It started as a heavy rain event. The rain started either late Friday or early Saturday, May 1, and continued unabated thru most of Sunday, May 2, 2010. The effects were felt throughout the region from southern Kentucky, southern Illinois, Tennessee and northern Mississippi. All told, more than 19 inches of rain fell on average with some areas experiencing more than 24 inches of rain in a little under 48 hours. Several major rivers, including the Cumberland, which flows thru downtown Nashville, the Harpeth and other rivers overflowed their banks. The Cumberland crested at 51.86 feet, or about 15-20 feet above normal.
Then on May 3rd, the Army Corps of Engineers began releasing water from the many dams on the Harpeth and Cumberland rivers in order to protect the dam infrastructure. This is when the water rose in Nashville, causing the lower part of the city and many neighborhoods in the area on the rivers banks to be flooded. The Grand Ole Opry, Bridgestone Arena (where the Nashville Predators play hockey) and Titans Stadium were partly flooded among the many tourist and buildings of interest in the area.
One result of this release of water meant that the Cumberland, which flows northeast would flood even worse downstream from Nashville. One of the hardest hit counties was the neighboring county of Cheatham as the Cumberland flowed out of its banks and flooded vast regions of the county for several days. This is where my story begins.
You see, Nashville has the biggest spirit of volunteerism I’ve ever seen. It is common to see folks show up when people have tornado damage, from cities and counties in the area, just because “people need help”. There are several online volunteer organizations including Hands On Nashville, that help coordinate when people need help. I went to the website during the week and looked at what volunteer opportunities existed. I picked a listing for a family in Cheatham county that needed help with “flood cleanup”, saved the directions and planned my Saturday.
I had seen all of the flood coverage on TV. I had friends on Twitter and at work who had sustained flood damage and I had their first hand accounts of dealing with both the actual flood and the aftermath. What I saw, however, as I drove thru the rural part of Cheatham county didn’t prepare me for what I found at this family’s home.
First, the road was still covered in 4-6 inches of mud and it was still wet. If you looked thru the treeline along the road to the treeline across a hay field of several hundred acres, the mud IN the treeline was as clear as day and clearly meant the water was 5-10 feet above ground level and covered the whole neighborhood. I later found out that the trailer home where I was had water up to the top of the trailer. And, it wasn’t until the end of the day that I realized the street ran parallel to the Cumberland and the water was only 20-30 feet below the yard down the bank. In otherwords, the Cumberland was 30-40 feet above where it was that day and had covered a square mile or more of land!
The family and the few volunteers that arrived were stripping the contents of the house out into the yard and carrying all of the unsalvageable stuff to the other side of the road for flood debris removal by the county. Clothing and dishes and such were set aside to dry. There was a small garden shed that had floated up over a small picket fence, turned upside down and was wedged between a chainlink fence and a small tree.
Shortly after I arrived, we turned to the garage/workshed that was next to the trailer. It hadn’t been opened yet. When we first tried to enter, the stench from sodden and rotting paper, wood and other materials was such that without a face mask, being in the room was not possible. It was an odor of mildew, mud, and rot. The floor was covered in mud and a strange muck and white bits. I finally realized that the muck was the insulation from the ceiling that had the flood waters had flooded past, causing the drywall to pull away from the drywall nails and the white bits were actually the white texture beads in the “popcorn” ceiling paint. It was as if a room sized snowglobe had been shaken violently and the glass broken, letting the white beads and such to simply settle on the floor.
And, that wasn’t all that was on the floor. The building had been filled with furniture, boxes of all kinds of “stuff”, tools, toys, etc. All of this stuff was now in a giant jumble, again, as if the room had been shaken violently. We set about emptying the room. It was a mess. The muck and detritus from the flood made the task almost impossible. With only a single door to move thru, it meant one person at a time coming and going. Because of the nature of the doorway floor, wheelbarrows were not easy to use.
Slowly, in the humid heat of the afternoon, we emptied the room and eventually got to where we were shoveling the muck into the one wheelbarrow we had to dump it outside. Aside from the members of the family and their friends, we didn’t talk much. We just worked and worked. The goal was to get as much of the muck and mess out of the interior to allow the building to dry out. Mold is a huge problem in this situation. In fact, if you drove around many of the areas hit by the flood, you’d be struck by the mounds of drywall and such on the curb awaiting pickup. This was the best way to fight the mold that was quickly growing EVERYWHERE.
