Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria

My biggest fear of what will happen is that a lot of people who owned modest homes and properties on prime locations will be forced into bankruptcy and then have to sell off their lands which will be scooped up by resort and condo developers.

A lot of the poorest Puerto Ricans will end up having to move to the mainland U.S. for jobs and assistance. Resentment will be fomented towards the new arrivals by various racist factions and White Supremacy groups.

The administration and the Repubican-controlled Congress will do nothing.

All I ask is that the people who have to leave Puerto Rico move to swing states--and vote!

Donald Dump

LPG thank you!!

Hey PR, when Rachel was interviewing the mayor of San Juan on Thursday night the coqui were loudly chorusing in the background!

Thanks LPG for just going ahead and doing this. Our conversation continues thanks to you.

R1 I totally agree.

R1, you bring up some very legitimate points (how rare for an r1, maybe you should have waited for a cunty opening remark before posting!).

And then again, you're pretty much describing the post WWII Puerto Rican exodus of the late 1940's.

Anita and Bernardo were not an anomaly.

Unabashed plug for this fund raiser for the Puerto Rican Amazon Parrot captive breeding/restoration project. This parrot is among the most critically endangered parrots in the world. The project in Rio Abajo Forest is under the management of the Puerto Rican Department of Natural Resources. While it is unclear how soon, or how much, funding will be available from the PRDNR to repair the aviaries and stock the supplemental feeding stations for the wild flock (80 survivors are accounted for) they need all the help they can get. If you can help with a donation, no matter how small, thank you.

Thank you R595 from previous thread:

In memoriam. My prayers for you, lovely boricuas.

I am surprised, and disgusted, that it has been private donations that have had the biggest impacts in aiding Puerto Rico. [bold]Since countries are prohibited from reaching Puerto Rico[/bold], only UNICEF would be able, yet UNICEF has not lifted so much as one finger to aid the Caribbean. Actually UNICEF is notorious for ignoring Latin America as a whole. Americans should remember that UNICEF often shows a blatant disregard for certain groups.

Cruz on Trump

[quote]"Good, hard working people from New York, Florida, California, Texas, and many others who embody the fundamental values of compassion, ingenuity and hard work that you are certainly unable to express . . . These volunteers have seen the horror that you continue to want to dismiss."

[quote]Puerto Ricans desperate for water drink from hazardous-waste site:

Oh good, you guys have already found it!

I didn't see PR's suggestions or I would have used them, but this will do anyway.

It's a good, straight to the point title LPG. As you said in the final post at the last thread, maybe we can use PR's suggested titles for continuing threads. I look forward to the one where we are posting in the 'Sunday international vacation party at the beach with PR and his/our friends!' thread. That would/will be great.

Hoping PR didn't get lost somewhere in an ice line. On the other hand, I'm hoping he's finding some juicy traction to keep him distracted from the official Island Relief inaction.

Bumping this so it shows up in my threadwatcher

So now it's three weeks or even a month after the hurricane and the weather has not let us throw a memorial for a friend who drowned. So we decided this Sunday come hell or high water we would do it. It was beautiful all day and of course at 3 o'clock it's started raining nonstop and it has not stopped raining since then.

Still had a chance to snap this one of some of my friends, whom I baptized "The Top 5 in the Miss Hurricane Cinnamon Buns 2017 Pageant." One of them isn't fitness teacher (really, guess who).

Anyway, all good here except the night mosquitoes:

Isn't >>> IS MY

PR, you said your head isn't shaved right? I that you in the string thong? 😂

R10, Thanks! I donated through my job to help the people of Puerto Rico (my company is matching the funds), but I went ahead and made a donation to help the parrots just a few minutes ago.

Thank you so much for your generosity R18! They really need every donation.

PR HOT photo! R17 I could easily see PR as any of these hotties. For no reason whatsoever that I can explain, I see PR in my mind's eye as having a face that looks most like the second guy from the right. But didn't you tell us, PR, that you are your all naturally hairy self? If so that means it would be the guy on the far left.

But PR probably took the photo so all speculation is moot.

PR glad you finally got to get together for your friend's memory. I hope you are able to keep the Sunday beach scene going from now on - one slice of normal life in the middle of all the chaos.

Long live Puerto Rico! I spent the summer there many years ago and loved it. Drove the whole way around the island and went up in the mountain too. I’ve been back a couple of times to San Juan for a day or two. Hope to return one day.

Rachel reports that 17% of the island has power tonight. This is inexcusable. Its 27 days after the hurricane. That’s basically a month. 17%.

I’m outraged about this, but I literally have lost track of all the things I’m outraged about with this President.

Cute friends PR, beautiful smiles.

Yes, I'm not in the picture. The umbrella is mine, though!

R18, that's very nice of you. A toast to you!

String thong guy is a very dear friend. Was raised baptist/closeted and one day said enough, and went the other extreme.

He's totally unabashed and has published pictures of himself in YouTube tanning, that are not banned on mere technicalities (like being able to see the slightest trace of a string on his waist as he lies face down with his ass mounds covering any ass crack string!)

We've stayed together in vacation resorts, so I've seen him completely buff, and the front presents very impressively as well.

He doesn't mind this information shared about him (told you he's unabashed) that's why I'm doing it and not feeling like I'm betraying his privacy (also likes to pretend he's very demure and innocent).

That should have been FB and not YT.

How are you guys staying in such good humor? Can people in San Juan go to work yet? How can you tolerate those long lines for basic supplies? Can you get enough food, medicines and cash? I guess at least you have clean drinking water and a bunch of generators. The rest of the island does not.

Hope your gout continues to resolve! Thank God it wasn’t anything worse. 😀

Have you seen the hospital ship? Does anyone know if it is being used productively now? Apparently some rural hospitals are still closed or limited in what they can do. Some volunteer veterans are still delivering water, food & supplies by helicopter to remote areas that are still not being served by FEMA. We understand that the electrical grid needs to be rebuilt but has anyone started on that yet?

Have I seen the hospital ship? I actually took a picture of it entering San Juan Harbor at 7:30 am (total coincidence I happened to be driving by). I posted it here!

Oh, I didn’t notice the photo. I see it now!

OK, guys, I know I'm usually humorous, sarcastic, or horny about this whole thing we're going through. It's because I deal well with humor and it's my thing to entertain. However, many of you have asked who to support or donate to. So I'm gonna get serious for a second (fine, call me Cher in her Oscar acceptance speech, 1988).

I'm doing work with thee people, and they are the real thing. We prepare and deliver hot meals to REALLY NEEDY folks all over the island (no ritzy heighborhoods or people with generators).

I'll just attach the link and if you see/read something you like (sorry, Spanish!), send something or pass it on.

