Just east of Mexico Beach is Port St. Joe, a slip of a town that caught the lip of Michael’s eye when it slammed ashore Wednesday.

Resident Scott Collins’ two-story townhouse lies right on the border between the two. The home was damaged by falling trees but stayed standing, which is more than he could say for many of his neighbors.

Collins tarped the roof with his friends and son-in-law and tucked in for the long haul, ready to start the slow process of cleaning up.

Glass and debris he could handle. Reshingling the roof. That was the best he could do until the insurance adjuster could make it through.

A couple of roofing contractors drove slowly through the neighborhood, a welcome sign normalcy may soon be on its way.

“I don’t know if we’ll make it alright, but we’ll make it livable,” he said. “We’re southern Americans. We persevere.”

Down the street, John and Trudy Lee were in a tighter spot.

Their mobile home was intact, thanks in part to new tie-downs John had installed just a few months prior. The storm had torn away at their roof and shattered windows, driving rain through the home and destroying the carpet. The shed in the back was a ruin.

Altogether, they said, they were lucky. But they did not have insurance on the home. It became too expensive to maintain when rates on coastal mobile homes went up after prior storms, Lee said.

The cost of repairs, otherwise minor compared to some of their neighbors, pose a major challenge for a beautician and a charter fishing boat captain, he said.

“I’ll see if FEMA can give me anything,” he said, staring down at his gravel driveway, his thumbs hooked in his pockets.

The rest they’ll have to swing themselves.

Lee, 67, has a little social security to lean on. The beauty shop in downtown Port St. Joe should be open soon, so Trudy can get back to work, he said. They’ll have a little coming in.

But his charter boat is stranded in the Mexico Beach Canal, deep in the disaster zone. The boat looks okay from aerial shots, but he won’t know for sure until he can get in to check it out. There is no telling when that might be.

Until then, they’ll try to rent the small house still standing behind their damaged home or, maybe somewhere in Panama City, and try to get a bead on the future.

The few who stayed or returned watched Saturday as rescue vehicles and clean-up crews shot past the ruined homes on highway 98, heading for the disaster zone.

Residents were paid little attention by the national guard or Sheriff’s deputies, who were preoccupied with directing the snarl of emergency traffic around periodic checkpoints dotting the highway.

No one is sure what is going on.

There was no clear sense from county officials when clean up may begin or services return, residents said. Rumors abound, but little solid information.

Danny Sinclair, of the Beacon Hill area, heard from a neighbor they might have running water in three or four days. Down the street, Scott Collins heard cell service may be restored as early as Saturday afternoon.

Most agree the power will be out for some time, possibly weeks. Gas for cars and generators is fast running out.

Nevertheless, there are signs of movement.

Tankers filled with gasoline pulled into stations outside Port St. Joe under police escort, making their way slowly but surely towards the areas hardest hit. Power crews scrambled to clear lines and repair broken poles along the quiet, rural back roads crisscrossing the county.

Construction contractors appeared alongside streets still blocked off by fallen trees. A bulldozer trudged along the side of the highway, pushing scattered debris into neat piles.