Come Hell or High Water.

Well, there is high water in Iowa. In my folks' yard. Probably in the basement by now. They live in Waverly, Iowa and it's flooding. I wasn't really aware how bad the problem was until I got my sister's message this morning that she was going sandbagging.

I did giggle because I remembered the "Sex and the City" episode about 'tea bagging' which is totally different and now I feel bad.

Back on topic, it's flooding in Iowa.

With their usual midwestern protestant practical approach to life. A bunch of relatives showed up, with some non-relatives, and helped move stuff (including the furnace, hot water heater, freezer(s)) out of the basement. I guess the big stuff lives in the kitchen now. The smaller stuff on the second floor. My brother, Stan, had brought a generator to run the pump brought by a friend. He also drove many of the helpers there.

By the time my sister and her spousal-equivalent got done bagging (heh heh) the bridge back to their part of town was closed. She said it would be like 25miles to go around and get there.

They are probably spending the night with Pam's boss and family because she has extra bedrooms with a bathroom. Pam and Rob (the s-e) had, in their practical way, packed overnight bags for just such an eventuality.

Still, it must super suck to have to stay somewhere because you CAN'T get to your house, not because you want to stay there.

Fred (my father) will be staying at the house even when the area is evacuated because pumps and generators take some babysitting. Once, during another flood, the pump ran too long, emptying the basement of too much water so the outside pressure of the water made the floor heave. The house tried to float. Some posts or something were compromised, but, Stan arrived on scene with wood and floor jack in hand and had things sorted out pretty quickly.

I wonder what rich people with no skills do. The blue collar types are taking care of their own problems.

Pam said that the Red Cross never even showed up with water (the water has been shut off to that part of town already...they drove to the gas station to pee). They were too overwhelmed with demand to do a water run. This is not normal.

This part of the world just suffered some serious tornadoes and some of the same areas are getting flooded now. People are going to physically and emotionally exhausted.

I'm going to the Mennonite Disaster Service and donate. After a tornado hit my aunt and uncle's place years ago, the Mennonites seemed to be particularly helpful (setting up a machine shed for my uncle's equipment that had survived and doing other very good, practical things without asking for so much as a sandwich...my aunt eventually forced them to have coffee with her because she told them it was unkind for them to give so much and not let her give back. It left her in too much debt. She didn't have much, but she could have them in for coffee and cookies. So they came in.)