If you have a moment for some good thoughts, please send them my way

Tony, Zeke: nearly 30 years ago, when I was a freshman in high school, it was been there, lucked out.

Here's sending some Birdscribe karma your way.

 

This morning's update: Torrential rains overnight. Water levels higher than I've ever seen. The marsh behind my house -- normally my back yard runs a good 175 feet from my back yard -- has now sent water to within about 30 feet of my back deck (about 60 feet from my door). The deck is two steps up, the door another step up.

Our front, the lake is worse than ever. I'd have to say it's 2 feet above normal level. It's just about spilling over. If the marsh and the lake meet, I'm toast.

On a very sad and ironic note, the awful movie "Waterworld" is showing on Starz West right now. Worse, I'm watching it to get some tips.

 

Grow some gills and learn how not to act, old_t.

Best wishes.

 

See, I was going to make the "drink your pee" joke.

 

Update (and hopefully the last one):

It's been the longest, most-testing day of my life. It may also be the most fulfilling day of my life.

Things got worse and worse today, and by 11 a.m. I was sure of major flood damage. The lake in front was rising. The marsh and river in back were rising. We started sandbagging at around 11 at the next-door neighbor's house. Water from their driveway was what was really threatening my house.

I helped with bagging sand there and got a small sump pump, to which we hooked up a series of garden hoses. In reality, it was the equivalent of trying to put out a forest fire by taking a leak.

I called my brother, who got in touch with a friend with a high-power pump and the necessary hoses. It took an hour or so of driving round trip, but we got the pump up and running. Then the neighbor's son went and got another big pump. While those pumps were working, progress seemed little. At about 3:30 in the afternoon, friends started arriving. A full-tilt sandbagging operation went into effect. What seemed like at least 100 friends were on the scene.

Between my house, my brother's house and three other neighbors' houses, we filled and laid over 1,000 sandbags. Then the pumps really did their thing.

And God helped, too. Today was a cool, sunny, dry day. And while I expected the water to keep rising because of last night and yesterday's heavy rains, the levels in the lake stayed fairly steady. It rose, but only an inch or two.

In the end, I firmly believe we saved a stretch of seven or eight houses. Neighbors helping neighbors. Friends answering the call. Bosses calling employees to see how they were and to say don't worry about coming in. Take care of what you have to do.

It's now 10:45 and my eyes are welling up over the amazing response of friends and neighbors. I think I choked up at least 20 times today thanking friends for their help.

My house is safe. I have a little bit of water in the basement. It's only a sub-basement (4-feet deep) under a small portion of the house and I don't even store anything there. My brother's house didn't even get a drop in the basement. His next-door neighbor's house had water up to the threshold of the back door and a garage full of water. As I write this, there are only a couple of puddles. The rest of the water is behind a massive wall of sandbags.

I need a shower and about 10 hours of sleep, but I will sleep comfortably tonight for the first time in three nights. Tomorrow is my parents' surprise 50th anniversary party. We will be able to hold it at my brother's house. And I will go to bed knowing that I have the privilege of knowing and living in a place with the greatest people in the world.

Sorry if I'm pouring my heart out too much, but today was a life-changing day. It turned my year around. And thanks to all of you here who have sent on your best wishes. It meant the world to me.

 

Good work.
You've earned it. Have one on me.

 

It looks like you have a very nice place, tony. I'm glad it's staying dry.

My folks in Indiana have a house on the lake like that, and I wish I didn't live in a part of the country where such a domicile is impossible (unless it's man-made and totally unnatural).

 

That's awesome! I glad it's all working out for you and your neighbors, that those houses are safe. Now if we can get Zeke back to know his place is OK ... at least he can down free drinks (I presume, anyway) at the wedding at get away for a bit.

 

Tony, that's great news and a great story about what people can do when they actually work together.

 

o_t, glad to hear you'll come out of this all right. It's amazing what people can do when others need help.

 

I've been all over this country, and I can't think of anywhere else I'd want to live in a crisis than the Midwest. I'm proud to claim those people as my own.