Water, Water, Everywhere!

In the past month, every time I talk to my dad on the phone, he tells me how much it has been raining. I chalked it up to his great love of the weather since he has been known just to sit and watch the Weather Channel for hours on end. That is, until I received the following message from one of my friends who still lives in my hometown.

Row, row, row your boat and come get my ass out!

When I asked what she meant by that, she told me that Independence (located in the southeast corner of Kansas) was flooded in. All of the highways into were closed. And the waters were still rising.

She put some pictures up on her website, which I borrowed and posted here. That’s a lot of water.




This is about a mile from my folks house and right next to where my grandpa's house is used to be. The trees mark the place where the river should be. The water here is most likely 10-15 feet deep.



My parents live very close to one of the rivers that runs near Independence, so I called to make sure they and my grandpa were okay. Fortunately, and because their house sits on high ground, they are all fine. My grandpa and his dog have moved in with them and with most likely be there for a while. His house is gone. So is his car. It’s all under water. Be he is okay and that’s the important part. I am reasonably certain that my dad and grandpa can co-exist without killing each other. At least for a little while.



Here is a picture of the softball fields along Park Street. Notice that the water level is just under the basketball goals in the middle of the picture.


What bothers me about the situation my family is in, is that I have no way to help. I can’t get there because of all the water between here and there (here is a link to a story in the Houston Chronicle about the flooding). What angers me is the way local media is handling it. My parents told me that they can’t get any information about what is happening. They don’t even know when the rivers are supposed to crest. The reason: It is a small town and the local radio station is completely automated. So, it continues to churn out today’s pop favorites while the town washes away around it.

Hopefully, the rain will stop soon. Until it does, please keep all of the people in the flooded areas in Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Texas in your thoughts.