Well, well ….

Apologies for an earlier post with this title. I had some glitches with my website and computer and the title published prematurely.

OK, so it happened. Everything everyone warned us about moving to Florida came to fruition at the end of September when Hurricane Ian, a storm of epic proportions, came roaring up the Caloosahatchee River perfectly aimed to deliver a storm surge with its Category Five winds.

We live far up the Caloosahatchee in a community of canals connected to the river (see map at right). Neighbors who have been here for 30 years through multiple hurricanes have never seen water levels threaten their property. Ian’s winds created a fifteen-foot surge that was focused on the river channel.

We prepared. Michelle came home early on Tuesday and moved the lanai plants to the garage. By the time I came home from work, she had already emptied the lanai of plants and secured the furniture from wind by moving them to the garage or against the house and locked to the ground with the weighted base pieces of the patio umbrella. We had supplies and a generator. I lashed the boat securely to the lift, and the lift to the pilings. We went to bed Tuesday believing we’d be OK.

Wednesday September 28th, we watched in awe as the hurricane approached. Every projection got worse. The storm veered into the Caloosahatchee channel. Miles upriver from the Gulf, the water kept rising. We watched the canal rise behind the house and kept thinking, “It doesn’t look too bad yet.”

Within 30 minutes, the water took over. It rose to the level of our pool deck, swarmed over the edge with its muddy brown/brackish water, and entered the pool. We improvised: created sandbags from pillowcases and cat litter to block the patio doors. We placed our mattress on five 30-inch-tall metal plantstands to create a safe island in the master suite for cats, dog, and us. Six inches to go and it kept rising.

 

Then, suddenly, we realized that we were facing the wrong direction! Water began coming in from the canal across the street. Larger and deeper than ours, that canal had overflown and was surging into the front of our house. We had lost the battle. Had to go into survival mode. Thank God for Michelle and her quick thinking. Within five minutes she had improvised a plan for us all to go into the attic (only accessible through the garage) to get above the water.

The big problem was that the garage sits 18 inches lower than the house. Every time we opened the door from the house to the garage we were met with a wave of water since the garage was filling up to a level higher than the house. It took about 16 trips to get three cats, supplies, emergency radio, us, and a dog up into a 6×12 foot space (BTW, if you ever want an exercise in craziness, try getting a 100lb Dobermann Pinscher up a ladder where he does not wish to go). During those trips, we waded through knee-high to waist-deep water, dodging floating debris that included our possessions and valuables. We watched as the water flowed into our vehicles, causing their electrical systems to go berserk and then shut down. We dodged floating propane tanks, 5-gallon gas containers, and bifold closet doors that floated off their hinges. We sat in the attic all night, with the wind howling rain thundering against the roof, listening to emergency radio reports.

By about 4:00am the worst had passed. I had kept looking down the ladder into the garage, marking the height of the water and noticed that it seemed to be decreasing. By 5:00am, it was no longer over the headlights of my beloved Miata. By 6:00am it had dropped enough that I wanted to assess what was below. Against Michelle’s wishes, I climbed down the ladder.

Chaos. 12-15 inches of floodwater in the house and 24-30 inches in the garage. For four hours our entire neighborhood became one big lake – all those canals simply joined together. We have neighbors who have lived here for over 25 years, through multiple hurricanes. They’ve never seen water levels threaten their property. This storm was different. Its winds created a fifteen-foot surge that was exacerbated by the wind-driven waves.

We lost three autos, all appliances, and all furniture that was touched by flood waters. The water soaked into the walls of the house, which means that it would have to be torn out and replaced. The doors were disintegrating from the water infusion. The floors were covered in brown muck. The good news? My boat was untouched. Of course, leaves and junk were blown into it, but other boats on the block were blown off their lifts, stranded in backyards across the canals, and their lifts were twisted like pretzels. My boat sat there untouched. All praise and thanks to Michelle’s dad, Tom Regan. His emergency response mechanisms went into overdrive. In South Dakota, he procured a new 29-foot camper and Ford F150 crew cabin (tow package) pickup truck; loaded it and his own crew-cab pickup with things like water, shop vac, cleaning supplies, extra gasoline; recruited Michelle’s brother-in-law Jeremiah (who took unpaid time off work) and her uncle Chuck – and they all drove from Rapid City, South Dakota to Fort Myers, Florida to back this camper into our driveway and leave us with a working vehicle and needed supplies. We’re not wealthy in things, but we are certainly wealthy in people. After such an event, many question whether living here is worth it. One of the benefits of working at Total Wine is that I talk to people from around this area about living (or visiting) here. Michelle and I, of course, had the same conversation that many couples had after such a catastrophic event about whether we wanted to stay here.

