DAY 21: ABOVE THE FRAY
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 07:27PM What a rainy day we’ve had.
I usually feel kind of cozy being inside at home when the rain is falling. But today for some reason I felt a bit down in the dumps and closed in.
It always helps me feel better to count my blessings. So, I started counting.
In doing so, my thoughts turned to the flash flood of a few years ago here in Marion County that – in an instant -swept away a mobile home and the young girl who lived there.
Her home was at the foot of several hills and next to a creek – a beautiful location, and rather isolated.
It had rained for days, and the ground all around had become saturated. It could hold no more water. But the rain kept coming and the hills gave up the excess, sending it streaming down to converge in her valley and the creek beside her home.
As darkness fell, that meandering creek suddenly became a raging river. Her home was ripped from its foundation and shattered, and the girl was swept up in a violent soupy cauldron of debris – shards of glass, ragged sheets of metal, giant uprooted trees, old cars… what a terrifying journey on a dark, rainy night that must have been for her!
As word spread of this tragedy, rescue crews and volunteers assembled and worked tirelessly through the night, hoping to find her alive.
It was a miracle. The young girl was found – alive! Very injured, but alive…
___
After it was all over, I went down there and took a lot of pictures of the aftermath – the dog house and clothing and contents of that home high in the treetops, the old cars and household appliances that had been moved miles away in the current, the huge uprooted trees…
It was horrifying to see – but when I came upon this scene, I had to smile.
Kitty Cat had found a safe perch high above the fray.
I don’t know how long she’d been there or how long the dog had been barking at her, but I think it must have been a long time. I was there for over two hours, and the scene was the same when I got there and when I left.
Kitty had found a safe place on high ground, and wasn’t budging.
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