Finally, I was able to see that most of the heavy work was done and I was able to say my goodbye and wish the family the best, given the situation. The father hugged me and thanked me for coming to their aid. We were both almost in tears. I was honored to have come out to help a total stranger. It is a day I will never forget.
So, the prompt today is by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits fame and Focusmanifesto.com. He asks simply: Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing – and can you eliminate it?
And, this is quite easy for me. In a nutshell, I don’t write every day and never really have. The closest I’ve come was during the Best of 09 Blog Challenge by Gwen Bell and now this month long exercise. For me, writing is not my passion, so it’s not something I work to explore. But, I used to have a way with words, and ended up with a degree in History because I was fascinated by the past.
Could I write more if I pushed myself? Yes. I spend too much time on the computer playing games. I also tend to avoid anything that isn’t “fun” out a lack of focus. So, for me to write more, I’d need to find something I could be passionate about and focus on and it would have to be something I was keen to explore and share with the world.
I’ve had this kind of focus before. Two years ago, I spent 7 months working out and watching my food intake both for quantity and quality and lost a bunch of weight. This actually took me away from the computer some and the positive results kept me motivated to keep at it. Thus, for me to do any amount of writing, there would need to be positive results – feedback and encouragement from others. I tend to get into my own head so my own feedback wouldn’t be the right kind.
Perhaps this month long challenge will get me moving in the “write” direction!
If you have any suggestions or feedback, I’m quite receptive. What do YOU do to eliminate writing roadblocks?
Positivity
That is my word that encapsulates this year. It started slowly, but the year has been, generally, a year of positive steps for me. I didn’t meet all of my personal goals. But, the year has been a good one for me.
Responsibility – Work has been good. I have a new position with new responsibilities and challenges.
Friendship – my circle of friends has exploded and I’ve realized how lucky I am to have such a large group of caring friends. (Proof of this manifested itself today, my birthday, by the flood of Twitter and Facebook “Happy Birthday” messages I’ve received.)
Family – My daughter was accepted at and is attending Wellesley College outside of Boston.
These three themes are the pillers of the POSITIVITY I feel after looking back at this year.
Rewards
This is the word that encapsulates where I hope to be in a year. I am gearing my life to take some risks. I want to reach out and make a difference. I want to be my own boss. I want to be in a place where, after 46 years, I can take the time to see the world. All of this requires risk taking but it also means being rewarded. Yes, these are lofty goals and, in all reality, not attainable in 12 months. BUT, certainly, with some risk and planning, I will be on the road to attaining these goals and THAT is the Reward.
Time will tell.
So, if you’re over 25, you are probably aware of the song “Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?” by Chicago. If you’re under 25 or you’re not aware or are unsure, take a second and watch and listen, I’ve got the time. (HA!) Anyhow, this song came on the radio as I drove to work this morning. And it got me thinking. Do we REALLY know what time it is? Or, are we so locked into our lives that we miss an opportunity when it comes knocking?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my life and my current situation. I’ve worked at the same company for 17 years. I’ve lived in the same house for 7 and half years. If it weren’t for a mechanical failure, I might have driven the same car for almost 9 years. To say that I’ve “settled” is an understatement. And yet, if you look at some of my past posts, you know that I’m eager to move into something different, somewhere different. And, today, this song came on and I immediately recognized in the lyrics how I’ve felt for some time now. Time is ticking. Staying comfortable and “settled” ignores the sand as it slowly slips from the top chamber into the bottom chamber of the hourglass. In fact, staying comfortable is akin to knocking the hourglass over so time stands still. And before you know it, you’re laying in a bed, looking back over a long, boring life and wondering why you let time stand still.
So, this post is my wake up alarm. I’m standing the hourglass back up. Looking time square in the face and telling it, “Bring it, I’m ready!” What am I saying, exactly? Well, I’m not going to be complacent any longer. I’m standing up and taking charge. I may move slowly at first, but I pledge to make progress. Each post will be a marker on the road for me. Why? Because creating content, finding my voice and, hopefully, building an audience will be one way I fight the march of time. So, I’m now “out there” and hopefully, you’ll come along. Encourage me. Bitchslap me. Laugh with me. Whatever, just know your attention helps me keep going. What will you get in return? Things to ponder. Things that make you smile or laugh. Good advice and bad advice. As I like to say, “I’m not a doctor and I DIDN’T stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!” but that doesn’t mean you won’t find things to amuse or inform.
