Say…does anyone know a decent Ark builder? Nobody local comes to mind?
It’s a little too late anyhow. Maybe? Yikes! Can you believe this stuff? Me
neither.
My
apologies for appearing flippant while so many people are suffering in ways
that I can only imagine but sometimes levity may also provide a bit of relief.
I hope the above comment will make you smile just a wee bit despite the
devastation of the flooding that has been so widespread across our region and
our neighbouring province to the East.
In
comparison to the loss of property, houses, complete cottages, roads, crops,
majestic trees, vehicles, etc etc our house was hardly inconvenienced at all.
We are very, very lucky. The little bit of leakage coming in our basement was
easily handled by a few ShopVac-fulls of water. We also lost a few bean plants
because of the flooding, (I know…big deal), but other than that we came away
virtually unscathed. I don’t know why it missed us but it did and we are
thankful.
We have
good friends that have had unbelievable losses and the stories that are being
told could be the stuff of a Stephen King novel. Especially the stories from
the Crooked and Round
Lake
Many of those owners worked
tirelessly for days building dikes and taking belongings to higher ground and
were just beginning to feel somewhat safe until the Saturday evening’s nasty
thunderstorm/tornado put an end to any hope that many of the lake-front
properties were going to be able to hold off the flood waters. Until that storm
hit some of the property owners were feeling confident that the damage had been
minimalized. And then, just like a Stephen King novel, right when you think you
are the safest…the worst was yet to come.
Before all
this crazy rain I had had a conversation with an older couple from Roche Percee
who had lost their house in the big flood of 2011 and they are still feeling
the effects of the loss of property, community and their way of life three
years after the fact. That’s the reality of devastation like this. You might be
able to repair, rebuild, or relocate but it’s so very difficult to rebound
completely from so great a loss. Thankfully, and touch wood, I can only
imagine.
At times
like these, though, other stories come out about bravery and selflessness and
compassion and giving and sacrifice. So many people rush to the aid of their
friends, neighbours and complete strangers with a solidarity rarely seen in
everyday life. It’s takes an event, or events, like this to bring out the best
of humankind it seems.
As we move
along with our regular, daily lives the floods’ damage is still being felt in
many, many communities. There were 87 communities that declared a State of Emergency in Saskatchewan
and Manitoba
since the rain started on the July long weekend and so many are still in need
of help.
The Canadian Red Cross is there to
help in situations just like this but even they have limits to their resources.
If you want to help those in need one of the best ways is to contact The
Canadian Red Cross at http://www.redcross.ca or for General or Donation Inquiries:
email-WeCare@redcross.ca or 1-800-418-1111. Any amount
and all donations we be gratefully accepted.
“Compassion
brings us to a stop, and for a moment we rise above ourselves.”-Mason
Cooley-(1927-2002).
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