Yes, it sounds like it could be a country song, but thanks to 130 year record-breaking rains (more than 15" in 48 hours) the rivers (yes, plural) are rising even as the sun finally breaks through.
Take a moment from your blog reading day and say a prayer or send out good thoughts to those who have lost so much.
Being in the center of it all has been an incredible experience. You all know what it's like to watch the rescue efforts over the TV, but to go out and find your regular stores, places you frequent, even the streets you use regularly closed and under water is a very humbling experience.
We were very lucky. Our house sits on a rise and other than a bit of extra water under the house, we got off unscathed. The flooding in our area (east of town) is limited to those areas around the creeks and rivers. One river runs right from the dam into the area and ended up flooding two shopping centers we frequent on a regular basis.
I cannot imagine the amount of loss in personal effects, houses, and even cars (not to mention the known 12 deaths from the flooding) and then add to that the loss in tourism dollars, wages and lost items in the stores flooded. Editorials on this have been written by others, and I will only suggest you take a moment and donate a few bucks to some charity (www.hon.com) Yet, even with all this loss, the Suthunaz have come out in full force to help their neighbors. Earlier today the mayor announced that the shelters were innundated with donations and volunteers. Hey, this is the volunteer state, remember? There were not calls to action, no pleas for help. When the tragedy struck, people helped. No one asked, it just happened. Boats came out to ferry people to safety. People opened their homes, their wallets and their hearts.
Again, it's just one of the things I love about living in the south. Want to help?
Make a donation to a charity, visit www.hon.com (hands on nashville).
Thanks for reading, back to the usual stuff next post.
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