So, dear reader, do you know what time it is for you? I’d love to know. Share with me? Cool.
So, 2009 is over. It seems like just yesterday that I was looking at the year as it started and thinking how good it would be for me. Then, life happened and it’s now the first day of 2010. 2009 was an awesome year for me. I learned a LOT about myself. I started new things. And, I continued things I had going from years past.
If you have followed my blog recently, you know I participated in Gwen Bell’s Best of Blog Challenge 2009 in December. I tried to recap my year thru the 31 topics she laid out for the monthlong blogging challenge.
The highlights of my year include:
- Watching Barack Obama be sworn in as President of the United States and knowing my daughter was in attendance.
- Learning to kayak and joining my friends on 6 different rivers in Middle Tennessee and taking the rope swing of my life.
- Going to Barcamp Nashville 2009 and attending some mind-blowing sessions.
- Really starting to use Twitter and understand the utility and reach of it.
- Making new friends based on my attendance at Barcamp.
- Discovering new blogs that are changing my life: Zen Habits, My Wife Quit Her Job, Gwen Bell.
- Learned about Kiva.org and even used my 45th birthday as a catalyst for helping others have a better life.
- Created a website dedicated to helping other people achieve their dreams: The Dream Shepherd
- Joined Postcrossing and sent 68 postcards around the world and received back 64 postcards for a combined travel distance of almost 1 million miles!
These are the highlights of 2009 for me. 2010 will see these things continue and expand. My goals for 2010 include:
- Meeting many of my Twitter friends so that I can make them real life friends, including: Lauren, Nikki, Joi, Mirjam and Gail.
- Expand on my Kiva activities with a year long birthday celebration. I want to turn up the giving by a factor of ten.
- Expand my new website and create a “store” to start secondary income stream.
- Keep control of my weight. I lost 50 lbs in 08 and it’s starting to come back.
- Do better to stay in touch with friends and family.
- Mostly, just try to stay positive and work to make life better for others.
So, stay tuned to my blog. You’ll not only see my progress, but you will also help me stay focused on my goals. I’ve learned that doing things completely alone isn’t the best way to succeed. Your support and well wishes do much to keep me motivated.
Peace!
For the final topic in Gwen Bell’s Best of Blog Challenge 2009, I’ve got a resolution that I had every intention of sticking with, but didn’t. And, that was simply to do a better job of staying in touch with friends and family. I had resolved at the beginning of the year to write more emails and post more via Facebook, especially to my family. Sadly, I didn’t keep up near as much as I had hoped.
Now, that doesn’t mean I abandoned my friends and family. I just didn’t do what I had hoped. So, the question is: will I be able to step it up this year and do a better job? I think it’s best to NOT set goals for things like this and instead just focus on the little things. As long as I make it a point to say “hi” via Facebook or post updated pictures, this will help. And, perhaps I can combine my new hobby – Postcrossing – with my goal of staying in touch and send postcards to my family when I mail postcards to other people around the world. I think the personal touch of a hand written postcard would mean quite a bit, especially if we haven’t talked much in the past few years.
So, tell me what you think? I’m sure you’ll suggest letters, but I can tell you that I’m not a big fan of writing long, drawn out letters.
One last thing on a completely unrelated note. I’d like to thank Gwen Bell for creating this awesome challenge. It’s been a pleasure to work on these posts. I haven’t caught many of the other bloggers posts but the ones I have read were eye opening and thought provoking. This is such an awesome thing to be a part of. I’ve managed to write about each topic and posted my answers each day. So, Gwen, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your enthusiasm and heart are a real inspiration. It’s an honor to be in this “company” of bloggers even though I’m much more of a casual blogger. And, actually, I hope to change that this next year. All the best to you in the coming year and forever after.
I would also like to thank all of those that have commented on my posts. Your feedback is truly appreciated. I’m honored that you would take the time to not only ready, but also to add your thoughts to mine. Thank you for reaching out to me. And, while I believe I have thanked everyone for their comments and tried to comment back on their blogs, please know that you are in my thoughts and I wish all of you the best for the coming year and forever after as well.
