on plane from kci seeing family was helpful at getting beyond the record flood and I return to the clay dike that was the core of the protection for our river home, and the the city followed through with sand bag removals estimated at four thousand.

the flood story is on that may be best recorded in word and captured as an incredible and tenacious problem solving exercise keying on available resources and this preparation both physically and mentally

no war is fought alone – any three of the front line paced forward held strong and with persistence were indispensable with every twenty four hour block that slowly passed us by as the living room fire burned continuous along the remaining pet, thumper, knighted as the flood kitty, kindled the spirit that would soon prove powerful

early on impromptu design work required peeling ice and snow to expose an opportunity for a sound bed to lay the imagined protection of clay

a small crew was summoned to chip and shovel ice as some pessimism stirred on the clays arrival

as bags became available a line went down at points of first exposure near noon some eight days before the catastrophe would strike

simultaneously mr clay showed up and bobcats peeled back frozen grass and top soil but a day would pass before the actual material would begin to be laid on the skinned earth

from the road first the birm was build spanning it’s own extension into the yard both south and north lines where the connecting span was to be the last component to the forty one foot barrier

upon completion it’s breadth was impressive yet predictions stirred that forty two was likely forty three possible and forty four was not out of the question / a day maybe two was required before additional reaction was possible as the city reeled in fear of the worst and additional material was limited with any height coming from bags not clay

the long sleepless night allowed for the possibility for some additional clay as the core was running a two foot high dike topside on the main road.

Excerpted from iPod (8Gb) 3677 days ago