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BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: September 28th, 2017, 12:28 pm
by JMerrell
I previously posted in the Community Coaching Forum a concern for bowlingchat member TonyPR.
The PR stands for Puerto Rico.

I received an email from him, he and the family are safe and currently have enough food and water.

He also said they use their vehicles sparingly as gas lines have a 6-8 hour wait!

I am posting this here to make more members aware of Tony's situation.

Please take a moment to add him and his family to your prayers and perhaps submit a positive post for them here in the chat

He is one of the family

Re: BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: September 28th, 2017, 12:51 pm
by stevespo
Tony, we're thinking of you and your family and the 3.5M residents suffering through this horrible disaster. Watching the news we feel pretty powerless, but we can donate, raise awareness, call our politicians and demand action! Stay strong.

Steve

Re: BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: September 28th, 2017, 6:00 pm
by snick
Hey Tony,
Take care, and know that we are thinking of you and praying for your safety.

Re: BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: September 28th, 2017, 7:43 pm
by elgavachon
Glad you were able to access Jim's post and use your only phone call to let us know you had food and water. I hope it lasts. We are all praying for you.

Re: BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: September 28th, 2017, 7:51 pm
by JMerrell
I actually emailed him and thankfully he just got power back and could respond.

Re: BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: September 28th, 2017, 9:08 pm
by EricHartwell
Jim, thanks for the update. While it is still a horrible situation to be in, it is good news that Tony and his family are safe.

Re: BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: September 29th, 2017, 1:31 am
by JimH
That is great news to hear about Tony and his family. He has become an E-friend.

Re: BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: September 30th, 2017, 5:19 am
by TonyPR
Hi guys, I thank you very very much for your prayers and willingness to help. My family and I are doing alright. I have lived through three hurricanes before this one, Hugo, Hortense and Georges so we knew by experience we better plan ahead.

My apartment doesn't have electricity since Irma which barely scraped us so we are staying at my father's house well away from the chaos of the city. We have drinking water, food, a propane generator we turn on for 8 hrs at night, a pool we use as a water tank for showers, toilets and doing dishes and most importantly a roof over our head, friendly neighbors and good health.

Maria hit us really bad, the minor inconveniences I am experiencing of not having running water, electricity or phone/internet (which is slowly coming back with a weak signal) doesn't compare to the real hardship many are experiencing. Many many people lost everything and have no food or water, especially the people who live in the central mountain region.

Supplies sent from the mainland US have been arriving to the island in large quantities but the logistics of delivering them have been a nightmare because of poor road conditions, poor communications and the fact that we are completely depending on diesel not only to run the trucks but also to power everything. We currently have two ARMY generals, FEMA, an aircraft carrier and many military personnel who hopefully will be given the orders to start running the show completely as the local government, as much as they want to haven't been able to do this quickly and efficiently.

I sure miss bowling and had a much needed laugh when I read the other thread in the community coaching about the coconut layouts, you guys get really technical even when talking about beach bowling... hmmm might start a new sport, if volleyball did it why can't bowling... I bet pretty girls in bikinis could help promote it...

Knowing that you guys were concerned about our wellbeing has brought me great joy, thank you very very much for your prayers. I'll stay in touch as much as my internet connection allows.

Re: BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: October 11th, 2017, 5:32 pm
by kajmk
Tony, how are things going for you and yours and all who dwell in Puerto Rico?

Re: BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: October 12th, 2017, 3:40 pm
by LookingForALeftyWall
I have heard an estimate yesterday that 90% of the island is still with out electricity.

I am hoping things are getting better for TonyPR and the rest of the island sooner rather than later!!!

Re: BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: October 12th, 2017, 6:03 pm
by kajmk
LookingForALeftyWall wrote:I have heard an estimate yesterday that 90% of the island is still with out electricity.

I am hoping things are getting better for TonyPR and the rest of the island sooner rather than later!!!
That's in line with what I have read.
A lot of suffering and hardship.

Re: BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: October 15th, 2017, 6:19 am
by TonyPR
Hi guys, my family and I are of the few lucky ones. Many people lost everything. We don't have electricity in our apartment since the first hurricane (Irma) so we have been living at my mom and dads for over a month. My dad lives in a concrete house in a nice development where I grew up and has a 12 kW gas generator and a pool full of water we keep at optimum ph and chlorine levels. We have had running water on an off for a couple of weeks and finally for three days straight. Before that we connected the pools pump to the plumbing and used pool water to shower do the dishes and flush. Food and water have never been an issue as we were well prepared.

Comunications (voice and internet) suck, only less than 15% of the island has electricity, traffic jams are real nasty due to damaged roads and flooding every time a tropical waves arrives (we're still in season). I work as a real estate agent and as an appraisal assistant for my father and work has been slow to say the least. Luckily my wife has a good steady job as an engineer for a big telecommunications company and she can work this job from anywhere in the US.

The worst is yet to come, lots of people are leaving the island, many of them tax paying professionals, tourism is at a halt, many businesses are closing and as a consequence many are losing their jobs and to top it off the island's economy was very bad before the hurricane in the first place. The economic future of this island US Territory doesn't look good at all.

Yet I am thankful as everything is relative, some people lost everything and have to struggle every day to get clean water and other basic needs. I turned 40 September 25, a few days after Maria hit, and I am thankful my family is together and in good health. Don't know how this will all turn out in the long run, don't know if we stay or if we decide to start over somewhere else. All this situation has brought me to evaluate what I want to do from this moment on, anyone need to hire a bronze level coach who knows a bit about real estate jejeje...

Re: BowlingChat member TonyPR

Posted: November 14th, 2017, 4:26 pm
by kajmk
I thought I'd post this for anyone interested



November 13, 2017
ASU professor uses disaster as opportunity for learning, building community

Even before Hurricane Maria descended on his home island of Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, ASU Assistant Professor Manuel G. Avilés-Santiago grew anxious.

“It was rumored that the cellphone towers were put down before the hurricane hit, in an effort to keep them from breaking during the storm,” Avilés-Santiago said. “In any event, I lost contact with my parents the day before Maria arrived.”

https://asunow.asu.edu/20171113-global- ... y-learning" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;