Two Years Ago Tonight...

At 9:49 PM CST...

DUDE! Strange trip.

So You Like Disaster Movies?

Many folks have gone to check out my little video clip taken the night our apartment was destroyed. So far, everyone has enjoyed the humorous take on things all while appreciating the true horror of the moment and I think that was what I had in mind. I fully expect that someone will find this and get pissed at me for making light of the situation but here are a few things to consider.

1. For me I had no idea how severe it all was until later that evening (well into the morning). I was on the second floor and I really didn't know the full extent of the emergency. When the Red Cross was there I kind of knew it was "a disaster", but it wasn't until the next morning when we REALLY knew what had happened. Something about phone calls from friends and relatives watching our apartment on CNN and The Weather Channel tipped us off.
2. Surprisingly, even with the storm destroying the building as it did, the lights and electricity did not go off. Not even a flicker in my apartment. The phones even worked perfectly. Generally I always believed that if a building is wiped out completely, the electricity wouldn't be functioning normally. How was I to know how bad it all was?
3. I didn't even see news footage or photos of the full disaster until well into the next day. In fact it was the following night before I'd seen any of the coverage on TV.

So you can see if you add that to the fact that, ultimately, nobody was severely hurt, I am more than capable (if not well within my rights) to make lemonade out of shit-load of lemons.

Speaking of news footage, I do not have any newspaper articles from the disaster. I also never went back and took any photos of the aftermath. If anyone from Carol Stream has such things I'd welcome a scan or two.

Until then, here are some of the still-existing links to various news sources from that fateful night for you to better appreciates the fun we all enjoyed.

From CBS 2 news Chicago, a video of the story (let the stupid Maui ad play first) and a great little slide show that better illustrates the disaster. One photo prominently features our balcony.


A local Chicago paper not only reported on the storm (much better than I did I might add), but also provided a weather map detailing the storm activity from 9:49PM through 9:55 PM. If I can manage to get the link right I may be able to share that WeatherUnderground.com map here.

Ah YES! Here it is!

The Chicago ABC station (Channel 7) has this excellent story with a MUCH BETTER video from the big day. Their slide show truly captures some devastation well. Be sure to look at how the building looks more like a doll house than an actual apartment. Funny how a chunk of roof makes a house a home.

Here are stories from the Daily Herald and The Beacon News. No photos or videos for you.

There may be more out there online. For now, I hope you enjoy these clips and images. They're nowhere near as funny as my video is. ;)

OH YEAH!
The New PODCRAPULAR is up and running!
Go listen!

"What Brings You to Vegas?"

So you wanna know what made me pull up stakes and head for Las Vegas? Well if you don't already know the story, or even if you do, you may enjoy my somewhat comical take on the storm that destroyed my home in Carol Stream, Illinois.

This is the footage I shot right after the storm hit our building. I find it funny that I never went back and took any photos or videos in the daylight and captured the aftermath.

Just looking at this video you'd never expect that the entire building was ruined by Mother Nature. I didn't even see just how bad it was until I saw footage on CNN late that night.

Bear in mind, I am making fun of the fact that I was a total moron for staying in the building for as long as I did just so I could capture the moment on videotape. Had anyone been severely injured or killed in that disaster I wouldn't make light of the situation at all.

The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowin' In the Wind

Let's take a stroll down memory lane as well as listening to some new stories for you.


Not too long ago I told you a rather amusing story about a booking I had in Illinois that was temporarily postponed by a tornado. Click HERE if you don't believe me.


What made this story so funny was how chronologically close this freak occurrence happened to my home being destroyed by a microburst (a straight-line, tornado-force wind). Once again, a LINK for your amusement.


I've lived in the Midwest all of my life until recently. I'm no stranger to tornadoes and other strong winds & storms. In fact, I have had my show interrupted by a tornado twice in my lifetime.


The first time happened in Benton, Illinois around 1995. I was on the road with a small traveling circus and having a rather awful string of bad luck. The trip started with my car dying and didn't improve much from there. I recall at least three vehicular breakdowns on that trip.


There has always been discussion around my family of a "Martello Curse". See, some time ago one of my family members did something dreadful like feeding a neighbor his own cat for dinner or something like that and apparently, in the Italian immigrant community, that is a curse-worthy offense. What is it with Martellos and cats anyway?


I have never given much credence to such things as curses. I would choose to use it as a convenient excuse for bad things happening. Sometimes you just need an explanation, ya know?


Since I didn't believe much in curses I would also upon occasion just take the more sensible approach to adverse things landing on my life. I just assumed that God hated me. Hell, I don't much believe in God so why not lump Him in with my convenient excuses for all the shit, right?



