The house we bought just outside of town was in poor shape and not repairable. The building department explained that because there were two residences on the property, we would have to tear them both down as only one residence was allowed by current code. We were living in the smaller cottage so we started on the main house. Thom is a restoration carpenter, and so we began in early 2012, taking the old place apart, shoring it up, saving what we could. Thom had it framed and under roof by June. I went outside early one day - it felt like I had opened the oven door. It was in the high 80s at 6am. Then the rain came. And the wind. The wind increased all day and continued after dark.
The Spanish word derecho means right but it also means straight. The storm we experienced that night was a straight-line storm (as opposed to a tornado, also deriving from Spanish words for thunderstorm and twist). We heard a loud, sharp crack and immediately one of the cats started crying. I went to check on her – in the dark, I couldn’t see anything, including the skeletal frame of our forthcoming house. As it turned out, the cat was fine but the house had pancaked – just a flattened metal roof covering a pile of building timber. We wept, we mourned, we berated ourselves. Then we cleaned it up and began again.
We went with brick. It’s an odd house, full of old parts that we had taken out of the original building. It's beautiful and quirky. And then we renovated the cottage – the building department gave us a reprieve after the storm and let us have our two residences.
Thom found out what he's capable of and so did I. It wouldn’t have happened without the help of Bobby Spinner, Billy Coles and Dennis Holland. These three black men, especially Billy, bore the weight of the job – we would not have been able to do it without them. The house reminds us, always and in all ways, of the friendship, camaraderie, teamwork and grit it took, and that we found in ourselves and each other - a brick and mortar testament to continuity, hope, and survival. We call this place we live in No Plan Land.
Doris McCabe was born just outside New York City. She lived in California after college and then in New York’s rural Hudson Valley until moving to Bedford in 2011. Country comforts and discomforts, horses, animals, good books, and tai chi are the constants that have sustained her through life.
Bedford Get Together, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) private, non-profit organization devoted to creating opportunities for all current and future community members to enhance their awareness, open mindedness, and respect. The organization operates with the support of volunteers, donors, and community partners.
The Spanish word derecho means right but it also means straight. The storm we experienced that night was a straight-line storm (as opposed to a tornado, also deriving from Spanish words for thunderstorm and twist). We heard a loud, sharp crack and immediately one of the cats started crying. I went to check on her – in the dark, I couldn’t see anything, including the skeletal frame of our forthcoming house. As it turned out, the cat was fine but the house had pancaked – just a flattened metal roof covering a pile of building timber. We wept, we mourned, we berated ourselves. Then we cleaned it up and began again.
We went with brick. It’s an odd house, full of old parts that we had taken out of the original building. It's beautiful and quirky. And then we renovated the cottage – the building department gave us a reprieve after the storm and let us have our two residences.
Thom found out what he's capable of and so did I. It wouldn’t have happened without the help of Bobby Spinner, Billy Coles and Dennis Holland. These three black men, especially Billy, bore the weight of the job – we would not have been able to do it without them. The house reminds us, always and in all ways, of the friendship, camaraderie, teamwork and grit it took, and that we found in ourselves and each other - a brick and mortar testament to continuity, hope, and survival. We call this place we live in No Plan Land.
Doris McCabe was born just outside New York City. She lived in California after college and then in New York’s rural Hudson Valley until moving to Bedford in 2011. Country comforts and discomforts, horses, animals, good books, and tai chi are the constants that have sustained her through life.
Bedford Get Together, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) private, non-profit organization devoted to creating opportunities for all current and future community members to enhance their awareness, open mindedness, and respect. The organization operates with the support of volunteers, donors, and community partners.