Anniversary

June 22 marks our six year anniversary. I want to publicly thank my dear wife, Melissa, for the joy and happiness she has given me in these last six years.

I so easily fell in love with her those seven years ago because of her wit, her sense of humor, her intelligence, her beauty, but above all - her goodness. She is a glowing example to me of kindness, gentleness, and righteousness.

I can easily say that I am still very much in love. The depth of my feelings has grown over the years as I couldn't have imagined. She is a wonderful wife, a devoted mother, a talented homemaker, and a precious friend. I love you, Liss.

Back on the 'Netz

We're back after a 5-day hiatus from internet activity. I wonder why the internet was out?

Maybe it's because Melissa took this picture a block from our house.

Lost Cause

Iowa City implemented a mandatory evacuation for the Normandy Drive neighborhood this morning.

The Battle for Normandy (Drive)

I changed my mind. Next time there is a natural disaster, I want to have already purchased one of these, with a snorkel, massive winch, and boom lift. Unimog, baby! With one, anything is possible. I still want that big cupholder.

The Normandy Drive Neighborhood is still above water for now.

Three days ago, one of the neighborhood guys asked if someone could drive the truck he was driving to move sandbags while he ran some errands. I volunteered, and spent the rest of the day backing down a really narrow bike path to the berm with 3k lbs. of sand in the back of the old F-150.

When he came back, I told him I was sorry for driving it like I stole it. He said it wasn't his truck, either. So I'd been beating a truck I borrowed from someone who had borrowed it. I offered to let him drive again, and he said he had watched me a bit and thought he couldn't do better. Eventually the owner of the truck came by and asked to get some tarps out of the toolbox. I acquiesced, of course. I helped build the berm behind his house the day before and he recognized me. He said to just keep at it.

Yesterday when I got out there at about 1pm, the guy from the day before said, "There's my driver - finally!" and threw me the keys to another truck. I spent the rest of that day loading and unloading it.

On another topic, there has been some in-fighting in the neighborhood. The city engineers came around and put in some stakes showing elevation a few days ago, and made some general predictions about where the river will crest. Some of the interior neighbors panicked and made a run on sandbags to do their own houses, even though most of them are 5-10 feet higher than the outer ring. When the sandbag loaders figured out what was going on, they started inquiring as to where bags were going before they would load outbound trucks. That led to a bit of a fracas.

One of the old guys who was sandbagging his own house finally walked out to see what was happening on the berm, and to haggle. He was yelling and swearing. We had a bit of an exchange. I couldn't get too worked up, my Bishop was standing right there. He yelled, "It's worthless, you're never going to build enough - you'd have to get all the way to the bluff for your berm to be worth a damn! That's almost 200 yards away!"

Yesterday we made it to the bluff.

Sandbagging Makes Me Tired

At church today, someone asked how to help with sandbagging. I said, "You find a pile of sand, and put it in a bag."

I'm not joking. That is what you do. For hours. And hours.

Then you take the bags, by any means available, to the berm and create a sandbag burrito. . . while trying not to punch crazy old ladies who are irrationally demanding of their volunteer grunt laborers. It's part artistry and part . . . sweat - lots of sweat.


Before the next natural disaster, I'm buying a Gator:

That way, while all the poor suckers are hucking 50-lbs. sacks of kitty litter, I'll be chillin' like a villain on my sweet green all-terrain-mini-delivery-truck. Can I get one with a cupholder? A big cupholder.

I'm not complaining. Sometimes you need to just man up and be a stout brother and hit someone in the chest with a tube full of silica.

Flood Watch 2008

The following is a portion of an e-mail I got from the University of Iowa today:

"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has indicated that, based on recent and projected rainfall, there is concern that the water elevation in the Coralville Reservoir may reach the emergency spillway later this month. If that occurs, significant flooding can be expected in the Iowa City area. To reduce the risk of this occurring, the Corps increased the release rate from the Coralville Reservoir on Tuesday, June 3, to 10,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and will increase the release rate again to 12,000 cfs possibly as soon as Thursday, June 5. Additional increases in release rates may be implemented in the coming days."

For the res to go over the spillway, it's going to have to get stinking high. We haven't had flooding like that around here since 1993. This aerial view of the reservoir and dam shows the spillway on the left side of the dam. In 1993, the water going over the spillway uprooted 30 ton chunks of bedrock and washed them downstream, exposing a Devonian Era fossil bed shown in the top picture, looking upstream to the spillway. They are already sandbagging around one of the dorms that is down near the river in Iowa City. If the water gets over the spillway, the Peninsula (my favorite disc golf course) will be toast.

'93 was a crazy time growing up in Southeast Iowa. I'd rather not repeat it. Especially now, when I need no (extra) distractions.

Dear Jolesch Photography,

Thank you for documenting my graduation and letting me steal tiny versions of the images from your website (without watermarks, even).

However, being unable to purchase any reasonable number of the photographs for less than the (dare I say) exorbitant price of $40 is ridiculous (thus the minor larceny). I don't appreciate the extortion. I imagine your business model, and really think you would make more money if you were reasonable. I bet more than half of my graduating class took a pass because you suck.

Sincerely,

Morgan