Saturday, June 11, 2011

The river rose significantly today and is currently at 24.1 feet, with an estimated 25.1 feet on Tuesday. We have not heard of any levee breaks as of yet. People are getting a little tense and there is an anxious undercurrent as the banks of the river disappear just a little more underwater.

Dustin and a bunch of other guys (and a few gals) did some sandbagging today on the Missouri riverbank, just north of Rulo. The kids and I got to see them for their lunchbreak...

He's in the red hat and plaid shirt.  For those of you who saw Dustin on TV last week (ever-so-briefly) and have seen other photos of him here, he really does own more shirts than just that one brown plaid one. But I do know it is one of his favorites....obviously.

They used 4-wheelers and "Gators" to transport the sandbags down this narrow levee to place them anywhere the levee was just a little low.

The "community spirit" around here is amazing. I guess maybe because they know that only by working together will we minimize losses. Either way, there are so many people who give of themselves, night and day, asking nothing in return. From equipment like bulldozers, scrapers, and excavators, to the people who operate them, to the women who have provided meals for them for the last few WEEKS, it's really neat to see such a spirit of generosity, servant hood, and teamwork.

Other news...
Big Lake State Park closed a week ago, but when they said it closed, I thought they just meant the cabins and campground. No, they meant EVERYTHING. You can't even get in there to ride bikes or put a boat on the water or anything.

In the bad news department, we heard that crop insurance may not pay this time and that our flood insurance on our home simply won't pay. I'm not even going to put into print exactly what we heard, because it could very well be rumor, speculation, or hype. But whatever it is, that kind of news is not encouraging. As if we needed additional things to worry about at this point.

On the family front...
We had T-ball practice this morning, helped serve lunch to the sand-baggers (not really, more like we asked if there was anything we could do to help, but Rita had it all completely under control, so we just stood around the looked like we were helping.) Did some more household sorting this afternoon (but refrained from more post-it notes...for now at least), and went to St. Joe for Clayton's Birthday present for the end of the month. Now, I'm tired and going to bed. But before I do, I leave you with one last (maybe) shot of those guys at the Railroad tracks....because, well, because there are some things you never fathomed seeing in your entire life, and this, for me, is one of them. Finally a time when people replace machines as the better option.