Unbelievable Flooding

Finally. Yesterday the national news media finally decided to begin reporting on the horrendous flooding that’s been taking place since Thursday in Nebraska and Iowa. Unbelievable. It is unprecedented flooding in our heartland. I realize that the media and a lot of the country considers the Midwest to be “flyover states,” as they call them.   But without the crops and the animals they produce, the entire country will be feeling the effects of this flood. It is an unprecedented flood. Multi-generation farms have been lost. Not just one or two but many, many of them.  Everything is gone. Houses, cattle, equipment, animals. It’s just all gone. Entire towns are underwater.  There was absolutely no time to prepare for this flood. And it still ongoing. The infrastructure is completely destroyed all over eastern Nebraska. Roads and bridges are completely gone. It will take years to recover from this.

The town that Brad‘s parents live in is still completely isolated with no way in or out and it isn’t the only one. There are many towns like this.  Brad spent the weekend flying supplies in and out of airports all over eastern Nebraska. He wasn’t alone. There were many private pilots who donated their time, aircraft and fuel and did the same. It’s what you do in the Midwest. You come together and you help each other. Most of the levee systems have been breached and the Spencer dam  has been completely destroyed. Maybe it sounds a bit like I’m lecturing here, and I really don’t mean it to sound that way. But oh my! I was so disappointed in our national media. I listened Thursday and Friday night to our national newscasts and didn’t hear one mention of this horrific flooding. Plenty of political bickering, and even a few “fluff pieces,” but not one word about the hard-working men and women in the center of our country who have just lost everything.

OK. I’m done now. I usually don’t go on rants, but this is just unbelievable to me. The media silence until Sunday was deafening. One more picture to show you how bad it is. This is Offutt Air Force Base.  Home of the Strategic Air Command. This is where our presidents go in case of national disaster. It has never before flooded and look at it now.

I know you all come here for knitting and happy stuff. And normally that’s what I want to give you. Because believe me, I know that we all need more “happy” in this world that we live in. But I just can’t ignore our friends and family members who are suffering right now. Please, please keep them in your prayers.

And now for some happy knitting!

I finished my shawl while keeping in touch with family members.

It’s nice and warm and toasty and I have it thrown around my shoulders right now.

It is warming up here today. The weekend was nice and sunny and we’ve actually begun to have some snow melt. It’s not quite spring, but that isn’t keeping me from trying to move the season along a bit.  My toes just wanted to feel the sunshine on them! We still have about 2 feet of snow in our yard but I have some windows open today letting some fresh air into the house for the first time in months. It gives me hope that spring is actually on the way.

Thank you all for listening to me vent today. I hope I didn’t offend anyone. Wishing you all a most wonderful Monday and praying that you are all safe wherever you maybe.  

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible.

 Blessings always, Betsy