Friends, has this ever happened to you?

I started hearing a thumping noise last night. Didn’t think much of it. Probably just a piece of loose soffit. It’s come undone before about 10 years ago and if I recall correctly, took about 10 minutes for the handyman who had a long ladder to pin back up. Except for the nasty, anonymous note one of my neighbors put up, demanding that I “fix it immediately, some of us like to sleep!”, it was no biggy. The damage to the house was minor. The damage to my relationship to this neighbor was irreparable. I know who left the note and did not offer to help me fix it. But I digress.

The sound got more insistent this morning when I woke up. “Oooo, that sounds expensive”, thought I. But my imagination is always much worse than I think. So, I fired up the coffee pot, jumped into my clogs and checked it out.

This is what I found:

Needless to say, my imagination completely did not keep up this time around. Not only is the siding gone, so is the vapor barrier. I can almost hear the heat escaping from the house singing, “I’m free! I’m, free!”. If only that we’re true. Sadly, PSEG does not discount the natural gas for “The wind ate my siding” excuses.

In the annals of unemployment during the worst recession/depression since the 1930’s, this is one of those unexpected expenses that people like me dread. Insurance will probably cover this, but I have a hefty deductible and the bit of padding I built into the reserve fund has just taken a big hit.

It goes without saying that politicians are out of touch.