In response, I have one observation and one question: “We’ve had five wonderful years and one REALLY bad day.” and “Where would we move to?” The photo in the left was taken about a week before IAN showed up.  I’ve spoken to at least three customers who lost their homes in Hurricane Ian. Some are rebuilding, some are not. One, who is not, has leukemia and is 82; but his philosophy was similar: “We had 28 years of gorgeous sunsets and sunrises living on the beach. I would not trade that despite this storm.” He was buying wine to give as gifts to friends who were allowing him and his wife stay in their condominium. Another couple lost the first floor of their beach home, a brand new 36-foot boat, and were also condo-surfing. They bought about $1500 of wine. His comment: “I have a new appreciation for enjoying today, rather than waiting for tomorrow.”

We’re struggling financially and realize we have not been very responsive lately, but our daily routine is putting out wildfires: dealing with insurance companies, contractors, bankers, etc. It’s all a juggling act with the money. Insurance companies never lose money and always make it difficult to receive that for which you have been paying premiums. Friday I (finally) received a long-awaited advance from the flood insurance folks. Two checks, one for contents ($10000) and a second for structure ($15000). The problem was that the second was made out to me AND the mortgage company, meaning I could not deposit it without their signature. Thank God, the mortgage company is on this and had set up a local office where one can go to get the check validated and another online site where future checks can be validated. But I had to drive north for an hour to Punta Gorda to get the check signed and by then the bank was closed (Veterans Day). OK, so I drove to the bank today to deposit it, only to be told by the bank that they’ll have to hold it for seven days before I can access the money because they have to make certain it clears.

 

Meanwhile I have contractors waiting to be paid so they can put my house back together.

Bottom line? We’ve cashed in $200,000 of my retirement to pay back Tom and get the house renovations moving. We’re trying to build back better (thanks, Joe). If all the cash juggling works out, maybe we’ll be able to put most of the retirement back in before it counts as income.

Now that the election is over, maybe congress will pass a bill that allows one in a declared disaster area to take retirement money out to rebuild without a tax hit. That certainly wasn’t going to happen pre-election because you know the winners want to take credit for it.

We have about $17,750 of deductibles to eat

Hurricane Ian arrived on September 29th. As I write this on the evening of November 15th, it seems like it just happened. Yes, things have changed since then. The debris piles on our street have diminished (although not gone completely). Our house; ahead of most in the neighborhood; has been stripped down to studs, bio-washed, had new drywall installed, textured, primed, and painted. Next is hardwood baseboards and doors. I’ve scheduled tile and grout cleaning for November 25th. The kitchen/bath/laundry cabinets and countertops will be installed the following week. We have every intention of being back into our home before December 7th.

So, what about Hurricane Nicole? Wind and rain here. I’m certain Nicole impacted other parts of Florida like Ian did us. Mind you, since we’re sleeping in a camper in our driveway, I did ask some camper-savvy neighbors if we needed to worry about 40 mph winds and they scoffed it off, so……

Will we come out smelling like roses? Unlikely. But we’ll do what Michelle and I have always done – create something out of nothing. When I arrived at SDSMT in 1983 the music program at SDSMT consisted of one room with a piano and three extracurricular ensembles. When I left there was a music building, curricular music offerings including four vocal ensembles, orchestra, band, brass choir, jazz band, pep band, and two fulltime and one parttime music instructors and a secretary. Before Michelle there was no music studio in South Dakota like what she created with Musikhaus – fifty award-winning students – some of them now achieving things like Broadway shows and one the reigning Miss South Dakota.

We do appreciate those who checked in on us to see how we were doing. Michelle and I observed our 21st anniversary on November 3rd in the midst of this recovery.

Michelle continues to work extra hours to gain time off, so she can fly to South Dakota to visit her family. She is an amazing individual whose standards never waver.

October 31st  I took my last examination for the Total Wine Professional certification. I scored 94%. I am now only the 2nd individual in the Fort Myers store (and one of few in all southwest Florida) to have achieved this milestone. The district manager visited the store last week and made a point of coming to congratulate me.

We’re OK. Struggling and cautious, but OK. We hope to be back in our house by Christmas. Hope all is well with all of you.

The beat goes on ….

I recall telling Michelle back in 2016 that if she was serious about moving to Florida we needed to visit in August, not in January or March or November. We did so in 2017, rented a house on the river in Cape Coral, spent some time running around and ended up buying property in Port Charlotte. We left Florida about three weeks before Hurricane Irma showed up. That hurricane is still on the minds of many of our neighbors, but (for the fourth year now) we seem to be progressing safely through the current season – always aware that September/October are the more deadly months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loki and his older siblings (minus Taco, the spooky calico cat) enjoying the morning coffee.

We are amazed that we are so busy.

