and on the 8th day, big ernie created fema

And he said let there be trailers for everyone! And so it came to pass that all around the Mississippi river bottoms, the people who had boarded the ark and moved to town dared to dream about returning home to where their waterlogged houses sit to begin tearing them down and start a new life. I feel for them, because I realize that three generations of my family have been raised up watching what the power of that river can do. As a child, I rode the ferry to the Missouri side as there was no bridge back in the day. Many folks who live down around there worked for years to put that bridge in place where it proudly connects our two states in more ways than one. One of the things that really struck me about this entire flood deal was when I-40 in Arkansas was shut down for days. That, my friends, is major not only for commuters, but also for commerce. A little side note to self would be to do whatever is necessary to keep THAT from ever happening again. I mean gah.....build a new levee or something. It was actually the White river that was responsible for that fiasco, but it all runs together in some way or another.

And so the president came and went on Air Force One and Memphis got all the glory. It was really a two-fer type of PR deal for the prez since he got to combine his visit to BTW High school with an appearance in the "flood ravaged" town after the sand bagging stopped. Crest? Oh...that was days ago. It still looks like Dyer county is surrounded by a giant moat. I stopped by the salon of some old friends today to get my hair trimmed and ended up swapping stories with him about farms under water. We keep up with what's going on in each other's lives, even though we rarely get together. He knew all about the pneumonia and the drama and gave me the biggest old hug you ever saw. He also cut me a special deal on shampoo and conditioner because I counted it out in ones! We go all the way back to hippie high school and college days. While we were attending the local community college, several of us got parts in "The Miracle Worker"..with my boyfriend at the time playing Helen's dad to my Mom. That's about as far as my stage presence ever went. I actually took shorthand that year which is something that died a quick death once keyboarding came to be.

My parents are still determined to be independent and not "bother" me with little things and one of their joint tasks was to count out her pills. It takes me about two minutes to do it, but I imagine they spent quite a while with him reading labels and dosages and her telling him how to do what. They are, as a couple, both exasperating and hilarious. Everyone at the hospital fell in love with them.....even the hospitalist thought they were "cute". Our entire experience there was a stunning example of how the system is supposed to work. I love it when that happens. Since several of my favorites are social networkers, I will call them by name and you can smooth take a bow because I'm applauding you! SueAnn Cloar. Renee Beaver. Trish Fannon. Brandy Carlisle. Molly Miller. Sandy Thurmond. Rhonda Wells. Nicole Dennison. Ceasar Serquino. Susan Golden and Kathy George. There is no need to hide their identity because I'm so proud of them I hope they all get a bonus :) Heh. It's the thought that counts. Even Laura Clark got in on the action when she persuaded daddy to lay down, shut up and enjoy his bath. From the bottom of my heart and pneumonia stricken lung....thank you. And to their home health nurse Kristy, they're all yours again!!

My roomie's parents are still hospitalized in a nearby regional hospital but they are doing well. Just like my dad, they were gravely ill when they hit those ER doors. It really makes me angry to witness the abuse of emergency rooms by drug seekers and dumbasses. That kind of crap clogs up the resources and throws the real work of caring for patients way behind schedule. I'm just saying. Even though I work at a hospital, I still have a hundred buck co-pay for a non-admission visit to the ER so you can be damn sure I think twice about going there for an ingrown toenail or a sore throat that came out of nowhere. I mean, really. Walgreen's has clinics for that...right Lisa!!

I will never forget how bad I felt last week during the worst of my illness as I struggled to keep up with my parents. My brother and BG were both working so I had to keep going enough to at least run the taxi. I was NOT amused, however, when she proceeded to call the real taxi company for a ride up to the hospital when I was already planning to take her up there for his discharge. One of the few times I've ever actually yelled ( well, I did have laryngitis so it wasn't too loud ) at her to listen to me as if I were the adult and she the child. I could just picture my poor little blind mother being picked up by some cracker who would take every twenty she had when she opened up the wallet. We have to tell her which bills are what.

Spring has sprung. Daddy has baby 'maters on his plants-in-concrete blocks. Over and out from the lane.

^j^