stay tough (and dry) Iowa!

I got the latest in a string of emailed updates re: the recent flooding in Iowa, and in eastern Iowa specifically. I was there for the floods of 1993 (keeping the radio station studios from swamping). It sounds way worse this time around, and lots of people are losing their homes and businesses. And jails and bridges and courthouses and hospitals.

My friend's email was a well-worded account of what's going on, and how it feels to be in the middle of it, and how people (himself included) are coping (or attempting to cope).

The story was honest, thoughtful and unsolicited, sent from a friend whom apparently knew that I'd want to hear how my former home was fairing, and who (I think) knew I'd be happy to have him give his account.

It seems that times of community tragedy inspire us to put it down in words... maybe partly because the disruption forces downtime from work, tv, etc, and gives us nothing but time to think about what's happened and/or continues to unfold.

Me, I started my blog after 9/11... I'm sure there were "blogs" or "journals" or whatever about Katrina, and the tsunami, and forest fires in California... Virginia Tech... the list doesn't stop.

it helps to write about it, though. And read about it too.

Hang in there Iowans!