I signed up for deliveries, but then said tuck it, what do you need me for... And since there weren't any executive positions....Yesterday I peeled and cut so many carrots, my hands are still orange. And I was wearing gloves!! (Daytime length, of course).

Oh, there weren't any chorus boy or cabaret tart positions either, just in case you're wondering..,,

PR, I feel for you. It’s truly a disgrace!

I will donate in a few minutes PR, getting of DL to do so.

This might seem a stupid question but does the island need major donations of non-porous gloves in general for food prep you are doing, in your experience? Basic food service level gloves might not be adequate given all the variables in action related to overall needs. I heard today on NPR that the need for adequate roof covering tarps, especially given the rains this week, is pretty desperate too. This, like food prep safety gloves now is beyond critical now. Don't get me started on the immediately related stuff that hasn't been met by FEMA etc.

I'll get in touch with my Puerto Rican citizen friend in Maryland who's part of a well-orchestrated, extremely well-organised/funded volunteer based relief effort there. (I posted stuff from him in the previous thread.) He's on the pulse of mainland/island Relief status more than anyone I know and he's a 100% reliable guy. Really good man and immediate family on the island. Their Maryland based volunteer efforts might do vastly better at this. I'll keep you posted.

I want my fellow Americans to not forget their Puerto Rican brothers and sisters. Please, if you can help them, please do.

R15 - the guy on the right is smoking hot! We need to know more about him... Any more pics?

R38, I wouldn't do this if I didn't know how much he actually enjoys it!

I took this one on Gay Pride!

Wow! Nice little string he’s wearing! Tell him he has international admirers.

You're doing a lot for your country with these threads.

How are the kitties? I missed the updates! (Donated to people and parrots, thank you for links!)

Gracious! R40 made me clutch at non existent pearls!

OMG PP!

I forgot I'm pretty good friends with this old kooky yet glamourous lady who used to be an artist here (a contemporary of my deceased brother who was a very well known artist here and abroad- his art gallery carried her paintings).

She now owns The Gallery Inn, a quirky, cozy hotel in Olf San Juan with very eclectic rooms... and her parrots roam around the place freely!

Her name is Jan D'Esopo and, ad you can tell from the pic, she's had a million face lifts. I actually went to high school with HER DAUGHTER, before you all think I'm in her age range.

I just texted her to inquire about the health or reaction of her parrots to this whole mess, making mention of the fact that I hoped they were being pampered just as much as she does. She answered, "doing well, and pampered."

So google The Galkery Inn in Old San Juan. I'm sure there will be pics of the birds that are allowed to roam around. Some of them are evil, but passionately faithful to her. Which means they'll ride her shoulder but you better not even extend a finger to them!!

The Gallery Inn -- all the other typos you can deal with.

PR Oh, I am so on this! I have a feeling Jan and I will become fast friends! And I suspect she knows my artist friend MaryJo in Marblehead MA, possibly indirectly through your brother. She and my friend are kindred spirit artists and eccentrics par excellence!

I am very grateful to hear she and her parrots are alive and undaunted!

With parrots it's all about bravado posturing, though around their bonded favourite human it's quite loaded and best not to press the issue when on the human's shoulder. If you watch a couple of parrot friends together it's really not so different from what one might imagine behind closed doors about the older queen couple you encountered in the ice (?) line early on (photo you provided) in the previous thread.

Parrots are all about social high drama posturing! But in the end, if one parrot steals food (or a favourite toy) from the foot of its friend it is totally tolerated without drama - for the most part.

Thanks so much for linking to her.

I have been swamped with work and haven't been on here so much but now that it's the weekend I hope to dig in regarding Puerto Rico/Caribbean bird update research and tracking down the PRAmazon guys' updates, if any, via Facebook and other Caribbean bird news via other ornithology venues. And of course I will post what I hear from my friend, Rafael, in Maryland as he updates.

Today all of the former Presidents got together and raised money for hurricane relief while Trump played golf. I’m sure it turned out much better without him!

Got my little Westinghouse generator working. So no more ice lines!

It's meant for running yard machinery like chainsaws or power mowers, but 10 hours a day on one refrigerator (and eventually my mother's TV downstairs when cable service gets restored) is not gonna burn it.

And, of course, its chained to iron bars outside the house. Being told you can't be too safe with generators. They're getting stolen everywhere!

Beach was beautiful again and a lot of fun this weekend.

Love your spirit PR--congratulations on the generator. How are you doing without A/C? Has it cooled down enough that it's not an issue?

That's great PR! Progress in small yet huge and incalculably satisfying steps.

I'm hearing from the Puerto Rican Amazon Parrot guys more now - too many things to try to link at once but I'll post updates tomorrow (sorry too tired right now. If I get a second wind this evening I'll start then.) But both facilities and/or those two guys are posting on Biodiversidad de Puerto Rico Facebook page.

Barred Owl pair is starting to call now (it's dusk here.) Last night they called for a long time, doing their insane monkey caterwauling sounds.

This video is pretty much what was happening in the trees near my house last night. (Video is not mine.)

Hi PR, have you been able to get those windows fixed?

R51 inspires me to ask, how bad are the mosquitos and other biting insects now? Thanks R51. And how is the gout doing too?

PR I thought you might be entertained, and maybe comforted in some way, by some natural nighttime bird sounds from here if your accustomed night sounds are not so prevalent as always there. Those owls are strutting, having good times marking territory.

Are you hearing the coqui? I hope so very much. Reports from all over say they are blasting their voices to be heard.

Barred owls here are beneficent and good neighbors in the beech forest hillside on which I live.

Haven't fixed the windows yet - it's a second-tier priority and one that requires a chunk of capital. Gout is a nonissue now and mosquitoes are still going at it. So are the coquís, I can hear some right now, but your questions made me pay closer attention and I must say they're singing is faster-paced. HI-NRG coquí beats - ha.

R55 = PR.

Barred owls sound interesting. PP haven't seen any guacamayos but keeping the faith they're somewhere and keeping an eye out:

They're>>their

The news says a few schools are ready to open, but only in San Juan & Mayaguez. Some universities in FL & LA have agreed to admit PR uni students. 70;000 Puerto Rican’s have arrived in FL so far and they are expecting more! There were already more than a million living in FL before Maria. Several hundred thousand more are moving to other states. PR may lose 10-20% of its population! Unbelievable damages, but don’t worry, the Moron in Chief gives himself a10 for the recovery.

He never even mentions the devastating fires in CA, but no matter how many catastrophes the country suffers, he’s determined to have his tax cuts! There won’t be anyone left to pay taxes if this keeps up.

Ah, 70,000 American citizens who will have the right to vote in a swing state. Sweet.