All the best to everyone for 2010!!! Peace!
As the penultimate topic for Gwen Bell‘s Best of Blog Challenge 2009, the topic is “Ad” with the topic starter: “What advertisement made you think this year?”
And, in thinking about how to respond to this topic, I decided that I would rather talk about what is wrong with advertising these days, rather than which ONE ad caught my eye or made me pause and take note.
Because, in reality, I can’t think of any ads that DID get me to think, except for the ones that made me think, “What on earth were they thinking???”
For instance, this gem by Burger King ran afoul of women’s groups and rightly so!!! I mean, this is exactly the kind of crass, sexist crap that Madison Avenue so desperately wants us to believe is “ok”. Now, I’m certainly no prude and I enjoy a good joke or play on words. Even crude language humor is fine by me, generally. But, this goes too far, in my opinion. Not only does it use a sexist play on words, but a juxtaposition of the woman and the sandwich, implying a sexual act. And, the look on her face does not leave one thinking she’s about to enjoy the sandwich, leaving the viewer to wonder if the sandwich is even appetizing. But, sadly, this is becoming the “norm” for advertising. Sex sells. Exploitation sells. And, quite frankly, I’ve had enough of it.
While researching this post, I came across this ad for a Nintendo Wiiware game called “Super Meat Boy”. However, the ad text is a fine example of another inappropriate type of advertising. Using an evil person from history to sell a video game? Really? Hitler is hardly an appropriate role model or even personage to compare against. I mean, it may be true that he was a vegetarian, but certainly, not all vegetarians are like Hitler. That’s just ridiculous. According to this post the ad was pulled almost immediately.
Lastly, there was THIS ad from a Brazilian ad agency requested by the Brazilian WWF chapter and run, strangely enough, in Israel of all places. Apparently, they were trying to say that mother nature is far more destructive than the events of September 11, 2001 and that donating money to the World Wildlife Fund will help protect us somehow? I thought the WWF was meant to protect animals FROM us, not the other way around? You can read more about the details of this ad and the controversy here.
Basically, I’m just wondering how far Madison Avenue will go to keep us interested in buying stuff? I mean, the Romans resorted to blood sport to entertain the masses and keep them fat, dumb and happy. Based on some of these images, it seems that we might be only a few steps behind the Romans on the same path. Let’s hope that history has a lesson for society AND Madison Avenue and they pull up short. Otherwise, I fear advertising will only get worse.
Sorry for the downer today folks. Peace to you all!
As the Best of Blog Challenge 2009 gets closer to the end, this is the topic for today – December 29th: Best Laugh. “What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?”
There were several things that got me laughing so hard I almost fell over. This post from Jenny Lawson on her Sexis column on EdenFantasys.com which is a satirical look at AIDS which she posted during AIDS awareness week just this month.
Then, there is Twitter and there are several folks that make me laugh daily on Twitter: @shitmydadsays and @TwittsMcGee.
Justin is the guy behind @shitmydadsays. He simply passes along what his 67 year old dad says to him. His dad is simply hysterical:
“We’re out of Grape Nuts… No, what’s left is for me. Sorry, I should have said “You’re out of Grape Nuts.”
and:
“I need to change clothes? Wow. That’s big talk coming from someone who looks like they robbed a Mervyn’s.”
and:
“I turn the kitchen faucet on and the shower burns you, yes, I get it…No, I’m not gonna stop, I’m just saying yes, I get that concept.”
Then, there is @TwittsMcGee or Kristi Evans. She works as a concierge for a big hotel in NYC. She provides amusing commentary about current events and pop culture and often mocks her guests, via Twitter:
“We want to go to a club where we’ll be on the list and everyone else will be standing outside waiting in line.” *Facepalm*”
Yes, I admit that I’m easily amused. Still, these folks all provide amusing commentary, smart insights and clever witticisms.
The topic for today’s Best of Blog Challenge 2009 is supposed to be about stationery. A special stationery that thrills by the very touch of the paper. The thing is, I am not a letter writer. I can barely keep my blog updated. I tend to be pithy in 140 characters or less.
