Overflowing River...

Cheater, cheater pumpkin eater. YES. I am unashamedly cheating. By the time this is over, I will be the Champion Blogger... if only I can learn to modify my blog like PPP does.

You might be a redneck if, know when to wear your waders...


My brother, BB, and I "wadin' in the water, children just wadin' in the water. The Lord's gonna trouble the water.”

Fay (Tropical Storm) meandered over the entire state of Florida late August. As she made her way over the panhandle she tarried and poured water all over the eastern part of Florida, but more importantly South Georgia. Thus begins the story of When Fay Strolled through Town.

Chapter 1

The water for our river flows directly from South Georgia. As Fay approached, we lost power for two days. Nothing compared to the loss of a lineman in the line of duty; May God bless his family. We had watched as reports came from all over Florida recording how much rain Fay had distributed. We were sure that our river would get in our first floor (aka basement/storage area). We needed to get ready. In effort to ease tension and allow us to work unfettered, I took the kids to G’ma's. They might just as well have been on their way to heaven.

However, by the time we arrived, trees were down all over the place. (Has anyone considered questioning our town's perpetual partiality toward trees? What about my sanity – driving in that storm, what was I thinking?) Power was out! What would they eat? Here I had taken them from our generator and grilling heaven to granola and fruit and no microwave. What would G and P do with three young'uns, no power and no entertainment (Politically Correct word for TV)? Should I just take them back home, Ma? They'll be fine. We'll be fine… "duh duh duh duh duh..." (What G says when she's played too long!).

During all the storm issues, I had chatted with some friends about phone service during power outages. How wonderful it is to be able to make a phone call to report an outage when there is one! I remembered that G didn’t have a corded phone. I hit the local dollar store and found almost the last one they had. Good, now at least we can call and check on each other. With the boys and their stuff settled into G’s and the phone hooked up, I was ready to get back home.

I kept telling myself this wasn’t so bad. The linemen were at work and being in the city I was sure power would return shortly. We’ve had worse rain than this. We checked the radar and the hydrologic predictions. They won't raise it tonight, will they? Oh this self talk is bad. Just go to sleep. See what it looks like in the morning. Get some rest.

Check in tomorrow for the next chapter: "I love the waterfront view"