I'm not sure which is worse, PR....that photo of your buddies and that goddamn parasol OR that you STILL use tinypic.

R60 your post here is simply a reflection in your own mirror, not incendiary.

I will add other more encouraging news about those wild parrots, and at least one part of El Yunque Forest, from FB posts from my friends. They are details that are not in this article. Jafet is my friend to whom I referred as 'one of the parrot guys out in the forests' during Irma and Maria. Those guys are heroes of mine. And like PR, both parrot guys have a wicked good sense of humor whether in or out of catastrophic circumstances.

I meant to add, this article I posted in R62 is only about the NE Puerto Rico parrot population (captive and wild.) Because it's USFW it gets a lead in our press, though I am glad that NBC recognised and named the Rio Abajo (PR Dept. of Natural Resources) facility in the article. In various ways the Rio Abajo facility has been treated like the poorer step-sister in this US Commonwealth species recovery project press, though the Rio Abajo facility has exceeded the USFW facility in successful hatches, low mortality and successful release into the wild numbers.

These photos are sickening.

NASA pics are cool. My friend (as a matter of fact, that same guy with the string swimwear whose pics some ofyou requested) lives near San Pablo Hospital and he got power back the first week after María. Then it went out, then came back again.

He's the only person I know who has power, water and CABLE service restored!

I live near the Medical Center and Veterans' Hospital, but no such luck.

Oh, NASA, you’re fired!

The news tonight says 25% of the population has power now, after 5 weeks. Donald says that he gives himself an A+ for his efforts.

Just catching up... DL wouldn't let me post for five days for some bizarre reason.

For those of you who don't watch baseball, T-Mobile is running a World Series campaign raising money for hurricane relief. For every tweet using the hashtag #HR4HR, T-Mobile will donate $2 to hurricane relief. Last night during commercial breaks, I retweeted political posts I agreed with adding the hashtag.

It's getting ugly :

[quote]JUST IN: Puerto Rico governor demands investigation into $300 million contract for tiny energy company

Meanwhile Tesla (with help from San Diego and Los Angeles) is quietly keeping her promise to help bring electricity to Puerto Rico

And all of this is happening as the 2 person company [bold]hired[/bold] to fix the entire electrical grid of Puerto Rico threatens and trolls the mayor of San Juan.

I love seeing all this passion for Puerto Rico in posts here. I emailed Doctors Without Borders to see what they plan to do in PR if not there yet.

Damn, I am really inspired by how Rachel Maddow doesn't give ongoing Puerto Rico reality nightmares a rest on her show tonight - tonight she focused on Leptospirosis, a potentially deadly disease from drinking any water contaminated by the bodies of dead animals via rivers and streams. It is treatable with several antibiotics, but without them you might have the potential to die. Possibly 74 people on record, at least, have died due to contaminated water.

How are the CDC, FEMA, Doctors Without Bordersetx trying to curb this and monitor this? I am gong to research this.

The less dense greenery has at least given me an unobstructed view of El Yunque Mountain, home of the Yunque Rainforest National Park, about an hour away from here...

Nice view PR. It's encouraging to see that much greenery near you.

R74, That's amazing that you can see mountains from that distance. It just shows what an fragile, enclosed world an island like Puerto Rico is. I'm grateful for you guys who've been keeping this thread alive. I'm furious at the lack of progress, but then heartened at the determination and bravery, too.

PR the grassroots pushback about Puerto Rico is continuously getting stronger; there are lots of good ngo organizations stateside mounting multiple petitions to congress and via multiple heavy hitter privately funded public advocacy organizations also doing fundraising campaigns to squash that bullshit Zinke electric company hometown neighbor contract. That porkbarrel 2 employee obscure Montana based Whitefish electric company abomination, whose largest documented job was stringing line in Arizona over 15 miles (more or less,) yet awarded the multi-million dollar Puerto Rico islandwide electric grid rebuilding contract IS going down.

I try to keep my outraged venting at somewhat of a minimum here because that isn't productively helpful for those on the island on this thread. It can be better channeled fueling what I can to help from this end . YOU PR and any other anonymous Puerto Ricans on here I hope you vent all to your heart's content.

Hey PR how are things going for you? Did you get to the beach on Sunday? I was so pleased to see that Whitefish contract got cancelled!

Yes I did.

And there's gonna be further probing into the way Whitefish was handled:..

Good. Some news from one of the PR guys but the one at Rio Abajo is among the stranded with next to no power. Good thing he has a great sense of humor and sense of the absurd. Cuz this situation is very much in absurd territory. Looking for more data updates from my PR friend in Maryland. Hopefully I wil post updates from him and about Caribbean birds in the morning but will do so sometime tomorrow.

BASTARDS!

Correction: COWARDLY BASTARDS.

I read somewhere that 70,000 Puerto Ricans have descended on Florida. it'll be interesting to see what kind of barriers Rick Scott erects to try to stop them from voting. He's a rotten bastard.

I hope some of them come to Georgia. We're on the brink. So close. Please. Come to Georgia.

PR how are you and your mom doing in terms of mold/fungus/mycotoxins/Mycosis? Damn that's the next gift the post-hurricane can bring if electric power continues to be off. Tropical heat/humidity = mold bloom. Can you get some surgical masks to wear when indoors? Maybe for your mom?

That is also a big worry for the PR Amazon Parrots, in my thinking. Aspergillosis is one of the most serious diseases for Parrots because their respiratory systems are so very sensitive. It is a serious disease for humans too, caused by a pathogen that is a fungus/mold. It is difficult to treat (ever try getting rid of Athletes Foot?), requires medications that are very hard on the body (especially already stressed birds or older, very young or sick people) and it takes a while to treat it successfully. If those flocks are confined to the indoor aviaries much longer it is a real possibility where there is no electricity for ventilation and other means to get rid of the fungi.

My apologies if these latest posts sound negative but I'm just thinking of the practical details. Concerned about human & parrot damage with the current realities on the ground. The wild bird populations (flamingos, guacamayos, etc) are less subject to it than those in contained spaces.

I should have clarified that Aspergillosis is caused by a fungal pathogen that can infect the lungs of birds or humans.

After all this time, there may finally be some aid. But it can't come quickly enough. Too many people have died already.

Early morning bump

People a re dying and they have falsified the records. The CDC is not giving out information and keeps referring people to FEMA, and FEMA keeps referring people to the Governor's office in PR. It's a huge cover up. The main cause is the foul water and lack of sanitation food etc. after the hurricane.