Michelle has progressed in her leadership roles at her facility so much that she was asked to change teams to help solidify another area of clinical care. She has flirted with the idea of getting an MBA but with her current schedule, that doesn’t seem feasible.

I have found a new place in the wine industry. I was employee of the month this past month and have now passed 4 of the 7 examinations towards the TWP certification. The last was the hardest yet – all of France except Bordeaux (which I had already passed) and Champagne/Cremant (which is the 7th exam). Burgundy itself was insanely complex, but then one had to include Beaujolais, Chablis, Loire, Alsace, Minervois, Languedoc-Roussillon. The conversation among Total Wine employees in this program is that the first exam (California/Oregon/Washington)  is the hardest. It is difficult, but I believe that this view is held mainly because many never get past the first exam. Sorry, but Bordeaux, Italy, and other France are more difficult. I am happy to be past them. Now it is all about Australia/New Zealand, South America, and South Africa. 

Decisions about lifestyle: One of my dreams about being here was for me and Michelle to spend hours and days running down the river to the gulf to Fort Myers Beach and St. James City or downtown Ft. Myers – all of which we’ve done. For the first two years I was here I made it a tradition to take the boat down to the nearest eatery for lunch on my birthday. 

But, with my involvement in Total Wine, Michelle’s obligations at her job, my “other” job as haushusband – doing the lawn, laundry, housework; we simply are not using the boat. Loki doesn’t like the boat and Michelle doesn’t have time by the time she gets home. When I have the opportunity to take the boat out, I invariably find something else that is a higher priority. And every time I look at that beautiful boat sitting out there, I feel guilty. So, I have decided to get it in the best mechanical and cosmetical shape and sell it to someone who might use and appreciate it.

There are many boat clubs that allow one to rent a boat. My pilot’s license will not go away. This just seems like a logical choice.

I’ll be sad to see it go, but happy for the one who gets to enjoy it and happy that it is being used.

Time marches on. I had cataract surgery on both eyes in July. Not thrilled. I paid a bunch of money to correct my astigmatism and near-sightedness only to have to wear glasses for anything closer than two feet. When I complained to my eye doctor (who I think is amazing), she said, “Better than going blind”. OK, fine.

We’re doing well here in SWFL. Hope all of you are happy and healthy. Drop me a line whenever. Always happy to hear from you.

Musikhaus happenings

Summer in Florida …

That usually means two or three things:

Rainy Season

  • Morning begins clear and beautiful. No clouds in the sky with brilliant sunrises and scenery
  • Mid-day, the humidity has increased, and brings clouds. People come into Total Wine and complain about the heat. I’m like, “And you live, where…?” 
  • Late afternoon/early evening. Thunderstorms release the tension created by humidity and heat. Lasting five-ten minutes, they chase my fierce Doberman Pinscher (big baby) into his kennel. I sit on the lanai watching the rain evoke my childhood memories of Sandusky, OH – on the porch watching the rain flll the gutters.

Hurricane preparation

  • Until Thanksgiving, the National Hurricane Center website is checked daily for potential threats. The generator is ready in case of power outages. An evacuation plan is in place.
  • So far, we’ve been lucky. No major storms have arrived since before we came here. Our home was built to the most rigorous hurricane standards. But we are prepared.

Life slows down

  • We live in a much more populous area than Rapid City, SD. But advantages available to us here in SWFL outweigh the disadvantages.
  • We can take a day trip to Miami or Key West or Orlando or Tampa. We don’t much. Why? We have our own resort right here. We have a private pool and spa. Our boat can take us to downtown Fort Myers, the Gulf of Mexico, Fort Myers Beach, or Pine Island. We have a convertible to take a jaunt to the countryside or beach.
  • We have at least a three-day weekend together (more on that below) and were thinking, let’s do something. We decided that “something” would be floating in the pool, cooking meals, drinking good wine, and being together. What else is there?
The Feiszli Resort

Today I passed the third of seven examinations towards the Total Wine Professional certificate. Italy was extremely challenging. I began my exploration of wine around 1993 to prepare to take a group to Italy in 1996, figuring I ought to know more about the culture.  

That trip was memorable. We spent time in Venice, Siena, Florence, and Milan. I only wish I had known then what I know now regarding Italian wine because, as I studied for this test, I became aware of how many important places we visited in regard to wine culture. Ah, well.

Next up, I get to revisit France. My second TWP exam was only over Bordeaux – a significant place for French wine – but only one of about seven major French wine regions. The next exam covers ALL the rest of them. I am particularly aware of my lack of knowledge regarding Burgundy. History? Sure. Wine culture? Not so much. Oh well, time to put on the graduate school mentality. Looking forward to it, actually.

