It's easy to watch the television, watch the local news, and only see broadcasts or clips of accidents or disasters. The worst feeling in the world is to see camera crews roaming down the streets of your town, now in a "State of Emergency".

Sunday Aug 9 into Monday morning Aug 10, my town was devastated with a flood. No one expected it to be that horrible and few were prepared. As revealed today, the damage done reached $30 to $40 million dollars, which qualifies us for FEMA.

Things ruined:
Lives of my neighbors ruined. The town is covered in mud and dust, debris everywhere. Our brand new track and field, destroyed.
Roads broken up..complete with gaping holes, filled with pieces of asphalt, bridges destroyed.
Houses filled with mud combined with sewer backup, our town reservoir is shut down for at least a year.
How do you deal with it?

...One day at a time.
I feel helpless. I need to help with something, with disaster all around me I can't just sit on my ass and do nothing. Everyday (mostly) I go down to the elementary school to babysit displaced families and volunteers' children. One day I helped with the cleaning of homes and basements. That didn't last very long however. I cleaned out 2 houses with friends and my girlfriend. The first house was one of my gf's best friends'. It was hard for her to believe that that was the same house that she had stayed in so many times. The next house no one knew the residents, however we were happy to help our neighbors. Their cellar was FILLED with mud, and in the mud were a number of other things, too disturbing and disgusting to think about. Some of the crew was in the cellar shoveling mud into bucks, some lifted the 40lb or more buckets up and out of a window, while I, kneeling on the ground, grabbed the buckets and moved them out of the way so that they could be dumped in the yard or on the street. Everyone was covered head to toe in the "mud", you almost couldn't tell who was who. Armed with only face masks and our hands, we emptied the house. Unfortunately, when working in disgusting mud, things are bound to go wrong. My girlfriend got an allergic reaction to everything in the mud, and I had gotten cuts and blisters, which were then covered and stained with the filth we were in. We left to go home immediately, and I poured Peroxide on my hands over and over. Unfortunately I still got infections in my hands, so I could not help anymore.

There were only a few days that I could help clean basements, but my hands were too infected to do anything. Now, "kids" are not allowed to help, for it was too dangerous for us to help. In order to help, people need to be adults and have tetanus shots. Now I only babysit, but that is okay with me. I'm fine letting the inmates loll around in "mud" all day while I'm playing with adorable little children.

The flood was devastating to a close community, forcing neighbors to become closer than ever. With the water safe again, and with the help of the National Guard and supportive community members, the town is slowly getting back to something "normal". We will be effected by this flood forever, and it demonstrates how truly important it is to "love thy neighbor". Love and respect to all those devastated by the flood, and hopefully with the help of the government (FEMA) and hard work on the part of the community, they try to get back to their lives. Rest in Peace the two elderly men who lost their lives last week, one from heart failure and the man who was swept away by the flood waters.