On the day in Benton my car broke down again on the way to the gig. While talking on the phone to my God-fearing girlfriend at the time I'd mentioned the curse and how I was certain that God hated me. This sparked a rather unnecessary heated discussion about how I can't think that way and so on.


Later that day I managed to get to the show on time and set up for a big day of merry-making and more importantly, money-making in the form of balloon sales during intermission. I made lot of gas - car repair money on the show from the balloon sales. The day promised to be PACKED with circus-goers and indeed we had a HUGE crowd. My plate-spinning act was the last act before intermission.


I was getting the audience whipped into a frenzy. That act never fails to get them going if done properly. I was breaking plates to add to the suspense, nearing the conclusion of the act and then breaking a few more - it was one of the best performances I'd ever given. A wild crowd right before intermission almost guarantees big dollars.


I had just finished spinning the 6th of 10 plates when some stranger stormed into the circus ring and grabbed the microphone. It wasn't a freak circus fan or an Andy Martello stalker. It was the town's Fire Marshall. Apparently there was a tornado sighting 8 miles out of town and he insisted on ending the show IMMEDIATELY!


"Sorry folks, the show has to stop. There was a tornado sighting and you all must get in your cars and go home right now!"


My act was cancelled by a tornado. My intermission money was never made and the crowd left in a most unorganized hurry.

He went on a few more times, presumably to increase the panic, if not just create some for no good reason. The funny thing was, we were in a high school gymnasium. We were actually in one of the safest places in the whole damn town and he sent some 450 people outside into their cars to drive in the storm. That gymnasium was actually the town's storm and bomb shelter and he felt it necessary to put people in harm's way.

Later that night I joked with my God-fearing girlfriend that it would be difficult to argue with me when I say God hated me. After all, if He sent a tornado to put an end to my act and my earning potential, that has to carry some validity.

Sound like too much to believe - this odd series of "coincidences" regarding tornadoes and storms? Is this just another "Number 32" kind of thing for old Andy? Well, if you've come this far you may as well hear the rest of the story.



Here is a clip from a local Marengo, Illinois newspaper (Presumably the Beacon News or the Republican, later merged into the Beacon-Republican and then completely dismantled altogether.). This was about 1979-1980 and I was in the 5th grade. We were all given a writing assignment about things we're afraid of and why. At the time we thought it was for a classroom grade. Instead it was for a feature piece the paper wanted to do a on childhood fears. Those who told the best stories of fears ended up being interviewed & photographed I'll just let the picture and caption speak for itself.


I remembered this when the microburst happened and had hoped I could get my mother to send me a scan of the story.


I still am not convinced of the existence of God or the power of curses, but I can certainly say that some things just happen to certain people for a reason. Until I truly get to enjoy my new life in Vegas I am being hesitant to call my storm "The Curse-Breaker". However I can be a bit taken aback by the continuing presence of things like the number 32 and freak storms in my life.

Some Disaster Stats

The entire storm, the one that destroyed my apartment building, took all of five seconds from start to finish.

Nine other buildings in my apartment complex were affected by the storm. Damage included broken windows and doors, chunks of roof being torn apart, collapsed ceilings, water damage, multiple downed trees, and loads of debris everywhere.

One building had the bracing that held the roof in place completely torn off, causing the roof to temporarily removed. The storm had been diffused enough from its impact with my building that it didn't have the strength to completely remove the roof. It was lifted off for a brief second and then landed right back onto the building.

11 people were injured, but nobody was seriously injured nor killed.

A wall of the Wheaton Christain Center, directly across from my window, was blown out, downing electrical transformers and causing a fire.

Pieces of the roof of my building were found on cars and in parking lots as far away as 1/4 of a mile from my home.

The apartments on either side of mine and below mine suffered water damage. Mine didn't have a single drop.

Our cat survived unharmed, but we did lose two goldfish, a snail, and our Dwarf African Clawed Frog.

We Are So Fortunate

I promise to put up a better update later today. Still very tired.

However, the majority of the most stressful things we have to endure are pretty much over. There are still many things we need to do and it could be months before we're back to "normal".

We did manage to get most of our belongings out of the house and to add to the list of ways we have been extremely lucky...not a damn thing was destroyed. No water damage at all. Let me put this in perspective for you. The apartments in every direction of our place did suffer water damage and our didn't at all. The glass from one photo frame was broken. Everything else was for all intents and purposes, as I left it when I evacuated the building.

We've been approved for a new apartment complex and we now have 45 days to either accept or reject the potential apartment. It is entirely possible that we may relocate out of state altogether. More on that later.

