Sunday, June 8, 2008

My Hometown is Flooding

My hometown of Decorah, Iowa is floundering under too much rain. Many roads in town are closed, and sandbagging is going full force. The above photo is from local newspapers and in it you can see my family hard at work. On the far right, in a blue jacket, appears to be my brother. Standing near the sand truck in a navy and white baseball shirt is my nephew, and toward the left, in a coral colored ball cap, in my brother-in-law Aunt Mike. I'd love to be in town helping but the last thing they need is more people driving in and needing to shower and flush toilets.

This "summer" is reminding me of 1993. That summer I lived in Iowa City while southern Iowa endured 3 months of torrential rains. It was miserable. The city of Des Moines lost all water services for weeks. People had to shower in donated WaterPik trucks. No one could do laundry or flush. Anheuser Busch trucked in loads of canned water. And so far, this summer is just as miserable. Following one of the coldest winters I can remember, we've now had months of gloom and rain. Sigh . . . . . .

So instead of sandbagging, I spent a lovely afternoon with my new blogging friends Christopher and Shannon and their two darling daughters. We were able to spend of bit of time on the screened porch while the rain drummed on the roof and the thunder rolled.

10 comments:

Fran said...

Holy crap! Wow. I hope all is well and I am glad that you got to hang with your friends.

laurie said...

my brother and his family live in mason city. the winnebago river runs at the edge of their back yard, and it's usually about 10 feet below the edge of the yard. today, it's lapping at their grass. their basement is flooded, and the city has no water.

yikes.

Mnmom said...

I've heard Mason City is having a really tough time. Floods are the worst - the damage just goes on and on.

Joe said...

Yow.

I remember being in MacGregor Iowa back in 93 when the Mississippi came up over its banks. It was an amazing sight.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to your family and friends.

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

Maybe god hates Iowa and MN.

Mnmom said...

I'm beginning to wonder . . . .

Missy said...

Oh I hope the sand bags help! Too much rain.

Nice Garth Brooks reference!

Melissa Foster Denney said...

Hey~

I've been trying to get in touch with Cheesecake and Aunt Mike~ Are you safe and dry? Do y'all know any of the scouts?

Mnmom said...

Cheesecake and Aunt Mike are high and dry but getting around town was a miserable headache. We didn't know any of the Scouts - it was in western Iowa,near Omaha Nebraska

Anonymous said...

I saw the news this morning and thought about you. Hope your family makes it through o.k.