The desperation levels after two weeks without power, food water, etc was horrible. Can you even imagine how bad it was after 5 weeks? Or more?. So much of it preventable. The fucking hospital ship didn't even go there for two weeks, then it sat in the harbor for a few more weeks barely treating anyone. When they finally decided that maybe they ought to get the ship into port closer to where people might access care, they saw more than 700 people on one fucking day and are overwhelmed by the numbers and the level of deprivation.

This is horrific. American citizens. Dying of starvation. the Elderly and children and people in hospitals dying because there were no generators to maintain power in the hospitals. FEMA promised generators, then said they ran out and couldn't get them for a "few more weeks." Seriously. No sense of urgency. FEMA was completely incompetent.

Sanitation issues. Cholera, water poising, all kinds of horrors and 90% of then preventable. And we are talking right now. Not something that happened a month ago. We're talking what's going on right now. More than 20,000 linemen converged on Houston and in Florida. There are less that 400 struggling in PR. I know it's an island. but the United States army should have been there with heavy equipment to move debris and restore the power grid within days.

FEMA should have been passing out food and water and supplying the rural areas. They didn't even do that. They went out to get people to fill out paperwork, and didn't even bring water with them. Then they told the mayors in rural areas to "find a way" to get to San Juan and pick up supplies. When a few did that, they were not given enough to supply their towns even for one day. They were given one meal per person for maybe 20 people. . What a terrible disgrace. Every fucking Latino who voted for Donald Trump needs to look at this real good.

How many cruise ships normally stop in San Juan? I assume they and their money are skipping it.

I know a couple of cruise lines were helping evacuate the elderly and the sick a few days after the Hurricane hit.

PR I hope you are okay. A bit worried we are not seeing you here but hopeful you're lurking at least.

This is a really good update I can report. I am trying to protect the private parts of the message from my friend sent to his friends on Facebook while sharing stuff that is pragmatic information you'll want to hear, so if this sounds a bit disjointed that's the explanation. This comes from one of the crew at Rio Abajo Puerto Rican Amazon Parrot facility. Posted on 11/03.

"Nowadays the flock is still flying over the aviary....perhaps the flock is a bit diminished in number...What I consider was our greatest achievement after the hurricane was that we were able to feed the wild birds during those first few days after the hurricane when there was very little food in the forest, this forestalled the birds starving or having the flock disperse away from our location. At the moment the forest is producing a massive amount of new leaves in the trees that survived and palms are starting to fruit again. Hopefully in a few months fruits and seeds will become available in significant numbers.

And this from an immediately subsequent post from the same person: There is also a staggering amount of seedlings sprouting in the forest floor due to all the sunshine that now reaches what used to be a very gloomy place. Vines are growing everywhere at a breakneck speed. All the new vegetation has a lovely green color, probably due to the tremendous pulse of nutrients that reached the forest floor, which received in a few hours the equivalent of hundreds of days of litter fall."

Note to our buddy PR - this is a perfect example of how the metaphor of the voice of the coqui represents the island of Puerto Rico - the forest, like the voice of the coqui, is responding, rising strongly and with great determination.

LPG are you still here? I thought you might like this PR parrot report. More to come from the Caribbean in general tomorrow.

The report from Rio Abajo suggests possible good news for fruit/seeds to support the upcoming parrot breeding season in early spring 2018.

At times you can have as many as seven cruise ships docked in San Juan in one day. These days the Harbor was looking pretty desolate except for the USNS Comfort...until yesterday. I was glad to see that the Adventure of the Seas and some other Princess Cruises ship were back at their home port of Dan Juan... and taking guests not refugees.

Speaking of the comfort, I decided to go to try to get some medication for free, and the day I went was around the peak of its publicity of not having enough patients, so of course the place was packed with a slow doctors office kind of wait period. They were very accommodating and had water and other supplies for the people waiting at the docks. I asked the very nice security staff what were the emptiest times to visit, and they said between 12 midnight and 3:00 am. So I decided to bail and come back some evening when I wake up in the middle of the night (which happens pretty often under our conditions).

Power came back in my tenants block in Old San Juan .... except for our building. Turns out the wire that feeds power to my building was snapped by the hurricane. My electrician had noticed it a few weeks ago when we were up on our he roof and even took pictures but I guess I needed to wait until power came back to convince myself (plus any complaint about snapped wires would have fallen on deaf ears while the whole island was still dark). The challenge is that power lines in Old San Juan hang from poles installed from roof to roof, and away from aesthetic facade visibility. So someone needs to let the workers up on the roof of a three story building.

So now I'm dealing with that - the advice the Power Authority agents gave me was to keep hounding the Power crews that we see onthe street to tell them/remind them. Both my tenants and I have already spoken to some hot workers about the situation. Right now I'm at the pastry shop getting quesitos (google it) for the street brigades, and planning to put the building address on the box so they don't forget us. My gay tenants and u hope the guy who eventually comes to our aid is porno quality hot. I promise to take pictures if he is.

Oh, r94 was PR

Yay for PR for never forgetting priorities even in the middle of a disaster

Thanks for keeping us posted PR.

Another thanks, PR!

PR your posts are delightful and your voice is clear. I always know it's you long before I get to the signature.

Aw r99

Just catching up here - DL stopped me posting for five days!

Shocked to read that in one area of London, the government ordered a cull of a certain type of parakeet.

Lights back on in Old San Juan! (Then they went out again but back on the next morning). Happy tenants!

PP I saw a cluster of about seven green parrots -smaller than guacamayos - gathered in THE MIDDLE OF AN AVENUE! Don't know if they were eating or what. From afar they looked like pigeons, which usually scatter away rather quickly when a car approaches them. But then I saw the distinct green color - and found out the hard way how sluggish/clumsy they can be when getting out of the way. One of them actually hit the front hood of my car 🚗 on his way up. He was OK! Flew out fine.

Went to the USNS Comfort last night with the hopes of getting Uloric, Prednisone and Cialis. I have an old prescription for the last one from when I fake complained to my urologist that I was having problems urinating (it's been discovered Cialis doesn't only give you a nice three day disposition to a raging hard-on, but also improves piss flow).

I only got Prednisone, and a nice note that's supposed to get me Uloric for free at a drugstore. That would actually be nice becaus it's pretty expensive.

Their service was very efficient and they have a nice set-up of gigantic air conditioned tents that the blonde nurse (I know, Hot Lips Houlihan) told me can be assembled in two hours and struck down in one. It was late at night, and I was a little sleepy so I didn't think of taking pictures of the hot servicemen. Most of them were daddy types, if that helps your imagination.

Glad to hear you got lights in Old San Juan - how about you? I saw an article in Daily Kos that reported that outage and wondered how it is going now.

Glad you got the Prednisone at Comfort and free refill at a drug store for what I imagine is your gout med. Keep up the good fight for Cialis!

