It appears to be a homicide investigation, now.
http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=33140
When I was in college, one of my housemates built a sweat lodge. Permeable walls, check. Ocular, check. Timer that went ding so that everyone left when the timer dinged, check. Few people (no more than fourteen, ever), check. Leaving before the timer dinged encouraged, check.
I remember asking questions when this hit the news. "How many people? How long were they in? Who was doing this?"
In the end, this is crazy bad stuff. Telling people to ignore their body's danger signals, and then putting them into a place of danger is just flat-out wrong. And it sounds as though there's now official agreement with that "flat-out wrong" position. Too bad it didn't happen earlier.
For housewives thinking of going back into the job market: The Interior Life, by Katherine Blake/Dorothy Heydt.
For those wanting to get rich quickly: Heechee by Fred Pohl.
For those wanting to find ways to get in touch with their small-town roots: And We Will Drink A Fish Together by William Johnson.
re:65 and others, "Sweet sap of elders" may refer to the elder bush. Elder flowers are particularly sweet and fragrant, and, if you are careful, make a wonderful infusion in milk with which to make a milk pudding. Much sweeter than vanilla.
But you must be careful, as although the elder flowers are tasty, elder sap is not good for one. But if Mr. Miller has ever smelled the heady smell of elder flowers on a warm June day, he might well have put this in. Especially if he knew that elder sap, although sweet, tends to the toxic side.
Let us hear it for the folks on the ground. Nothing on CNN or Google, so we were ready to pack it in, when I remembered Making Light, and "Cellphone Jim" MacDonald.
Thank you.
If your One True Love has sailed far away, wishing to turn into something that would fly to your far away love will not lead to happiness.
Even if your One True Love has a lily white breast suitable for the laying on of one's head.
See above: sailors for one's One True Love, navigable waterways
Ye gods and little fishes. Heal fully, and live well. Jim, thank you again for your posts. Patrick, as someone who's been on both sides of the waiting room, do take time to take good care of yourself.
The Grant Wood Chapter is also in need of funds. They cover both the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids floods, as well as those in Anamosa, Vinton, and Palo.
But anything is good - we still can't know the full extent of the damage, and won't for some time.
If you want to give directly to artists who have lost instruments, studios, computers, etc., Legion Arts, home of the CSPS in Cedar Rapids, has established an Iowa Artists Fund.
Me? I think general help is what's needed here, and fast. At least the clearing of homes for entrance is taking place on a block-by-block basis now, with the perimeter moved as a block is cleared.
Reporting from Cedar Rapids - down to one well, and not allowed back into downtown or flooded parts west.
We're very grateful that we've got lots of drinking water saved in jugs. We ended up using bunches of it to wash off after we got a call from church to save what had been moved from the sub-basement to the basement. Even though the floodwaters stopped short of lapping at church, they backed up into the basement, and more needed to be done.
More tips for the apocalypse: Own rubber boots in your size, for when you will surely need them, so shall everyone else, and the stores will surely be out. If you live in a home, make sure that at least one gutter has a joint such that you can slip in a trash can for emergency water collection for gray-water uses. If you store your go-material in the basement, store it in water-tight sealed plastic tubs. We had rubber boots and plastic tubs, but never expected that the gutters of our home would wildly frustrate us by their lack of joints.
The heartbreaking thing is that the peak was nine feet higher than the prediction as of Wednesday morning. The automated gauge wasn't quite working right, (the complexities aren't yet fully known) and so wasn't giving a true prediction. This means that a lot of downtown businesses and homes had less than an hour's warning that they were going to be in harm's way. We don't know if everyone got out in time, and won't know until Tuesday or so. The public library is pretty much a total loss - if there'd been twelve hours warning, the contents could have been saved.
So the last and most important tip is simple - don't expect it to go as easily as predicted.
We'll be going to "come as you are" worship in a few minutes at another church, since FEMA won't let ours be used. I doubt they'll be using the hymns that I've been whistling since Wednesday. "Down by the Riverside," "Wade in the Water," and "Down to the River to Pray."
#13 and #16 - My parents live in Iowa, and go to every candidate's visit they can. They've seen all the Republicans and Democrats. They're middle-road, middle-western Democrats. And they have correspondents all over the country, both letter and e-mail.
Their take? "Huckabee's the best of the Republicans. I wouldn't mind him, because he is willing to compromise." "Bottom of the list? Guiliani - no question. His contempt for people comes through loud and clear."
Their assessment of Hillary isn't terribly flattering, either. They don't think she'd make a good president. "Disingenuous, and unwilling to compromise." "But she'd be better than Kucinich." "Hah! I read the Plain-Dealers we were sent about the Boy Mayor back then. No fooling."
Interesting campaign ahead.
Evacuating by car - or how to survive a six hour traffic jam with grace.
Make sure that you have a large number of plastic bags, baking soda, and a large open-mouthed container, such as a coffee can. Toilet tissue, flushable wipes, and absorbent crystals don't hurt, either. Keep the plastic bags, the paper, the crystals, and the baking soda all in the can, with lid sealed tight.
Instant in-car porta-pottie. Especially useful for having a four-year-old girl who has to go "now!" just when it looks as though the traffic might begin moving again shortly. Sprinkle some baking soda and crystals into the bag before it's used. Use double-bagging. Can also be used for anyone else who has issues during evacuation or unexpected traffic jams.
Empty contents of inner bags into port-o-john or toilet when you reach the destination, replace into outer bags, and dispose of.
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