Subject: The RCR and the Flood (with links to photos) From: Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 18:02:39 -0400 Bob MacFarland writes: >> I've run into lots of things on the bike trips I've taken over the >> years, but this is the first time I've ever seen such flooding. W Va is >> a poor state to begin with, and it was sad to see people lose what >> little they had. Inevitably, I hear jokes about trailers and whatnot >> delivered in bad southern accents, but the reality is that those folks >> do the best they can with very little and I, for one, won't put them >> down. I completely agree, and I got to spend nearly seven intimate hours with them. For those of you who find this at odds with my jokes about a "sale on asphalt siding", my issue there is just aesthetic. These people have hard lives. I was very impressed with the way a lot of people in town conducted themselves during a time of high drama and tension. I do not readily use the term "hero" to describe people, as I think it is somewhat overused, but I saw some really heroic acts as men rushed to save children who were being swept away in the flood water. People were courteous to me even as I snapped picture after picture, which I was concerned might be somewhat provocative. They worked well together even amidst the chaos and stress of losing what little they had. You could find worse people to have as neighbors. I haven't had time to caption either RCR or flood photos and won't for a couple of weeks, but they're available at: http://www.dd.org/~tale/rcr-x/ http://www.dd.org/~tale/minden-flood/ David