I've been getting quite a few inquiries for bookings which couldn't come at a better time. One of them, which I can't talk about for a variety of reasons could have me working for MONTHS. Those months would be away from home and across the country, but they also would provide some much needed security and cash to pay for a lot of things.

There are other things to talk about but not now. This isn't about the things we're getting. We're fortunate because of the things we're not getting.

We're not getting hospital bills because nobody was injured in this horrible mess.
We're not stranded with no place to go and nowhere to live, thanks to the generosity of my sister-in-law and countless friends and family members.
We're not devastated by an awful feeling of loss due to the destruction of our "stuff".

All told, the karma things that I'll talk about more along the way are all amazing and may actually be leading us to a conclusion that losing our home is the best thing that could have happened to us.

More importantly, the fact that the entire roof of our building was torn off in a matter of seconds, solid chunks of drywall, glass & debris flew around an at people everywhere, worlds were permanently altered...and nobody was seriously injured and nobody was killed is the most important thing to talk about here.

I can talk about the reasons why April & I are fortunate all day in regard to this dilemma. However, that should come later. Right now I am amazed to feel as though a genuine miracle happened. 150 mile per hour winds devastated 9 buildings and destroyed one completely and everyone, EVERYONE walked away from this tragedy. Some lost everything in the manner of security and property, but nobody lost lives. Those would have lost everything indeed.

A Lot to Report

But I'm far too exhausted. Far too much to do still.

The news is good overall. Our belongings are 75% out of the house and all safe. No real damage thus far.

Much more to tell, but I simply can't muster the energy to type right now. I'll try to get more info later.

Just know, we're continuing to be very lucky, which bodes well for anyone heading to Las Vegas on Saturday. :)

Please...

A lot of wind today. Some rain came through as well. But still, we're on schedule to get as much stuff out of our apartment as we can in TWO HOURS.

Of course, the temperature is now dropping, the wind is picking up, and we're told that some rain and possibly snow is in the forecast for Wednesday. S-N-O-W. Snow is bad. Snow can accumulate. Snow can weigh heavily on the tarps and temporary structures acting as a roof. Snow can MELT when it is all done.

We'll know around 11 AM what, if anything, has survived since Sunday at 3 PM, the last time I was allowed into the building I called my home for around 5 years. We've got friends on the way, trucks rented, and boxes ready to be hastily packed. We have a storage unit ready to be filled and with a little more luck, something we've been modestly blessed with through all this, we'll fill that thing with damn near everything we own.

We're allowed to make repeat trips in the future. We've been told to take our vacation. The building will still be there when we return and they won't start renovating until we're completely out. That being said, everything can change in an instant and we've proven that many times this past few days.

Please...just a little more good news to report? We've been extremely fortunate and it is selfish to ask for more. But please...just a little more good fortune to help this transition? Please?

When we get to exhale, I plan on sleeping for a month, crying for a week, and complaining a whole lot less.

Thanks so much for all the wonderful supportive e-mails, blog posts, and and comments. I know I've asked many times, but keep on with the good thoughts for us. We're much better off than most who have endured this, but we're not in the clear by a long shot. Please?

Went Back to the Old Apartment...

We were hoping we would be allowed inside our apartment again today to retrieve more of our belongings, assuming nothing has been damaged since yesterday. Unfortunately nobody was being allowed in at all today, both for safety reasons and because the weather was so nice and sunny, they wanted to give the workers all available unfettered space to make repairs or at least strive to get tarps and braces up in the hopes of preventing more damage from...you guessed it - more rain.

This was the first time April got to see the damage to the building herself. Basically it was kind of my first time as well since the sky was not all to clear yesterday and the sky was pitch black the other night, save the exploding electrical transformers, the fire in the church next door, and all of the emergency vehicles.

April described the devastation of the third floor apartments, sans roof, as if she were looking at cubicles on top of a building. No roof, wide open spaces, square pseudo-buildings. She was a bit freaked to see it all, as anyone would expect.

Later when we stopped off at a store before she had to work (she's missed not a single minute of work since this happened...she deserves a damned raise!), she suddenly came out to find me and tell me how happy she was I didn't get hurt. She was happy before, but seeing the roof completely torn from the building and all of the other carnage among the complex made it considerably more "real" to her. She was a bit depressed all day.

We both have had a few moments of sadness, mostly brought upon by the sadness of the others around us. That, and the fact that when it is YOU who is talking to the Red Cross and being given comfort & aid ( and a nice little prepaid debit card for food purchases ), you realize that it is YOU who is the victim of a natural disaster and not someone else. Bear in mind, at least in our specific case, I consider this to be a "white collar disaster". While many have been displaced and inconvenienced, even traumatized, most are safe and unharmed. In our case, we are extremely lucky in most every way and that makes our disaster not hold a candle to that of the people above us in the building and nothing quite like any of the folks who suffered through, and continue to suffer in New Orleans.