I see more photos of small flocks of Guacamayos posted on Biodiversidad de Puerto Rico, so that's encouraging. Did the green parrots you ran into (a little dark humor) look like this guy? Believe it or not we have these guys here in NYC and coastal New England. For the same reason they became wild in PR the population here was due to caged birds released into the wild. They can be sweet pets but they are so fucking raucous so much of the time that years ago a lot of people just released their pets outdoors. Sad and irresponsible but that's humans for ya!

Hey LPG great to see you here again.

They didn't have that long tail

Oh, and no, I'm still texting in the dark

Was it this guy? It's a white-winged parakeet. There were pretty large flocks of these before Maria.

Here's another shot of the wing plumage of the guy I posted in R106. These are another introduced species, like the guacamayo, that have become an integral part of Puerto Rico.

I was worried that you were among those with no power PR. Damn. Did you get to the beach party today? I hope that helps offset the day to day.

Sorry - I should have said I hope you will get to the beach party today. I had a brain fart last night and forgot what day it was.

I don't understand why the U.S> army corp of engineers hasn't gone in there and repaired and upgraded their power grid. I don't understand why they haven't converted their utility lines to underground. I don't understand why they have this nightmare scenario. Shameful. The Puerto Rican economy could thrive and people could contribute if FEMA and the TRumpettes would get off their asses and do something right. It's not all about tourism either.

Yes they looked little the pic at r106. Clumsy little fellas!

I was at the beach both days. It rained a bit on Saturday so I made it a short day. Sunday afternoon was sunny, and our group hung out with two very hot bi girls (a friend of mine who brought along her 20-year old friend who lives in a 2-girl 1-guy threesome arrangement) - so we were very popular with the straight men at the beach.

They're probably not used to taking off from the ground, PR. Mostly the parrots that eat fruits and food in the canopy hang out up there all the time, so their flight muscles are developed for takeoff with the assist of height and lift capturing the advantages of greater altitude to begin with. Now these guys, all the parrots pretty much, are having to forage for food on the ground or otherwise in areas not in the tree canopies. They have been compromised by the stress of this whole situation since the storm hit, and reduced or changed diet. And they just have to go wherever the hell there might be food, like in the street. It makes lift off slower, harder, and more stressful than they are accustomed to. If there's anyplace where you see them hanging out, if people put fruit or anything they'll eat up on branches, or feeding platforms above ground (could be on a upper floor patio of a house or apartment balcony, that would help these guys.

Hey, PR glad you had a 2-day beach weekend. Sunday beach party sounded hot. Keep us updated!

I probably should have added at R111 , any blue & gold guacamayo or green parrots are nice bullseye targets for Guaraguao (Red-Tailed Hawks) who prey catastrophically on them in hurricane defoliated landscape. With reduced tree cover these poor green guys (like you saw on the street) are sitting ducks, and if on the ground trying to eat that's all the worse as a target for a predator. So putting out food for them on a higher elevation, especially if there are a few intact trees (like in your photos from your outdoor patio) gives them a better chance to survive starvation and avoid the very hungry guaraguao. They can dart in to feed and dart back to the remaining tree canopies where they are safely camouflaged. Of course, any of your neighbors near those trees still standing can put palm fronds or even just netting with something green on top, to give cover over the food or even a roosting area. The parrots might roost there and feed nearby, or if your neighbors put out fruit there the parrots might take shelter right there at the fruit. Guacamayos might even come. Birds have a gossip network too, though they are not as fiercely shady as DL.

PR if you chose to create a safe zone of cover and food on your outdoor patio you would get good bird karma galore. They will fly in once word gets around. Of course I am not trying to coerce you......

VERY IMPORTANT ADDITION TO R113: PR and any silent but present Puerto Rico readers here on this thread, sadly, the El Yunque Iguaca flock dispersed from their territory in the forest after Maria, so individuals or very small groups might be seen in San Juan or any areas adjacent to the forest. If so they may really need food resources (like I described in R113) but most importantly they need to be reported to USFW asap. I am trying to get the most current contact information to respond to asap. If I can't respond tonight I'll do so as early as possible tomorrow morning. Please share this FYI with others in your areas in any general vicinity of El Yunque Forest.

I know that human life is foremost for making all preservation move forward, yet we need the inspiring drive of those who share our landscape. Like the Coquí the Iguaca stands for Puerto Rico and its will to survive robustly.

In case anyone needs a reminder of specific appearance since they are so rare.

And what's 'food' for them? Fruit? Really?

Oh, they're really cute. I like the blue wing flash.

Right now the wild parrots at Rio Abajo are surviving on royal palm (Roystonea borinquena) fruits - pretty much the only fruits/nuts available.

Their diet mainly consists of wild fruits, particularly the sierra palm (Prestoria montana), but flowers, leaves, seeds, bark and tender shoots may also be eaten, with up to 60 food plants recorded in the diet.

I'm still waiting for a callback from USFW about who to contact if you see any of these Puerto Rican Amazon parrots in the vicinity of El Yunque or around San Juan.

It is difficult to find much updated information about the status of wildlife on Puerto Rico or the other Caribbean islands devastated by Hurricane Maria. Offical wildlife surveys will take time and patience. In the meantime, anecdotal local reports are what to watch. Biodiversidad de Puerto Rico on Facebook is one of the best for wildlife news from Puerto Rico.

I will call USFW again today about where to report sightings of the Iguaca in the vicinity of El Yunque Forest or San Juan and environs.

Meanwhile here is some really great news from the island of Dominica. The highly endangered Imperial Amazon parrot is in a precarious state because it does not successfully breed in captivity and its wild population is so small. It is locally called Sisserou. Here is some great news from Dominica!

"BRILLIANT news: First confirmed sighting of the #Sisserou on #Dominica!!!! Spotted at Morne Saint Mary south of Roseau, thanks to Stephen Durand (Dominica Forestry) for sharing this wondrous news!"

In news of the ongoing disgrace that is the US recovery effort in Puerto Rico, Rachel Maddow had this report last night.

PP, I'm really grateful for your updates. I hate knowing that my Puerto Rican countrymen are suffering so badly, and also their native fauna.

R122 Thanks. It is a heartbreaking situation like we've never seen - I saw reference to an article (maybe it was a Daily Kos listed link?) about the extensive effort to privatise the PR recovery. I'll try to track it down and post it. Whitefish is a great example of the corruption and lack of human decency and compassion. This administration could not care less about PR unless it provides a money grab for for cronies. But the people of Puerto Rico are doing what they can to help one another. I really worry about the mental and emotional fatigue that people are living with at this point - let alone the material physical hardships.

The news about the animal and plant life is more encouraging than the human news at present.

