Bailing (water, and out of Nashville)
Now, you know I love me some Nashville, but two weeks is a long, long time to be away from home. After 14 days of suitcase-living, I will board a plane tonight, and head westward back to Denver. I am grateful for the time I’ve had here with my Tennessee family, but ready to get back to my ever-loving routine.
I hope the thrice-stolen Honda is still parked where I left it.
For those of you who don’t live in the area (or… don’t pay attention to the national news), you may not know that this weekend, Nashville got 18″ of rain – over 25% of the average yearly amount in just two days. Having lived in the Northwest, I thought that I was used to a lot of rain – but the storms in the Southeast are truly astonishing. I have never, ever seen so much rain in my life – for 48 hours, it was unrelenting, turning the streets into rivers and basements into swimming pools. Everything flooded. Buildings went floating down the interstate. People were being rescued from their homes in canoes. So many people lost so much.
But I watched the people that I love jump into action on behalf of others. Bailing water from basements, checking in with each other to make sure they had what they needed, braving the flooded streets to give each other (um, me) rides… It reminds me that in my two short years in Nashville, I somehow became a part of a true community, one that tangibly demonstrates servanthood and selflessness. I saw it offered to others, and I felt it offered to myself.
I am ready to leave today. But I will never get used to saying goodbye.
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tags: Annie Parsons | Disaster | flood | Friends | Home | Looking on the bright side | Nashville | Nashville | Rain
Our soggy, musty, damp selves miss you already! XOXO
Hey, Annie! Glad you made it through The Situation 2010 okay, and hope you had safe travels back to Denver. Hope we can plan to grab coffee at least when you are here next? I know you have lots of people who want to see you, but I’d love to cacth up with you in person. Hope you are well, and oh! I have a blog now too, so we can finally be friends at least in the blogosphere : ) Let me know what you think- http://www.leahvsblog.blogspot.com
I think you are absolutely right! What has happened is just surreal but seeing everyone jump to help…that’s amazing. I am so proud of the people in this city! Safe travels friend!
Ummm… I know that there is tragedy involved in this story. I’m sorry that with your end line the way it is, all I can think about is that saying goodbye song from Muppets Take Manhattan, except in my head the montage includes Kermit floating on an ice chest in a flooded basement, and that blonde girl with big lips standing under an umbrella in the rain and there are a few returns during the montage to Beeker driving a car through puddles and then it shorts and he goes to fix it and there’s another short and he’s electrocuted… and then back to Kermit, now floating past a sign that says “Welcome to Nashville”…
Don’t hate me for that.
and a tribute to that hearty individual who braved flooded streets and a lightning filled sky… to leave a bottle of my favorite wine on my porch.
I’ll always remember that you were my hero during the Flood of 2010. ;o)