An Island

Dear Friends,

I hope this evening finds you all safe, warm and dry. Here, dry is a hard thing to find. As of last Friday, my rain gauge reads 12.5 inches of rain. Do you know what that kind of rain does? It cuts off all the roads, lets rivers take over bridges, lets marshes and swamps and drainage ditches turn into lakes, and for some unlucky folks, it turns houses into boats. Yesterday I was feeling quite claustrophobic. I left 2 hours early for work, only to find every road impassable. I had to call off or risk getting the car stuck in moving water where moving water shouldn't of been. I had to stay home and watch my yard turn into a lake. Neighbors moved their cars to higher ground. Some peoples cars were up to their dashboards in water. Kids paddled makeshift rafts down the street. Emergency vehicles came into our neighborhood to see if we needed to evacuate. Half the neighborhood had to, our part was voluntary. We stayed.

Everyone was worried. Everyone was waiting for the rain to end and finally around 5 pm it did. By morning, the water had receded somewhat from my yard, and one street was passable so that I could get to the toll road (the only main road in NWI at that time that was free and clear) so that I could get to work.

In a way I was glad to have an excuse to stay home. I was running a 100 degree fever since Saturday, and I was able to rest though I felt antsy too. I don't like not having the option of going and getting out away from the house. I don't like being an island.

But their is no more rain in the forecast for a while, and for that, all of us in these parts are thankful. I hope the roads are even better off by the time I get out of here and go home.

Have a good night all,

Nickie