Day 60, still no power.

PR that's horrible but sadly so believable. How are you managing everything - ice, etc? Can you get a generator if you don't have one now, or is the friend's beach apartment generator back on? How is it getting gasoline now? I hope you have a good day at the beach today. Did you get there yesterday? Any new hot guys to report about here?

I have a small generator. Beach was very promising then it started raining and thundering cats and dogs, so I gave up and left. My friends kept saying it was just one cloud but it's gray all over and it hasn't stopped.

I have a picture of my neighbor and his hairy legs but I don't know if I should post it, given that he's not just a stranger off the street, or my exhibitionist muscle friend, who consents,

Hey, a description of his hot hairy legs will bypass the ethical concerns and left to the imaginations on here will work nicely!

Has your condo friend returned? I hear that thousands of residents are leaving for Florida but is anyone coming back?

He's about 19-20 yrs old, with bushy black hair and skinny but really hairy legs. He was sitting on his porch wearing baggy gym shorts with legs crossed spread-open style (you know, forming the number four). Sitting in front of him would have been very revealing.

My condo friend is not back yet but is due back at the end of the month. His boss, and by default he, are taking advantage of laws passed a few years ago (20 and 22 if that year) granting superb tax cuts to wealthy individuals who settle in the Island and contribute to its economy via their businesses and consumption.

To finish the thought at r129, one of the requirements of those laws is that the individual and family must live in the Island 188 days of the year and file taxes here, so, since my friend and his boss are childless (one of the sirefire ways to prove you are living here is through school enrollment), I'm sure they will be back.

Are those tax cut loving part time residents apt to try to scoop up a lot of real estate as so many have fled the island for Florida and Texas? It seems that could really impact the culture and landscape in a not good way.

How is San Juan now compared to before the hurricane? I know the rest of the island is still suffering. CNN is covering how they are having trouble calculating the number of deaths due to the hurricane. Official tally is 55; but CNN says it was at least 500! Still a lot of controversy over the Whitefish contract, too.

That's exactly what's happening, PP at r131. They are sending their own agents here to buy in bulk, at bargain basement, make that fire sale prices. Not only because people are leaving, but also due to the hurricane circumstances in general.

Then they'll hold on to the properties for a few years and flip, turning an initial investment of say 10 million into 20 million, netting 10 million tax free in a few years.

As someone with a real estate broker license (which I use just from time to time in special cases), I have run into these stories multiple times already.

R132, I understand the non metro area is faring much worse thanSanJan, something reflected in the sheer number of people that hit SanJuan on a daily basis, just to get supplies because there is nothing in their hometowns. The traffic jams can get very hairy, And this week w a have a mix of Puerto Rico "discovery" day (Nov. 19) and Thanksgiving all falling in the same week. That, plus hurricane- caused unemployment in general, make for very crowded public places (with the children tagging along) and long lines. The latter was getting better in San Juan but there's been an upsurge this week.

As far as the death tolls, I've been hearing the same thing as you in the news, and am frankly at a loss on the subject. Only time will tell:

This isn't specific to Puerto Rico but many tropical birds in hurricane zones have remarkable survival strategies, so this is meant as both encouragement for other devastated islands in Irma's or Maria's paths as well as a reminder of how strong the people of Puerto Rico are in the face of adversity.

There's good news for the warblers of Barbuda but it equally reflects the fortitude of the Puerto Rican people. And very very many of us stateside have your back. Many of us are pushing back at this bureaucratic boondoggle. We're not backing down.

I like to be in America.

I am surprise that world leaders are not shaming the US about this situation.

More good news about the parrots of Dominica which was flattened by Hurricane Maria. This is a good site to bookmark if you want to stay informed about all Caribbean bird species since this bad hurricane season.

PR how is your Sunday at the beach? Any new hot guys?

Sunday was beautiful - mostly regulars

Nice!

PR I spoke to someone in Marblehead and I believe I saw the artwork - very strong style and it appealed to me very much. I will try to find more paintings to view online. A very talented guy. Thank you for introducing me to his work.

Really?! I'll confirm my brother's initials if that's the case. Just to be sure.

RM? That artist was highly regarded by the person with whom I spoke. But perhaps there are others known to him, so it might be someone else?

You got it right.

Oops, r144 is PR.

And he mentioned his gallery (not on the mainland) which sounded like a great place.

Yes, with a name you would get a kick out. Also, speaking of names, now you know MY name. Don't know how safe that feels in DL, but I'll hope for the best. It's the same as his, but with the first name in English.

He was my dad's youngest son with his first wife. My mother (younger than my first two half brothers) was his third wife (or fourth, if you believe some recent discoveries we made). My dad used the same two names for both sets of sons.

I know, very confusing and uncreative- especially when I looked a lot like my brother the artist and he was old enough to be my father (which he sort of was after my dad died).

PP, one last question so as not to make this conversation too exclusive - did you see the artwork live? Pictures don't do it justice, especially its bold strokes and colors.

PR no I didn't see any of the artwork live; all online and not too much of it with a simple google search. I hope I can see some in person one day.

That's an interesting family story, thanks for sharing it. I respect your privacy and value my own privacy/anonymity on here too, so let's just agree that I will forget anything you just said. You will only be PR in my mind on DL.

And I agree about not making this conversation exclusive on this thread though I really appreciate this dialogue we got into.

So to move on to more of the infuriating news about FEMA fuck ups on the island, here's an article about the Bronze Star company (another 2-man business like Whitefish Power) that was supposed to supply tarps (and other desperately needed supplies) for residents as soon as possible after Maria.

LPG I just did a search about culling the feral parrot flocks and it appears there's history of it? Here's the latest report I could find. We've got some of that going on in the States too.

I feel worse for the people of Puerto Rico than I do for the victims elsewhere here in the US, although I feel badly for all of them. My company had a 'Giving Tuesday' this week after Cyber Monday, with them matching any donations, so I specifically donated for relief for Puerto Rico. It was my Christmas present to myself. Hang in there!

Here are some updates and other ways to contribute for the people of Puerto Rico.

Yes, they allow one type of parakeet to flourish and another is culled regularly because they're scared it will make huge nests in overhead wires, as it has in other countries. That seems a crazy reason to me as we don't have more than two wires at a time overhead here, unlike in other places where the lines all gather together and hang down in almost a hammock effect.

It sounds like they are culling Quaker aka Monk parakeets. Here's a link (it's a kids website but it has a good photo of the birds and their communal nest. Just scroll down a bit.)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont)) is introducing a bill to authorise 146 billion 'Marshall Plan' to rebuild Puerto Rico. "Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) will co-sponsor Sanders’s bill, and a handful of other Democratic senators are considering doing so as well. It has also been endorsed by 73 liberal and labor organizations, including MoveOn.org, the Sierra Club, and the Service Employees International Union."

