Doug & Robert with Me; Flooding in Fargo, ND

Do you notice anything "untoward" about this photo? Like, does the cactus make you have strange thoughts?



I used Scott Kelby's 7 point system in editing this photo combined with a little skin tone correction. So many options. . . so little time. The photo was, of course, not taken in ND, but in Texas earlier this month.

I am so, so worried about Fargo, ND. Mandatory evacuation has started for portions of the area. We live in a challenging area: the river flows north, and sandbagging sometimes has to occur during snowstorms, with issues of ice jams. It would help so, so much if it would stop snowing! Grand Forks is still seeming safe, but all day, I've heard the anxiety level creep up in everyone; half of it is PTSD. We're hearing the sounds, and announcements, and seeing images that bring back devastating, life-altering memories. Most of us are still paying off loans from the 1997 repairs to our homes, but it's the sounds of the sirens and earth-moving equipment that are seared in our memories.

I have to say that I am so totally impressed with the under-30 year olds. (Of course there are older volunteers as well.) But the outpouring of heroic effort among the college-aged and high school-aged is very moving. Many of these people were too young to sandbag during the '97 flood, but grew up with memories of that year, and stories about it. And they are volunteering, with their youthful muscles, with a vengeance! And they are being heroic! We have buses running around the clock from Grand Forks, ND to Fargo, ND (70 miles south) to help with the flood fight efforts. Today, the University of ND, in Grand Forks, canceled all classes until Tuesday, to help with sandbagging, whether in Fargo, or in the necessary areas of Grand Forks. In Grand Forks, we're trying really hard to keep the one remaining east-west bridge open.

The Red River flows north, so the water that leaves Fargo will eventually come here, and we keep hoping that the National Weather Service will stop raising their predicted crest level. Part of the problem for us in Grand Forks is that in '97, the prediction kept rising, with very little warning (hours) that we needed to evacuate, after being reassured "if your house floods, the whole city will flood." And the whole city flooded. So it's a little difficult to feel completely settled with the reassurances now that we'll be ok. As long as our new, improved, super-duper dike system holds, we really should be ok, though. It's just agonizing to see another community go through this problem. Technology has certainly changed,though in 12 years! Everything from flood-cams on the river to cell phones, all of which help with the efforts.

I thought about getting photos of the river both yesterday and today, and both days, after driving around, I just couldn't do it. But isn't the smiling faces of my brother, Robert, and Doug much better anyway?