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pongo
Real men bake bread.

May 3, 2010, 7:43 PM

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Don't know where else to put this, but . . .	Can't Post

I gather most of the country doesn't know about the massive floods down here in Tennessee, where Joanne and I live. As of today, May 3, this May is the fifth wettest month since they've been keeping records in Tennessee. We had just under 15 inches of rain in the last two days. The radio station where I do a show is off the air and not answering the phone, but it's on top of a hill, so we assume it's just that the phones and power are out.

I'm also on top of a hill, and haven't even tried to get off the hill for two days. Our schools are closed today, and maybe tomorrow, too.

Has Joanne posted in the last 24 hours? There are five deaths reported, last I saw, which is not a lot considering, and none of those is her, but she may be out of power and internet.

Poetry: It's not just for sissies any more.

Difficult Listening, Sundays from ten to noon (Central time), at http://www.radiofreenashville.org/.

http://home.comcast.net/~david.m.harris/site/

__________

May 3, 2010, 7:47 PM

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Re: [pongo] Don't know where else to put this, but . . . [In reply to]	Can't Post

Last Log-on: May 1, 2010, 6:59 PM

:(

six five four three two one 0 ->

loosestrife

May 4, 2010, 4:23 AM

Post #3 of 10 (10565 views)
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Re: [pongo] Don't know where else to put this, but . . . [In reply to]	Can't Post

She posted to Twitter that 7 x 20 would be "out of commission" for a while.

Andrea

pongo
Real men bake bread.

May 4, 2010, 4:30 PM

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Re: [loosestrife] Don't know where else to put this, but . . . [In reply to]	Can't Post

My daughter's school will be closed for the rest of the week. We already lost nine days to snow.

Poetry: It's not just for sissies any more.

Difficult Listening, Sundays from ten to noon (Central time), at http://www.radiofreenashville.org/.

http://home.comcast.net/~david.m.harris/site/

JoanneMerriam
Joanne Merriam

May 6, 2010, 12:48 PM

Post #5 of 10 (10509 views)
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Re: [pongo] Don't know where else to put this, but . . . [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hey, David, I just saw this. I'm fine, as you now already know. We had flooding in our basement, only about two inches (though we probably got about a foot of water total, it seeped in really slowly, and we bailed all day into the toilet, and our pipes held, so we kept it to a minimum). I got the rabbits upstairs (photos on my blog) and they were unhurt, though two of them were soaked (the other one intelligently got into her high-sided litter bin and stayed there). We lost internet, but I have internet on my phone (it's a Blackberry, and a pain in the arse to use, but I was able to post to twitter etc from there). We were mostly back to normal by Monday night, except for my kitchen is still out of commission - the flooding must have left solids in our dishwasher pipe (which is the same pipe as the sink) and it keeps backing up when we try to use it, so we're waiting on that being fixed. Compared to what some people have gone through, we got off really easily.

My favourite story from this whole thing - a friend tells me the Kroger near her was completely flooded, and there were people out with boats in the parking lot fishing. Oh, Tennessee.

I'm proud of our community, though - as far as I know there was no looting, or profiteering. You hear stories about people and businesses taking terrible advantage at times like this, but both this time and when Nova Scotia was hit by Hurricane Juan (the only comparable disaster I've known firsthand), people just helped each other out.

Editor: 7x20 * Upper Rubber Boot Books
Most recently: Apocalypse Now: Poems and Prose from the End of Days (Atwood, Bacigalupi, JCO, etc.)

Writer: joannemerriam.com * The Glaze from Breaking (poetry)

pongo
Real men bake bread.

May 6, 2010, 1:04 PM

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Re: [JoanneMerriam] Don't know where else to put this, but . . . [In reply to]	Can't Post

According to this morning's news, 26 people were arrested for looting, but that's a remarkably small number. I haven't been away from the house for a week, but tonight I'll see how bad it is in Dickson; pretty bad, from the pictures I've seen, but recovering, as one does from floods.

Poetry: It's not just for sissies any more.

Difficult Listening, Sundays from ten to noon (Central time), at http://www.radiofreenashville.org/.

http://home.comcast.net/~david.m.harris/site/

sandys
Sandy Soli

May 9, 2010, 10:02 PM

Post #7 of 10 (10377 views)
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Re: [pongo] Don't know where else to put this, but . . . [In reply to]	Can't Post

David, hope you, Joanne and others are drying out successfully. Are you and your books safe? Radio station back to normal?

To prevent sunburn, cover yourself with books.
----Sandy----

pongo
Real men bake bread.

May 10, 2010, 12:23 AM

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Re: [sandys] Don't know where else to put this, but . . . [In reply to]	Can't Post

We're up and running at the station, and all our books are fine. The city is a mess, and one of the major roads out our way is more or less nonexistent for a serious stretch. A few houses at lower elevations than ours floated away -- you can google "Kingston Springs flood" for pictures and video -- but, as I said, we're on top of the hill.

Poetry: It's not just for sissies any more.

Difficult Listening, Sundays from ten to noon (Central time), at http://www.radiofreenashville.org/.

http://home.comcast.net/~david.m.harris/site/

JoanneMerriam
Joanne Merriam

May 13, 2010, 1:50 PM

Post #9 of 10 (10015 views)
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Re: [sandys] Don't know where else to put this, but . . . [In reply to]	Can't Post

We lost a few books, mostly my roommate's stuff (he lives in the basement and lost everything that touched the floor, basically). My office is upstairs, so I didn't lose anything, and the library where I volunteer wasn't affected. You hear some pretty awful stories though, especially from the musicians who kept their equipment downtown.

pongo
Real men bake bread.

May 15, 2010, 1:16 PM

Post #10 of 10 (9759 views)
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Re: [JoanneMerriam] Don't know where else to put this, but . . . [In reply to]	Can't Post

You may have heard about the spot of dampness we had here in Middle Tennessee recently. My daughter's school, Kingston Springs Elementary School, was under six feet of water. The library was wiped out, except for those books that children had taken out for the weekend. The rest of the school year has been canceled.

If you would like to contribute books at an appropriate age level (the school is K-4, and I'm sure there are some advanced readers), the school and the community would appreciate it. (On top of the flood, the president of the PTO was in a rather bad auto accident the week before the flood, but the PTO is pulling together.) They can be books you own and no longer want, or books you wrote. We're in no position to be fussy. Cash contributions are welcome, too, but I know how much money writers make.

Checks go to:

Cheatham County Board of Education
102 Elizabeth St.
Ashland City, TN 37015

The checks need to be made payable to Kingston Springs Elementary School and please indicate on the memo line where the donation should be applied (i.e. library, music room, teacher supplies, etc.).

Donations of supplies (including books) can be mailed to:

Kingston Springs Elementary Donation Room 23
c/o Harpeth Middle School
170 Harpeth View Trail
Kingston Springs, TN 37082

The faculty and staff would like to thank everyone in communities near and far for their outpouring of love and support during this time. If you have a question concerning supply needs please e-mail Sue Hasse at sue.hasse@cheatham.k12.tn.us or call the office at Harpeth High School: 615 952-2811.

Poetry: It's not just for sissies any more.

Difficult Listening, Sundays from ten to noon (Central time), at http://www.radiofreenashville.org/.

http://home.comcast.net/~david.m.harris/site/

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