I took care of as much as I could today. We've got a strong lead on an apartment and will be dropping off the application tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.

I've done some work to secure a storage space, tried to get our mail, and other necessary errands.

At one point we were told we'd be able to get in the apartment for another 15-minute visit today. Then, a few hours later I was told that we could not get in until Wednesday. They started filling up slots like appointments with a doctor or a hairdresser and simply booked up Tuesday. Ah well.

The good news is when we get to go in on Wednesday morning, assuming all goes well and doesn't change, we will be allowed up to two hours to gather as much as we can. This made April cry with happiness because she simply wants to know most of our things are secure if we are actually heading out of town this weekend.

We are also able to bring as many people as possible to help us. So we are of the opinion that we could get nearly everything out and stored if we have enough people. That is, of course if anything is still there and nothing changes between now and then.

The better news is that we were told that the building will not be demolished and there will be no "one day only, get yer shit and leave" kind of event. So we can schedule other times to retrieve whatever we can't move in two hours. We were also told that whatever is left will be somewhat secure an certainly there for us whenever we can get it all.

The best news, depending upon your perspective, is that we will very likely be getting to take the vacation and have our stuff waiting for us when we return. The building managers, some of the Red Cross people, event a few maintenance people insisted that, if nothing "worse" happens, everything will be safe and there for us. We were also reminded of things we already knew like...at least if we go to Vegas on a vacation we already paid for, KNOW there will be at least 6 days where we have a place to stay. :)

There are still lots of "ifs" and many things that need to go well for us to be the luckiest damn people around. But in all honesty, right now we already know that there are MANY from our building who are worse off that we are. Given all that has happened and how well April and I have fared, right now, the only way we could be any more fortunate is if it never happened at all. All this can change at any moment. The rain is starting to fall again as I finish this all too long post. Many families have many more needs than we do. I still don't know if my computer, clothing, cigars, & papers are soaked with water. For all I know a raccoon has been crapping on my pillow for two days.

No matter, this is a fairly positive report I'd say. Thanks all for the support and please keep on the watch as I may be calling upon you yet. In any event, I can't say "thanks" enough.

We're Homeless

It looks like nobody will be allowed to return to living at our apartment building. I was allowed 15 minutes today to get essentials, rescue the cat, and so on. I'm hopeful that on Monday we'll be allowed additional time to gather additional goods. I have no idea when we'll be expected to able to gather our things, pack and move. Still and all, we're good and everyone has come together nicely to help out.

At the time I retrieved some goods, our apartment did not suffer any water damage. If all goes well it will remain that way by the time we pack and move either this week or after we return from Vegas (assuming we are going).

All told we're fortunate, especially when compared to some of the poor folks on the third floor who were treated to a lovely view of the sky as their roof flew away.

It is still a might difficult not to freak out when it took all of five seconds to lose our home, realize we have no idea what we can keep and what we have to throw away, wonder if we can or should go out of town next week, and taxes are due.

At least we don't have to pay rent for April.

I Know You Won't Believe Me...

...but today of all days, I have to report that my apartment building was hit by a tornado, or more likely, a microburst, last night.

If you turn on CNN or so a search on "microburst, Carol Stream" you'll likely see MY BUILDING. Yes, that is where I live(d).

I'm fine. April's fine. Our cat is presumed fine (and hiding somewhere in the apartment). No injuries.

We're not allowed back into the apartment yet so I don't know what, if any, damage there is. The ceiling of my apartment collapsed though. When I left it looked like a mess, but nothing was damaged. Unfortunately, the roof was torn froom the building and there are reports of water damage due to the rain. As I said, I don't know what the status of my specific apartment is so I can't tell you.

No, we don't have renter's insurance. No we don't have a lot of valuables to replace, unless you count action figures , flame Skechers, and DVDs.

No, we don't know what we're going to do regarding living arrangements, moving (although I suspect we are going to move sooner than planned), or if we are going to still go to Vegas next week. Thinking is, if we're not allowed to even get into our place for a week, we may as well take the trip. It's paid for already and the cash we'd spend out there won't really make a HUGE difference locally.

April just pointed out to me that it could be worse. We could have been in Vegas and heard about this on the news. She's a funny gal.

I'm sure you'll understand if you don't hear from me for a little while.

At the risk of sounding like some kind of victim, there may be a time when I call upon people for "help". If our apartment isn't too messed up, we are considerably better off than most were last night so I doubt I'll be making any heartfelt pleas for aanything other then thoughts and support. Just be ready! Charity begins at home...MY HOME! ;)