 

 

Considerable time and effort was expended working on this website over the last month in order to make all the scores to the music of the Choralis Constantinus 1508 available as free PDF downloads.  One can now go to:

CC-Music

and click on a title of a specific motet to obtain the music. A form must be filled out, since we wish to track how many scores and which scores are being requested and where they are going.  If you wish a score and have issues getting one, just drop me a note and I’ll get it to you.

Michelle and I are contemplating a return to Konstanz in 2023 to celebrate my seventieth birthday. We wish to revisit the city before all our friends retire.  Missing the Hafenhallenteller,  the Franz Fritz Weinkellerei, Reichenau, and everything and everyone there. 

Other News

  • I go in for cataract surgery tomorrow. It’s normal, I guess, for people my age, but I’m still not thrilled about it. The second eye will get surgery on July 15th.  Evidently, they’ll fix my astigmatism, allowing me to go without glasses for the first time since fifth grade. And Michelle will take time off from work to drive me there and back. So, we have some enforced together time for a few days.
  • Michelle’s been promoted (again). The administration came to her to ask her to take over a team that had been in disarray from an ineffective team leader. She wrote her terms for the switch and, now currently supervises eleven(!) clinicians, overseeing about 400 residents … at least until they hire someone to replace her on her old team. Proud of her. I always believed in her. Glad she has finally been able to spread her wings.
  • Loki is gradually becoming the dog we want him to be. He is stubborn and has some inbreeding character flaws, but my work with him is slowly paying off. I have only two main goals for him now: a) Stop terrorizing our beautiful calico cat Taco and learn that when she runs from him, it is not an invitation to chase her and, b) bicycles are not a threat. The latter goal is closer to achievement than the former.
  • We had a fantastic visit from my sister Sue and brother-in-law Rand in early April, followed by a visit from three old friends from Arizona State University days (40 years ago now!). I was able to gift Rand some Blanton’s bourbon and also share some other rare bourbons he can’t get in Ohio. Claire, Marie, and Sharon are as lovely and fun as they always have been. I had forgotten how much fun they were together. It was a treat for us to host all of them here in such a short time span.
  • I sent complimentary CDs of the Heinrich Isaac music to four former professors – all of whom I consider formative to my growth as a musician and as a human being. The fantastic side effect was to receive phone calls and emails from them thanking me for remembering them. It made me feel good that I was able to share with them the good that they had engendered by influencing me. Thank you, Lewis Phelps, Carl H. Kandel, John MacDonald, and Robert D. Reynolds.
  • Growing season here is coming to an end. My last tomato was eaten last week. The herbs need to be replanted in the shadier of the two beds and the winter bed (in direct sun) will go fallow until October.

As Garrison used to say, “..and that’s the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.”  Free feel to check in. We’re always glad to hear from you

Whew!!!

The combined scourge of Covid and Florida high season is over. This means that (finally) some people are leaving southwest Florida as the warmer/rainier months appear. Much has been happening at the Feiszli household.

I continue to progress towards the Total Wine Professional certification. I took the Bordeaux examination on Monday and passed – making me the only person in the Fort Myers store to have passed two of the exams other than our wine manager. I have store managers who have expressed dismay over the volume of knowledge required to get a passing score. Truth be told, I was upset that I missed 4 questions, giving me an 89%. I wanted to achieve at least a 90%. My mentor, the wine manager told me to shut up and take the win. Okay, fine ….

On to Italy.  Seven more exams to pass and I will have earned the diploma.

This audio recording continues to receive attention. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, ensemble cantissimo sells them as well as Carus-Verlag, who sponsored the CD and has audio excerpts on their website. I urge you to contact ensemble cantissimo directly here since buying the CD from them will support their efforts. If your last name is Phelps, Kandel, MacDonald, or Reynolds; please do not buy one. I am sending you one because without you, none of this would have happened.

Markus and I will make these motets available to the public free of charge in PDF format. I will post the PDF files on this website and Markus will post them on the ensemble cantissimo website.

In somewhat more somber news, Michelle and I have been devoting our time and resources in support of Michelle’s younger sister, who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Michelle has already been back to South Dakota three times to visit and support. I went with her for five days over Easter weekend. She is undergoing chemotherapy and doing well. We are so impressed and encouraged by her resilience and determination to continuing to live her life. In addition, my oldest brother’s wife has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and they are dealing with that. Coincidentally, both of these persons have spent their lives in the medical field.

Michelle and I have spent many minutes discussing our own health and future. We are grateful for what we have but have decided to begin living for the now rather than the future.

With the CD release, I did a rather crazy adolescent, second-childhood thing. I decided (since both my kids and my wife had already gotten multiple tattoos) to get a tattoo to commemorate the last 40 years of my musical research. The artist was impressed that I was willing to go so crazy with my first tattoo. My response was: There are probably 100 people on the planet that would recognize this. Go big or go home.  So, here we are.