items that were also stored in the basement and garage, not to mention years of memorabilia from touring and studio work. Of course, all of my insurance companies are claiming that they are not responsible for the loss - Business insurance won’t cover a natural disaster, flood insurance covers the structures only, home-owners has nothing to do with flooding – you get the picture. I’ll be spending a lot of time straightening that out.
So I need all of the paying work I can get. I am sending out an appeal to anyone in the NY Tri-State area who may have any freelance audio work of any kind. I have a family, bills to pay and a business to rebuild. Any leads or actual work would be gratefully appreciated.
At about 7:30 I was evacuated from my home by a front-loader and spent the night in a shelter. I managed to get a call through to my wife who, with my daughters, was spending the weekend at her parent’s home outside of Atlantic City, and then I spent a sleepless night on a very uncomfortable cot.
I finally got back to my home about 2pm on Monday and my neighborhood looked like a miniature version of New Orleans after Katrina. There was about three feet of water remaining in my basement. My wife and daughters finally arrived to what remained of our home about 3pm on Tuesday, having remained in New Jersey until the declared state of emergency was rescinded Tuesday morning and the highways re-opened.
I must say right here that the Police, Fire Department, gas & electric companies and the Red Cross did an amazing job looking out for the safety and comfort of everyone evacuated from my neighborhood, and since my return home they have all been constantly knocking on doors asking about our welfare, helping to arrange clean-up, doing inspections, repairing boilers, re-connecting electricity, etc. Many of these people have been working 20-hour days since Sunday.
I have spent yesterday and today watching my entire life disappear into a dumpster. The studio, about $50k worth of gear, etc., is a complete loss, along with my book, CD and vinyl record collections and many family items that were also stored in the basement and garage, not to mention years of memorabilia from touring and studio work. Of course, all of my insurance companies are claiming that they are not responsible for the loss - Business insurance won’t cover a natural disaster, flood insurance covers the structures only, home-owners has nothing to do with flooding – you get the picture. I’ll be spending a lot of time straightening that out.
So I need all of the paying work I can get. I am sending out an appeal to anyone in the NY Tri-State area who may have any freelance audio work of any kind. I have a family, bills to pay and a business to rebuild. Any leads or actual work would be gratefully appreciated.
