By Jeff Orvis
Most of us have an idea of where we
would live if we had our choice. It may be somewhere close to family.
It may be a city that offers great shopping and opportunities to take
part in great cultural events.
The late great singer, John Denver,
convinced many fans that Colorado would be the ideal place to live.
But those of us who are tired of snow probably aren't too keen on
living in a place where it's still piling up, in the latter stages of
April.
I've known people who seem most at
peace when they get within a few miles of an ocean. Although it's
been more than 40 years, I can still remember how my dad's mood
seemed to improve the closer we got to a favorite lake in west
central Minnesota where we sometimes vacationed, or north of
Minneapolis, as we neared Duluth and the great Lake Superior.
These thoughts came to mind this week
as we once again were visited by that nasty visitor who seems to
sneak up on us this time of the year – spring flooding. As I write
this on a Tuesday afternoon, River Drive in Davenport is under water
at some stretches from Interstate 280 all the way to Interstate 74.
In Illinois, residents are wrestling with the highest flood stage in
the history of record keeping along the Rock River.
Hundreds of people in this area are
being forced to leave homes along the area rivers and seek shelter on
higher ground. Fifty mobile homes in a park in Illinois have been
evacuated due to the threat of a breach in a levee. Rescue workers
told the residents that if they didn't leave, their homes might be
swept from their moorings and their vehicles could float away.
These scenes are repeated along
various rivers all across the country every year. And in a majority
of cases, the displaced residents wait for the water to recede and
then return to their home, clean up the mess and start again. Only a
few who were interviewed on local TV said that after experiencing
this several times, they were giving up and making a permanent move
to higher ground.
I have to say, it would only take one
time for me and I would be looking for a place far away from the
river edge. I grew up in the Mississippi Valley. But we lived on a
hill, well above the river bank.
I had a brief first-hand experience
with river bank dwellers when I lived Independence several years ago.
A good friend finally moved out her parents' home and bought her
first house a few blocks away, on the banks of the Wapsipinicon
River. Much like our flood this year, the Wapsi rose rapidly one
evening. I still remember walking hand in hand with her to her
parents' house in knee-deep flood water in the dark to check on them.
Then we went to her house and along with some other friends, quickly
emptied her basement before the water invaded.
I realize that the river is a
wonderful place to observe wildlife, to catch fish or watch barges go
up and down the main channel. If you are a lover of nature or an avid
fisherman, I suppose the idea of being able to roll out of bed every
morning to a different view in the river's ever-changing landscape
would be a draw. But we
lived just a short drive down a hill to good
fishing along Lock and Dam 14 at LeClaire.
For many people, like my Independence
friend, it is a matter of economics. Buying that first house is
usually a burden and you take great pride in ownership. But I could
never see the wisdom in facing the real possibility that that
investment could float away each spring.
Aside from the Boston Marathon bombing
and the flood news in recent days, there was another disaster in
Texas that boggles the mind. A fire and explosion in a fertilizer
plant near Waco claimed 14 lives, injured many others and blew apart
half of a small town. There were reports that there may have been
more than a half-million pounds of ammonia nitrate stored at the
plant, which was within walking distance of an apartment complex, at
least one school and a nursing home.
Which brings to mind several
questions: Who in their right mind would allow a plant producing some
of the same material used in the bombing of the Federal Building in
Oklahoma City to be built so close to a populated area? If the
reporst of the amount of ammonia nitrate prove to be accurate, how
many state and federal agencies are to blame for allowing this to
take place? Texas is a big state. Why couldn't this plant be built a
few miles out of town?
In the wake of this tragedy, there
were a few lighter moments for those of who have some familiarity
with agriculture as we heard those big city network news types
attempt to explain what anydrous ammonia is used for.
But those lighter moments were few and
far between as we continued to wrestle with what otherwise was a
pretty grim week on the national local news front.
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