I’m all about leading by example. I love to walk our house with my kids, and I even encourage my employees to do the same.
But there are certain things that I can’t ignore if I want my world to run like clockwork. Like when the roof caves in.
Unfortunately, my home is no longer fireproof. I make an effort to keep the light on and the heat in. I check the code before watering plants, making sure there are no insulation holes or damaged wires. But as the summer sun comes around, we’re getting wetter and wetter. My kids are starting to believe that the heavens are more likely to put fire in than out.
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This weekend, we had a massive storm that deposited over 14 inches of water, which continued to cover our garage and kitchen. We lost all the parking in the back (which we have to use as overflow in case of an emergency). The street and garage are under water and the water is still creeping up.
On top of it all, I have the rest of the roof to deal with.
I know that we’re not alone. There are more than 15 million homes in the United States that are at risk to some degree of roof damage in a storm. Because that number is growing by the day, it is a frightening fact that the building code in most states mandates that homes have fireproof roofs.
This doesn’t mean that we have to let our kids play in the yard on a “play-in” weekend that our family has dedicated to physical and mental activity. At the very least, we can protect our family from peril.
So, I’m faced with an obvious dilemma.
Continue to check the houses in my neighborhood for injuries and damages in case of storms, and continue to leave nothing to chance. Or do I remove our garage doors and cover the garage with netting so that it’s safer.
It’s likely that it’s cheaper to save our house than to repair the roof. But can my neighbors gain the same satisfaction from a safer building?
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If there is any silver lining to this harsh reality, it’s that I have two businesses to help me with the damage control — the house and the business.
For that reason, I’ve made a commitment to call the owner of each business to see if there is anything we can do to help. Whether it’s calling in new equipment, a new water heater or maybe even donating things that are needed for these businesses.
My first call was to Mark Wallace, owner of First Choice Motorcycle, and then a few days later I called the head of my insurance agency, Marian Malinsky.
Without hesitation, I offered to help any way I could.
I’m not sure that they want to, but here’s what I’m hoping I can do to encourage them to take action. If I could just get everyone to work on their business instead of on the roof or whatever other issue we’re facing.
We’re not financially strapped. We have big businesses and sophisticated ideas. I would encourage them to just invest their resources into making sure they’re maximizing their return on investment.
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