It's been surreal today to read the news out of Bremerton and Aberdeen and to hear about I-5 at Centralia being 10 feet under water. It's been surreal to think how easily I could have been in the thick of it all.
I used to work for both the Aberdeen and Bremerton daily newspapers, and I can pretty much guarantee that business is not usual at either publication, or location. I've seen the photos of sink holes and washed out roads out of Bremerton, and I've heard from friends in Aberdeen about apartment windows being blown out in the middle of the night, about all major roads closed, about power out, and about the newspaper's operations having to move to the radio station and then the Satsop business park. And about some of the not-so-ethical folks in town taking advantage of power outages at local stores.
I remember wetness in both places, but never to this degree. A little more than a year ago, I was temporarily stuck in Bremerton when Highway 16 closed during the November storms. And between 1998-2000 I remember having to wade into work at the Aberdeen paper. I remember semis driving by and putting waves over my car. I remember everything being very wet. But not this wet.
In Tacoma, there may have been some powerful bursts last night. There may have been a lot of rain. But today I looked out my window again and was amazed at the calm. Recent flash floods have wreaked more havoc, and not near the havoc other areas are going through this week.
It seemed like the rest of the region might just be playing a big trick on us ... if I didn't see the pictures. If I didn't get the e-mails.
It's surreal to think that I could have been there. And despite the part of me that is sad to miss the thrill of covering a possibly once-in-a-lifetime event, I gotta say, I'm glad to be far, far away from all the sinkholes I've been seeing pictures of. So I'll just thank my lucky stars and hope for those who are experiencing the "adventure," that they return to normal soon. Very soon.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
When it's good not to be where the action is ...
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4 comments:
I can't believe it either and I was even here the last time I-5 flooded, but every time I drive through the Twin Cities I think about high the water reached in '96. This time, I just thank our lucky stars that we were able to safely drive through the Twin Cities on Sunday night when the rain was pouring down.
I don't think I've ever heard of the "C" cities referred to as the Twin Cities. Must be that whole married-to-a-former-Minnesotan thing ... ;)
I hope they are in better shape now over there. We had a giant mudslide right near our neighborhood - of the main street that we all use to get in. Lotsa' rain lately...lotsa' flooding.
Stay dry! At least it's not freezing. ;)
-bm
That's what the C cities calls themselves... besides I sort of consider that area part of my childhood, and I still know my way around the backroads. Exit 68 leads to the green mountains where I lived for a year.
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