Forgotten Flood Victims

There has been a slight falling out in the family....something I am not comfortable discussing publicly yet, but one that I suppose you can file under "Why can't I ever just keep my big mouth shut!" Somebody said something hurtful to me, I told my husband, my husband defended me in a fierce and rather disrespectful manner (ok it's his mom....) and so now they are not speaking. It made for a potentially awkward Father's Day....but it actually turned out wonderfully for us. He woke up yesterday and decided we were going to spend the day just US...the 4 of us. He wanted to got to Evansville IN, about a 2 hour drive, and take the boys to Chuck E. Cheese. We had an awesome time, just by ourselves! And hubby and I talked and talked and felt closer than we had in a long time. I told him not many guys would have done what he did for me, even if I don't necessarily agree how he went about it. Anyhoo hope you all had a fabulous Father's Day!

For those not familiar with Chuck E. Cheese, it is a Pizza place for kids full of games and little rides and activities for kids (and adults :0) The boys had so much fun!

On our way home we decided to take a different route to see the flood waters in Lawrence County IL. You keep hearing about Iowa on your morning news, but nobody is telling you about this little piece of the Earth that has been ravaged. A main water line has broken somewhere underneath this floodwater, and 4 towns are without water....FOUR TOWNS! Our local dairy truckers are hauling truckload after truckload of water instead of milk to try and keep these people sanitary and hydrated. So if you price of milk suddenly goes up, maybe the local news should take a look at the crisis here....


I did not have my camera with me, but what we saw was just amazing and horrifying. Houses underwater and farmland just disappeared into lakes. Dozens of levees have broken along the Wabash and Embarrass River's to create this disaster. There were cars lined up for miles pulled over on the highway gawking at the sight. There were speed boats and jet skis in the flood waters that used to be fertile farm fields, helping victims retrieve items from their homes and surveying the damage. Road signs peeked out just above the water line, indicating that this water was at least 8-10 feet deep. I have found some pictures online that show the flooding my neighbors are enduring. They continue to need your prayers. I think perhaps because this is not a densely populated region, it is not getting media coverage, but these flooded fields are going to affect everyone's pocket book very soon. Much of this corn is grown for ethanol, and often our soy beans are used for bio-diesel as well. More pain at the pump.










Photos are property of Steve Hardesty, please see this site for more photos he has taken of this disaster http://www.stevehardesty.com/