PR I have no idea how gruelling this must be for you and my friends in Rio Abajo and El Yunque, but I hope this thread continues to be a resource, source of entertainment humor, or venting, and just knowledge that a lot of us are still aware, watching, donating, and trying to press for aid for all of Puerto Rico - people, animals, plants, insects, birds and all the creepy crawlie ones too. I hope you had a good Sunday on the beach with friends.

Sunday was a beautiful day at the beach, then we stayed past sunset to watch a huge full super moon... but it got covered by clouds and then it started raining!

PP, two guacamayos just flew by my window. They're back!

Hey, that's fantastic PR!

PR, would you say your life is back to normal now? There are fewer news reports now.

R160 my apologies if I can't remember but were you the one of our earlier hurricane posters who was the guy with the little dog who evacuated your trailer? Or are you another resident of FL we were concerned about in the path of the hurricane? Sorry, my memory can be short in this madness of multiple calamities. It is great to hear from you here. Is your life more or less back to normal now?

A quick hello and a note- the repair brigades are finally in my neighborhood so keeping fingers crossed that we may gav power just in time for Christmas.

Great news about the repair brigades.

PP - if you ever decide to come to PR, let me know. You know my brother's name, and my email address is not too far from that, since the names are extremely similarb and I can give you clues to figure it out,

OMG I just re-read r1 in this thread and (s)he is hitting the nail on the head more than (s)he knows.

The opportunists are not necessarily just condo developers but also investors that are purchasing properties en masse at fire sale prices with the intention of sitting on them for a couple of years and resaling at a profit, no flip or remodeling needed.

PR are you sure it wasn't you (or maybe another anonymous PR poster) who posted at R1? That said, yeah, prescient..

PR I hope I can get to Puerto Rico at some point and if so it would be great to connect. I'd love to do the Sunday beach party! Meantime, if you want to offer clues, you have seen I like to pursue mysteries! Seriously, thank you for extending your trust.

I am too tired right now to link or post details (I hope to do so tomorrow) but I want to say how proud I am of the response to Puerto Rico by Massachusetts. Both Senator Markey and Senator Warren have been on it quickly after the fact,and have been behind resources being shipped from here in MA to there, as well as creating and/or endorsing bills pushing for recovery funding. Your governor was here this week, prominently featured on public radio, among other high profile informational sources discussing and answering a full extent of questions about the state of the island. Your island is not at all forgotten or overlooked here. I am not even sure how large the permanent residential Puerto Rican population is in MA, including post-Maria transplants, but it's big enough that college students recently from PR are having access to hardship tuition benefits at our state colleges and universities through the '17-'18 academic year.

As I said before, my name is the English version of my brother's name. So for my email address, you just have to replace the last o in my brother's first name with an m - yes, it will produce two m's in a row (m happens to be my middle initial) - and tag it to yahoo.

Trust is there and of course it's a two way street. If you decide to send me an email, label it PP on the subject line. I'll respond. If you get no response, let me know, so we can review/revise the clues.

My apologies to everyone else reading this (all three of us probably). I don't mean to be so one-on-one and secretive by excluding you from the conversation. It's just not a great idea to be publishing email addresses in DL. As it is, I've toed the line enough with all the pictures I've posted.

And certainly if any of the other regulars in this thread (again, all three of us) want to make outside contact, it would be a pleasure. I'd figure out a way. For instance, you could answer a Craigslist ad of mine. I have several of those (expired) in the real estate section (I rent apartments for a living).

PR, R168, There are more than 3 people reading this. I've only posted a few times, since I have little to add, but I care a lot about what's going on in Puerto Rico.

Thanks r169

For anyone wanting bird updates from post-Maria Caribbean islands, here's excellent news from Dominica. Though one Sisserou, the critically endangered Imperial Amazon parrot, has been filmed in the wild after the storm, none have been found and brought in for rehabilitation until now. This linked site is good for updates on Dominica in particular, but though I respect this author I take his posts with a grain of salt; he sometimes relies more on his own opinions than the feedback from biologists and zoologist working directly in the field with conservation and captive breeding programs. That said, he is quoting and providing video from the forestry department official in Dominica, so I take this post at its word. The video is exciting but hard to watch - the poor guy is visibly exhausted, traumatised and appears grief stricken too. But he's feisty and his vocalisations are strong, a good sign.

To clarify, because it is understandably easy to confuse Dominica with the Dominican Republic, Dominica is in the Lesser Antilles chain of islands south of Puerto Rico and Haiti/Dominican Republic. Dominica, along with the U.S. Virgin Islands, Barbuda and Guadeloupe were the primary islands devastated by hurricane Maria. It was a category 5 storm when it whalloped Dominica. I don't mean to sound like an asshole talking down to anyone, I only posted this because I frequently hear people mistaking Dominica with the Dominican Republic. Here in the U.S. many of our Major League Baseball players, now or in recent years, are originally from the Dominican Republic, so it may be why people make the assumption when Dominica is mentioned.

^^^^I didn't mean to leave out Puerto Rico from that list of islands devastated by Maria - it's a given what Puerto Rico, PR and anyone else on this thread who lives there, is struggling with since Maria made landfall at category 4.

This is a great Opinion piece.

This is an amazing, comprehensive article, with interviews and videos included, about daily life for all sorts of islanders just trying to get by and doing their jobs without an electric grid.

And this.

That's really funny PP- the picture featured at r176 is a corridor- like shot of Calle Luna in Old San Juan --- right where my building is located! If you zoom the pic, you'll see these triangular roof structures at the upper left hand side of the picture. That's Carlos Albizu University, a center of graduate studies in psychology. Past the University on that same side is Plaza Barandilla, featuring these grand steps - and my building is across Luna Street from Plaza Barandilla, at the top of the steps. See picture of Plaza Barandilla below (yes you can see my building as well).

Is your building the reddish one to the far left? That is a beautiful area and that night shot only makes it more so.

I'm going to toe the line at actually identifying my building, PP. You never know who's lurking in the internets, and Luna Street is in the center of Historic Old San Juan, easy to find, easy to ID, easy to reach.

If we do connect later, then I'll of course be more informative.

PR of course that makes the most sense. I'm sorry I didn't think that through.

PR, and others from the island on this thread, the Mayor of San Juan posted this on twitter. Beautiful images of the island, great song.

I'm reading as well but not posting.

Good luck

Preciosa is our unofficial anthem, the same way America the Beautiful is for the U.S.

Similar messages, even if Preciosa gets somewhat more political and nationalist.

Thanks r182

R184/PR, that you still don't have power at this point is nothing short of obscene.

