On an odd note . . .

Ferrying supplies into our dry neighborhood and then they'll be sent to the shelters.

I've been getting a rather painful spot on my right side just under the rib cage and I was getting a little nervous about it. It would subside after a few days and then I'd get it again. Well I have now figured out how I get this pain in the side. We have a very deep new washing machine with no tall center agitator so I have to reach in down to the very bottom to pick up the little socks etc and voilà that is how I keep bruising myself. Yup, self inflicted but easily remedied - I will now stand on tippy-tippy toes  and be less aggressive so I don't fall into the drum. Of course I can ask P&D's Pop to help but he's usually out and about somewhere and being the get-it-done-tout-de-suite-person that I am I will probably continue to remove the clothes from the washer but will be more careful - like use a small pillow to cushion my side and hope I don't fall in head first.

As I was walking last evening I stopped and spoke with the man who is staying with his son across the circle. He had the most beautiful dog. a Blue Tick, Bozo aka Bocephus and Bocephus is very unhappy and wants to go home. He's not used to a kennel or having to share a house with other dogs but there is no home left. Nolan's Dad and Mother were evacuated by boat Saturday and were only given 30 minutes notice. No one in weather services or government had given warning about this monster flood. Within 15 minutes Nolan's Dad and Mother were up to their waists and were just able to manage to get Bozo aka Bocephus and two changes of clothes before they got out to the boat. At that time the Dad had to stretch his neck out because the water was already up to his chin and he was able to take Bozo with him. He tried to get his wife's cat, her baby, but the cat was wild with fear and he couldn't save her. He told me he's never felt so helpless in his entire life and he is an Army veteran. I believe he and his wife are in their sixties. He has lived in his home for over 40 years and has never been flooded out. They have no flood insurance because this was never supposed to happen. It seems that FEMA will allow each homeowner about $33,000 to clean up but I can't see that that will even come close to the cost of the destruction of people's homes. Nolan's Dad told me that they went yesterday to save what they could but there wasn't even enough worth saving to fill the back of a small truck. They are hunters, sportsmen as are all natives of Louisiana and his freezer is full of rotten meat. He said the smell was overpowering. The beautiful cat was dead and other than their hunting and fishing gear there was nothing to save. This is only one story. People who are staying across the circle to the right of us have lost their trailer, three cats, their Harley and her car. They had just bought the property near their trailer and were preparing to fix up the house and move in. They have little they were able to take with them as the waters rose so fast that they also walked out to be rescued in chest deep water. Both of these stories happened in opposite directions from our home. This is just a tiny slice of what is happening in Denham Springs. There are more stories but I cry as write them down so I will stop writing. I've held hands and hugged many people who are stunned as they walk our safe, dry subdivision. We have not gone out yet to get groceries or meds but Thursday, since the main highways are now open we will wend our way to a safe area north of us in Mississippi to shop and go to CVS. CVS there has managed to get a prescription I need even though it's too early to fill but the druggist got an override from our insurance. People are wonderful and we remain physically untouched by Nature's Terror. Not sure we can blame Nature as man has put people, businesses and companies in her way. This entire area is floodplain except for a few modest spots and man/government, is now paying the price of his foolishness.

Quote:  In nature things move violently to their place and calmly in their place. __Bacon