Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Flood Damage

You can see in these pics of Miami Church Road how far the water came up.  The muddy line is quite amazing.  I still can't believe how high the water rose.  (The kids are making up the missed school day on Saturday, how many do you think are going to the fair instead?  At least, it is only a half day.)
I can't stop thinking about Louisiana.  Landon said the farmers there were running balls to the wall to get the cotton and corn harvested.  Anyone with a combine or dump-truck was called upon to get it in as quickly as possible.  Many of them were just getting back on their feet after Katrina.  Trucks were lined up at the elevators waiting to unload before the storm hit.  He would have given anything to have been able to go and help them out.
I guess most people don't realize how devastating it would be to lose all of your income that was in the ground to pay the bills for the following year.  Crop insurance doesn't even begin to cover what a good crop would.  And, even though that crop may be lost, you still have to pay for your tabs for the seed, and fertilizer, and chemicals, and parts, and fuel, and labor that you bought to get it into the ground.  Most people do that after the crop is harvested.  
Gustav made landfall yesterday.  Hanna is not far behind.  My prayers go out to the people on the Gulf today.  Especially the farmers.  Louisiana is a major port for us farmers.  The crops go down the Mississippi River and out overseas through that state.  Having the ports closed again (like after Katrina) affects us all.
Remember what we go through to put food on your tables, the next time you are whining about the price of milk or bread.  What do you pay for an Iced Vanilla Latte at Starbucks?  Kind-of puts it in perspective... doesn't it?  We Americans take everything for granted.  What do you think your grocery bill will be when all our food comes from China?  Say a prayer for Louisana and everyone affected by the storms.  God Bless You.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think being a farmer is a pretty difficult way to make a living. My hats off to those that do though. It sure is a valuable service.

BE said...

We drove down 200 (from Concord) yesterday and were amazed at how high the water reached. Glad that W didn't get hurt any worse than he did.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this post. You're right. I'll be saying a prayer for those in any hurricane's path for sure.

And, thank you for the info on sharpened pencils . . . I so didn't know?!?!? haha And, thanks for reading my little blog--I know that I bitch alot there. But, truly--that is the only place that I really do it. And, it's mostly my stand-up comedy if I was a stand-up comedian. haha

Have a great one.

I'm off today--woohoo!!

Take care.

Claremont First Ward said...

WOW....thanks for sharing this.

Anonymous said...

Praying is the best thing we can do. God does care. Things like floods and hurricanes really let us see how puny we are and powerful God is. Please everyone, we live in a great country, register to vote, if you haven't already done so. Check out both candidates and make your choice.
Thanks for reminding us about the farmers and their plight, Shannon.
Love, Mom
(I just had to get the register to vote thing in there!)

Elizabeth said...

You're right!

Anonymous said...

You are so absolutely right! My hats are off to all the farmers, I know I could never make it!

Foxy said...

great post..we (people up north) take things like that for granted because we are not really directly affected. but it affects us all...i watch the news and its so sad. i read your post and its a real prespective of these storms..my prayers are with them too.