I was surprised the other day to receive an Impact Report from the World Parrot Trust, for a donation I made a couple of months ago at PP's suggestion. I'm not accustomed to seeing my name in print. I was impressed by all the work they do around the world.

Thanks for donating R18 /R185.

PR, all others from Puerto Rico on this thread, and everyone from everywhere else who is on here, in honour of this night on Puerto Rico, Feliz Nochebuena y Feliz Navidad!

Also, including and especially in honour of the Iguaca, the tough ones with feathers who have also survived after Maria, I offer this suggestion for the drink with which to toast all of these fierce survivors who are keeping the spirit of Puerto Rico thriving! (My apologies if it isn't the traditional Nochebuena drink of choice.)

PR Thanks for posting the El Yunque Parrot cocktail link earlier on this thread (or the previous one.)

I can't believe I was pulling on my generator's ignition cord today and it snapped right now n my hand.

Called Westinghouse and they'll have a new part delivered on Tuesday, so I won't be getting it until Friday the earliest.

Was hoping to hav bower back by then but who knows. No refrigerated goods for New Year's Eve this time around...

It snapped right in my hand

Was hoping to have power back on

Holy cow that's a long wait. Fingers crossed your power comes back long before that.

Damn, that's too bad PR. I hope the cord arrives unexpectedly soon.

Regardless of arrival time, I'll make art out of it.

December 31, 2017 - New Year's Eve, College Park, Puerto Rico. Now known as the night the lights came back in my neighborhood. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I just turned on the AC and I'm actually crying. When I got home the house smelled like it was burning down because my mother's oven downstairs was on and locked, and she was too busy trying to turn the TV on to notice. Were each indulging in our obsessions.

Will be sleeping spread eagled with the AC full blast and Every Single Light Or Lamp In The House (including the oven light) ON!!!!!!

My post at r195 is a reflection of what 115 days of night darkness and discomfort can do to the human brain.

PR What a great written testament to having power again after 115 fucking days. It's a visceral read. I am so glad for you and your mother. It is good to hear your mother is with power because it must have been so hard for older individuals to navigate, whether having a very protective, attentive son such as you or being less fortunate, because beyond a certain age no matter how resourceful and tough a person is, it really sucks to lack the easy basics, the comforts, the things that define daily life as you have defined it for decades.

May the power remain on uninterrupted.

Btw, your post at R196 is both a revelation if one can read it that way and a cautionary tale about the value of flexibility, patience, adaptability, and not losing one's fucking mind over circumstances beyond one's control. When it all resolves after a huge crisis life never feels more real or luscious than having the basics back in place. A/C , a refrigerator, an oven, a blender for alcoholic drinks, for e.g., must all feel like fucking heaven now.

R195, I'm so happy for you and your mother, that I just teared up, too. I know this from my own experience that when you're in the midst of a crisis, you're just dealing with it moment by moment. But when the crisis finally calms down, you'll realize what you've learned about yourself, that you may not have appreciated before. I didn't know how strong or resourceful I was until I was in a position to have lost nearly everything, and had to climb back into my own life. I'm really happy for you, but also, very, very proud of you.

R198 Kudos and very happy for you too. Whatever you went through it's good to hear you are on the other side of it.

Yay. Happy for you PR

I’m another mostly silent admirer, PR. It’s great to read your personal accounts of Puerto Rico’s struggle. Having been through some hurricanes and power failures myself, I have a lot of sympathy. Happy New Year!

Just spent three days in Vieques Island (off the eastern shore of PR) prepping, cooking, distributing and cleaning up 2500 hot meals with Fundación Plato Caliente.

It was an intense experience as the island was hit hard by the hurricane (before it made landfall in the main island so it was a strong cat5) and it lies there relatively ignored. There's still no electricity in 95% of Vieques and the struggle, even among the wealthier, is evident. I have videos and pics, but tinypic is not cooperating today.

We did get to stay in this beautiful villa powered by a massive local generator that's working and powering that lucky 5%. It was a core group of seven of us plus we had volunteers, local and from the US who were visiting, helping along. Special kudos to this traveling group of about a dozen American girls (and one hot bearded guy!) who are part of a travel group. Amongst their journeys they do one service trip a year to help out with communities that need assistance. I'm the one who gets to assign jobs and tasks to the volunteers and it was great to have so many positive minded, resourceful and skillful helpers at our disposition. When they bid farewell, they actually said they had fun! (I try to make it a pleasant if not memorable experience for one day volunteers).

We also got to enjoy one full day off - and plenty of cocktails almost every night - so not bad.

I hope to post some videos or pics soon.

As soon

PR what a great story. I am glad you had that help. I have wondered about Vieques; a friend from the 1980s told me wonderful stories of her annual family vacations there.

Meanwhile, I just saw this. Stay safe PR.

Yeah - it just got called off.

Could you imagine? After the disorganized mess María left, a tsunami to sort of just rinse it all off, like kitchen sink debris, people included.

R204 = PR

I was banned for weeks for some reason but have just got back on and seen PR's post about the electricity coming on, finally! So pleased to hear that.

It's good to see you back here LPG.

Thanks LPG. No cable (hence no TV) yet but grat fuñ with wjatvI have back. Was also able to install an antenna for my mother so she can AR least watch local broadcasting.

And the parrots are back flying overhead every dawn and dusk.

Grateful for what I have back.

The parrots are back too! That must lift your spirits. They were all culled from my area of London and I haven't seen any for a year now.

That's very sad LPG. So sorry that you lost that bit of green raucous life to brighten the gray mornings on your way to work.

I just saw this article about Vieques and thought it was very comprehensive. Curious to hear feedback from PR and others from there.

R212 = PP

One thing that hits you (and you get used to) about Vieques- there's horse manure everywhere!

That and the ocassional retired navy guy who's half bonkers.

Besides that, the divide can become very clear between the have and have nots, the very religious and the hedonists, the local and the imported.

Very interesting, PR.

I just found this article about emergency funding for Puerto Rico. I am so deeply disgusted by this administration.

[quote]Puerto Rico’s governor, Ricardo A. Rosselló, said the $2 billion earmarked for power restoration in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands could help his island harden its battered grid. While funds from the previous aid packages went to FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers, the latest relief package will give money directly to the Puerto Rican government.

[quote]Twenty-eight percent of Puerto Ricans — more than 400,000 utility customers — still do not have power more than four months after Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico.

This is so incredibly shameful.

I saw this post on SOS Puerto Rico. I will post a link to that too.

Good Puerto Rico resource; Daily KOS covers a range of subjects so it's nice to have this PR-centric spot on their site to check out.

Update. Please read comments too.