There but for the grace of God.........

Saturday morning my husband and I reported to the mall to volunteer to help the flood victims. We gathered masks, goggles, rubber gloves, cleaning supplies, and water. We were warned of the toxic dangers and were told to not bring anything back because of contamination. We separated into groups of 15 and were bussed to different parts of Cedar Rapids. Congressman Loebsack was there to help and was part of the group. While "he's on my list" for voting in favor of HR1955, I was pleased to see he was dressed in old clothes and looked prepared to work.

Earlier last week I drove through Cedar Rapids. It was like a ghost town. But not Saturday. It was a bee hive of activity. Home owners and volunteer groups were everywhere. We passed house after house, many gutted already. Some houses no longer have foundations and are slated to be bulldozed within the next 2 weeks. Appliances, furniture, and all manner of debris are piled several feet high at the curbs down street after street. Dump trucks and end loaders were everywhere. Once flooded churches were the only cheerful sight. They looked like an oasis in the middle of decay. They had tents and tables and food and water and chairs for exhausted people to be able to sit. Volunteers were all over the place.

We arrived at the first house. The homeowners are elderly and were not there. Their son has MS and had to use those canes that attach to your arms. He and his wife were able somehow to empty the kitchen. The interior is hard to describe. This is the first stage of the recovery for them. So wet slimy mud covered the floor. Mold covered the walls. Household items were black and sodden with flood water and the smell was almost unbearable. I had to go outside for a bit. I soon become accustomed to the odor. We used shovels and crates to haul all the belongings outside to the curb. One volunteer, a regular joker, was visibly moved when he found a nickel sized charm with a photo of a child inside...that charm did not go to the curb. We could not yet go into the basement. There was still water standing and it was still to dangerous to enter.

Early that morning when we arrived the son and his wife were quiet and shyly thanked us for coming to help. We were there all morning and after awhile they started to talk about the experience. The light seemed to come back into their eyes and the woman hugged us all when we left.

The second house we went to was in the second stage of recovery. All household items had been removed and hauled to the curb. Compared to the first house, it seemed almost clean. The hardwood floors had buckled and were moldy. The walls were moldy and like the first house you could see the water line half way up the stairs to the second floor.

This house was owned by an elderly woman and her daughter. The daughter and her brother had cleared out the house. Like at the first house they were quiet and their eyes looked tired. We asked what we could do to help. They asked if we could help rip up the floors. The brother had a couple prybars and a couple of the volunteers had brought their own. So about 6 guys proceeded to rip up the formerly beautiful knotless solid oak floors throughout the entire house. In the kitchen and bathroom, they ripped out the moldy linoleum. The rest of us carried it all out to the curb and piled it with the moldy appliances.

As the afternoon wore on, the brother and sister started to talk. They too described their experience. The woman told how their freezer with food in it was found floating in the basement. She rescued her bicycle because it was her graduation gift from 1977. She hopes to restore it. She rescued the family photos and placed them in the freezer. She had heard you can clean them and then take some photos of the photos. She took me out to the garage to show me her car. It had been completely submerged in the flood waters. This woman showed no signs of self pity and I will always remember her. Like at the first house, she hugged all of us and her brother shook our hands.

While we were there, the Red Cross truck went down the street and on a bull horn said they were giving out water and food and free phones calls. Two woman showed up with more water and masks and gloves. Another man showed up offering sandwiches and bottled water. One of the TV stations took videos of us carrying out the wood floor and piling it at the curb.

We had to quit about 4:00 due to the curfew. When we got home, all of our clothes and shoes went into the garbage. Immediately into the shower, I washed my hair twice to get the flood smell out. This morning I went right to the doctor's office to get a tetanus shot. It seems we were supposed to have one before we helped out.

And the thing is, all the volunteers that were out in force, made only a small dent in all the work that still needs to be done..... I feel incredibly thankful right now.