On 8/31/2017 1:30 PM, Derald wrote:
Same here. Lived within 35-40 miles of Tampa, FL since birth.
Shacked up with the same American Dream for 16+ years and married her in
1990. Got no family news. Gotta family, just no family news. We don't
garden together. "Family" and I, beyond my wife, rarely convene. No
known descendants in Florida. Been through some tropical storms and
hurricanes and sure-enough typhoons (aboard heavy cruiser, WESPAC, '69,
hot damn, vietnam). I attended a flood in early 1960's. I have a
teenager's memories of long days spent handling sandbags and the
constant sound (and smell) of gasoline powered pumps. Also, that was
the first time I'd been able to drink beer without question. Been
caught many times on both the "right" side and the "wrong" sides of
overflowing rivers covering bridges, ponds overfilling and prairies
filling but no floods or tornadoes. Nowadays, I'm in the (sort of)
country, well away from nbc & nbt, a few miles south of a confluence of
New Yorkers AWA a smattering of other yankees. At least, I've been here
long enough to know which supermarkets to avoid.
We're enough distant "town" and shielded from street view as to be
able to garden nekkid; for now. Not a pretty sight, no doubt, but for
sure more comfy than modesty. At any rate, nowadays, we're high enough
(43 feet AMSL) atop 90 feet of sand that it'd take Noah's flood to get
noticed. A couple of nearby ponds still cover adjacent roadways from
time to time but that doesn't persist.
We've had half the rain as you, for the entirety of August to date,
and for which I feel doubly fortunate: Fortunate to have received so
much and fortunate to have received so little. Today is the second
mostly sunny day in a while. I had become concerned about the peas and
the peppers dropping blossoms but there's hope for them as long as they
get an occasional sunny day.
Have a computer glued to the horrifying flood coverage. About all
I can do nowadays is send money, so I do.

USN 1957-1963, Texas State Guard (Militia) 1963-1976, no pay, had to buy
my own uniforms used my own weapons. Not a wild militia, State of Texas
ran the show starting when everyone able went to WWII, including the
National Guard. So teenagers and old people protected the state until
WWII ended. Ended up a Captain and the intelligence guru for the 108th
Battalion out of Beaumont, TX. I was born in Beaumont, TX, raised in
Orange, grew up on a ten acre somewhat farm, came home from the Navy in
December 1960, married, built a house for us on that same ten acres.
Stayed there for about sixteen years and then we started traveling.

Bright sunshine today and low nineties, everything up here on the high
land is dry. Tomball, TX closest town, came through okay, our daughter
lives there and did okay, three eldest grand kids live in this area and
all stayed high and dry. I do the same as you send some money to the Red
Cross(used to sleep at Red Cross Hostels when I was a traveling swabbie,
five bucks and two meals.)

We, too, have had the tv on all the time and tired of seeing all the
blown away or drowned homes. Have never understood why anyone would buy
or build a home in a hole surrounded by water. I suspect they're all
city people and don't understand how water works. My Dad taught me to
only build or buy homes on the highest ground you can find. Never had
any of the multitude of homes we've had flood. We set up here on our
hill and watched the water run down the ditches and then we were dry
again. Never lost power, TV, phones, etc. Even the local supermarket
stayed open until they, literally, sold everything in the store but the
walls. Dropped by there and there must have been thirty workers in there
restocking. Picked up a few items and left the rest for other folks.

We have a home canning locker made from the closet in my office, a
22-cubic foot freezer, and a 16 cubic foot combination freezer and
refrigerator, all completely full, mostly of stuff we grow in our small
backyard. Yes, we both grew up in the backwoods and learned from our
parents how to survive and live okay. We don't like cities and we have
lived in some very large ones in our working days, had to be where the
job was. All of our children, grands, and great grands are safe, have a
roof over their heads and food at hand. Two grandsons, in their
mid-thirties went back to work early on, one is an elevator mechanic,
and the other drives a UPS truck. Things have to work or be delivered
regardless of weather. I'm proud of all of them.