Major League Mold

So I made my first insurance claim since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and not unexpectedly, it's turned into a Byzantine maze. Wifey and I noticed a moldy smell in the room above our garage, where guests stay and my posse and I watch Canes games. I collect very little stuff, but what Canes memorabilia I do have is there, including 2 seats from the hallowed Orange Bowl, which Wifey bought me on Ebay. The seats are clearly authentic -- they have magic marker graffiti and petrified chewing gum on the bottom... Anyway, so I called a company out to check, and after an air sampling, sure enought found mold. It's probably coming from a shower pan, as there's an evidence of a leak in my garage ceiling. Since the first mold guy told me the fixing, called "remediation" in the trade, would cost about $10K, I figured I'd make a claim. My 4th rate insurer, out of Broward, first sent an adjuster. Yes, he concluded, we have mold. Then they sent a plumbing inspector to check out the shower situation. The fellow, who was in his 70s, filled the shower and pronounced it leak free. I asked him about the marks on the ceiling in the garage. He said they were old. How old? Well, clearly before I had the insurance policy, he said, and almost smiled. I asked him how often he finds a problem pre existed the coverage. "Always, just about," he answered. I wondered why the experts I face in depo are never this easy... I guess my carrier is NOT going with the plumber's opinion, because on Thursday they send an estimator -- who will report how much the remediation ought to cost. The fellow, 10 years my junior and tall and in much better shape than I, smiled when he saw my Canes stuff. He said he was a fellow alum, and had played on the baseball team in the early 90s. I asked him his name, and he told me: Jay Tessmer. Played? He's in the Canes Hall of Fame! I remeber him well -- and remeber he was drafted by the Yankees. What followed was the 10 minute visit stretched to 30, and I asked him what it was like to live the dream of every one of us who played Little League -- to make the majors? He only appeared in several games in the Show, but he became friends with Derek Jeter -- the last of his teammates to retire. We talked about pitching in the Majors -- leftys really ARE in demand...We talked about other great Canes pitchers -- my friends and I used to love watching Neal Heaton pitch in the early 80s. Jay knew them all. I admitted I was a Mets fan, but converted to the Yanks in the late 70s when they began their rise, and the Mets were awful. He grew up in Pittsburgh and was a Pirates guy. Terrific fellow -- humble about his sports past, but happy to share. He lives in West Boynton -- he says it's boring as hell, but nice affordable housing -- he said as he pointed and smiled to Villa Wifey... Meanwhile, it's been a month since I made the claim, and probably weeks away from the actual remediation. I 'd just like the room ready for the Days of Awe -- the Canes season. This is our year. Golden will finally put it all together, and ...well, at least there'll be great times watching and drinking with my buds... Hopefully sans mold...