You see, I live in Columbia, South Carolina and have lived here all of my life. I have spent the last few days watching my hometown sink under the pressure of so much rain that the systems of lakes could not hold all of the water. In South Carolina we have dealt with Hugo, one of many monster hurricanes. We have dealt with earthquakes, even though that was many,many years ago. Almost every winter we have crippling ice storms. Now, much of the state is dealing with what has been called a 1000 year flood. I think this is probably the worst of what has come before. We really could prepare for the other disasters, we knew what to expect. Flood water is another thing entirely. You really cannot prepare for this. You really cannot imagine the extent of devastation until you live it. You might say, don't build around water, but, that is not necessarily the answer. My home is miles away from a body of water. If it had not been for some work by the Corp of Engineers and Richland county we would have been under at least 6 feet of water.
 |
| This is the canal where we have an area of water intake for the city. |
 |
| This is a complex that my husband worked on several years ago in Sumter |
 |
| This is the Lowe's in the area that the Quilted Pearl USED to be. |
 |
| This was an area that was totally flooded in the Forest acres area. |
 |
| This is an area on Bluff Rd. that is the entrance to I-77 Just a few miles from my home |
 |
| This is the back water of Lake Murray Dam when they opened the spill way gates to dump water into the Saluda River. |
As this played out over the weekend, I watched areas of this city that I use to play in be destroyed. I watched business flooded out. Some were our hangouts as teenagers, some were brand new and had only been in business for a few months. I have watched TV anchors 'loose it' on air due to what we see and how we feel. The first responders in South Carolina are to really be commended for the jobs they have done. Especially dealing with the 'stupid' that can't seem to understand that a barricade is in that street for a reason. They have seen the worst of this. The media has been fabulous. They have kept us up dated and have tried very hard to make sure that the information given was correct and up to date.
The people of South Carolina .........what can I say about them..............not enough adjectives to tell you just how amazing they are. You need what? They have it there so quickly, you just wouldn't believe how they did it. I have to say too that social media has made a tremendous difference in how all of this is being handled. You need it, you got it.
My entire family has been so blessed in that we have no issues with the flood damage. For awhile Dick and I did not have water. We are still under a boil water advisory. My daughter-in-law's work area has probably sustained some flood damage. My son's employers have had some flood damage. My daughter is fine and was back to work this morning. My sisters and their families are all dry and in good shape. Pat's husband works for AT&T and is helping with recovery. Her daughter works with our local food bank and they are doing a remarkable job. We have been so blessed.
I have been trying to spend time in my studio working on some quilts, but, my heart is just not in it. I will be spending the next day or so just trying to 'get my head straight'. (My Daddy would be so proud of me using that phrase) You don't have to have gotten wet for this stuff not to effect your thought process. One of the things that I will do tomorrow is to turn off the TV and not watch any of the news. I have an appointment for a hair cut, so will try to get that done. Would love to 'go to lunch', but with a boil water advisory, I don't really trust the restaurants with the necessary sanitary practices.
Lost my train of thought.
My Grandchildren are out of school again tomorrow. Pretty soon we will try to all get together because we need too. This will pass. We will survive. The 'one day at a time' is the mantra right now. We welcome your prayers.
If you would like to offer your help, I would appreciate your contributions to Harvest Hope Food Bank.........because I know exactly where that money goes. You can do that on line at http://www.harvesthope.org/columbia . My sister's daughter works there so I know that your dollars will be well spent and will go directly to relief at this time and in the future.
Thanks for letting me vent. Sometime you just need to do that.
