Iowa’s in the national spotlight for the second time in one calendar year. Our first brush with fame came in January, when the state was flooded with presidential wannabes. Now, record-breaking floods have focused the eyes of the nation upon us.
So far I haven’t heard any discussions about which kind of flooding leaves a bigger mess. But along our little gravel road, the flood waters have been pretty destructive. In fact, the rain has washed away the gravel at the bottom of the driveway. Water erosion has created a miniature Grand Canyon along the entire length of road that borders our property.
The road’s so bad we’ve become anti-social. We tell visitors not to come unless they and their vehicles are tougher than the potholes and ravines. It’s so bad the neighbor kid screams bloody murder when he rides his bicycle across the ruts formed by streams of running water cutting across the road. A significant amount of daylight can be seen between his backside and the unpadded bike seat. No wonder he screams every time the two make contact. It’s so bad someone’s front tire got caught in our Grand Canyonette the other night. Before the vehicle stopped, the neighbor’s mailbox was gone and a decorative boulder was several feet east of it’s original location. Can you believe it? The consequences of flooding include hit and run landscape architecture crime.
As of this writing, the government has not lifted a finger to clean up the mess. Phone calls to the city public works department remain unanswered. Mr. Obama has offered no hope for our road, and Mr. McCain has proposed no maverick solution to our wash-out dilemma. So Hiram, my very own Pa Ingalls of a husband, took matters into his own hands. He spent the morning rebuilding the end of the driveway, filling it in with a load of gravel.
So I think we’re done being anti-social. You can visit us again. Unless you’re a politician. We just finished cleaning up one mess. We don’t need another.