But, the one thing I started doing this year, correspondence wise, was that I joined a website called PostCrossing. As it is explained on the site “About” page:
The project
The goal of this project is to allow people to receive postcards from all over the world, for free. Well, almost free! The main idea is that: if you send a postcard, you will receive at least one back from a random Postcrosser from somewhere in the world.
The idea is that you start by sending up to 5 postcards to random Postcrossing members and as each of the postcards arrives at their destinations, your address is thrown into the hopper to be scooped up by a Postcrossing member to send you a card in return. The thing is, it’s all random and you never know who is sending you a card, or when, except that you know you’ll get a card back after you get the acknowledgement email saying one of your sent cards was received by the intended member. And, as you send more cards you gain the ability to have more than 5 cards traveling at any given time.
I have found Postcrossing to be an incredible hobby. To date, I have had 67 postcards reach their destinations in the past 11 months. I have sent those 67 cards to 19 different countries including Finland, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, Brazil, China and Russia and I have received postcards from 26 countries including Finland, Germany, Macau, Malaysia, Poland, Australia and China. I have also learned that Finland is the most prolific PostCrossing country. I have received and sent more postcards from/to Finland than any other country with 26 sent/received.
What is really cool about Postcrossing is that you never know who or where you will send or receive postcards from. For instance, I have sent postcards to several children around the world. I have also sent postcards to men and women of all ages.
Another cool aspect of Postcrossing is that you are supposed to fill out a small profile where you can include any special requests (i.e. what kinds of postcards or stamps you are collecting) or other special instructions so other members will know what types of postcards you want most to receive. Many members also ask to get some words or phrases in the sender’s language so they can learn about where the card is from. I have even had one member indicate they were interested in receiving “post secrets” where you include a secret about yourself that you’ve perhaps never divulged to anyone before.
For me, having these random “surprise presents” delivered to my door each month is simply awesome. Getting postcards with a few words of greeting and perhaps an brief explanation of either the card or the sender always gives me a sense of connection that is different from connecting with people via Twitter or Facebook. Reading their messages in their own hand just makes the connection so much more personal and friendly. I highly recommend Postcrossing as a hobby for yourself or your kids or even as a class project if you are a teacher. Trust me, you will be very happy once you join this world-wide family.
Gwen Bell’s Best of Blog Challenge for today is: Social Web Moment.
Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?
My Social Web Moment happened via Twitter. The conversation happened between me and a twitter friend and both the official In-N-Out Burger Twitter person AND Grant Imahara of the TV show Mythbusters. It took place several months ago in the span of about 15 minutes from the beginning to the end.
The conversation went something like this:
@kattykyt: I miss having In-N-Out Burgers since I moved here to Branson, Missouri
@hstrykid: @kattykyt Yeah I know, same for me here in Tennessee.
@kattykyt: @hstrykid LOL, @IN_N_OUT_BURGER just DM’d me.
@hstrykid: @kattykyt LOL, that’s awesome, maybe they’ll DM me if I mention In-N-Out Burger.
@IN_N_OUT_BURGER: @hstrykid Maybe this will hold you over:
@hstrykid: @IN_N_OUT_BURGER LOL, gee, thanks, now I’m REALLY Jonesing for a double/double.
@hstrykid: @IN_N_OUT_BURGER You guys need to open up here in Cool Springs, you’ll KILL the competition.
@IN-N-OUT_Burger: @hstrykid It’s taken us 60 years to get to Utah. It will be a while.
@hstrykid: @IN-N-OUT_Burger Maybe you guys could get @grantimahara to build a burger transporter like they have on Star Trek.
@IN_N_OUT_BURGER: @grantimahara Could you build device to teleport In-N-Out burgers?
@grantimahara: @IN_N_OUT_BURGER @hstrykid I wish I could! If I did you’d be the first to know!!
For me, this was a fun moment. And, it demonstrates the power of social media to bring together a group of folks, all several thousand miles apart to have a conversation about any topic and share a laugh or two. It also shows how a company – In-N-Out Burger – is managing it’s brand on Twitter. They are having fun and responding to their fans in an engaging and personal way. My hat is off to In-N-Out for having the courage to be thus fun when they could, instead, circle the wagons and simply tweet boring “Go to In-N-Out” type messages with no life or substance. Instead, they engage their audience and offer real conversations in real time.
Awesome.
